Red Red Rose

by Stephanie Hoffman McManus

  Reggie cleared his throat and gave me a slight bump with his hip, pulling me away from my thoughts of Em, and calling my attention to Shaw shoving his way in the door. “You’re up girly. Don’t let me down,” he whispered.

  One look.

  One damn look where our eyes met and my body was thrown into anarchy, my heart rebelling against its cage, my thoughts scattered until there was nothing but incoherent, romantic blather going on up there, and I don’t even know what the hell was happening in my stomach. If I had just eaten Chinese food, I would have been suspicious. I imagined what I was experiencing was similar to being on speed or some other amphetamine.

  Here’s to hoping his insides are as pretty as his outsides and this rush doesn’t come with a major crash.

  I didn’t even wait for him to reach the counter. “Let me guess . . . large boring cup of black coffee?”

  The smile that split his full lips stirred the fluttery feeling in my stomach. “Do you give all of your customers this much grief over their drink orders?”

  “Nope. Only you,” I grinned back. “One boring coffee coming right up.”

  “I’ll get it,” Reggie piped up, doing nothing to hide his scheming grin and leaving me nothing to do but stand there and make conversation with Shaw.

  “Can I interest you in an orange muffin, or perhaps almond poppy seed?”

  “No cinnamon roll?”

  “Sorry, you have to get here earlier if you want to get your hands on one of those.”

  “I see,” his grin never faded. “Then I’ll take one of the apple streusel muffins.”

  “Respectable choice.” I grabbed the muffin from the case and handed it over the counter to him. His fingers brushed my hand when he took it. They were rough, but I didn’t mind in the least. Rough hands meant he wasn’t afraid to use them. I could only imagine how they would feel against the rest of me. The way his eyes studied my face so intently had me shifting uncomfortably.

  “Did you sleep well last night?” he asked softly.

  My brow tugged into a frown. “What?”

  “You look exhausted, like you didn’t get a good night’s sleep.” He held my gaze and I wondered what else he could read on my face.

  “Reggie, how long does it take to pour a cup of coffee?” I called without looking away from Shaw’s intense eyes.

  “Got it.” Reggie’s arm reached out, the cup of hot coffee in his hand. Shaw accepted it, but his eyes remained locked on me. I was unsure of what I was seeing in them. I wished I could pull off that mysterious smolder. Is that even a real thing? A smolder? Who the hell smolders? I’ll tell you who. This guy. This impossibly impossible man who was looking at me like he wanted to take me away and make everything else in the world disappear but the two of us.

  Something in his expression softened. “I didn’t mean to pry into your personal life. I just think you work too hard.”

  “I had a day off yesterday,” I informed him.

  “Doesn’t look like it was a very restful day for you.”

  I breathed out and let my shoulders sag as I leaned against the counter. “You know the missing girl, Emily Raynes?”

  “She’s your friend, isn’t she?” I wasn’t surprised that he knew. Everyone around town was talking about Em and speculating about what happened to her.

  “Yes. I had a visit from the police yesterday about her case, and then I went to see her parents. Add to that an unwanted visit from my ex, and a possible prowler in my neighborhood, or maybe just a raccoon, and no, it wasn’t a very restful day off.”

  “You need a vacation.”

  “Maybe so, but not until I know what happened to Em.”

  He leaned in just a fraction, but it was enough that I caught the scent of whatever soap or cologne he used, and an underlying smell that I suspected was uniquely his. I inhaled softly, breathing in and thinking it was possibly my new favorite smell after the cinnamon rolls.

  “You need a man in your bed to take your mind off of things and handle those unwanted visits and prowlers or possible raccoons.”

  I swallowed and wanted to ask, “Are you offering?” But I didn’t. Instead I just met his stare. “How do you know I don’t already have one?”

  “You had one, at least a decent one, and you wouldn’t come to work with dark circles under your eyes and tension in your shoulders. I wager it’s from stress, and any decent man would know how to relieve that stress. Also, your friend told me you were single the other day. Remember?”

  “Well, I think after the last one, I’ll swear off men for a while.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  “You could say that–” I was about to fill him in on my humiliation at walking in on Nathan, pants around his ankles, in the act right in the middle of his living room, when the door to the shop was pushed open and another familiar face walked in. My face broke out in a smile when his eyes landed on me.

  “Hey beautiful,” he greeted affectionately, walking toward us. I rounded the counter and cut him off, wrapping my arms around his middle.

  “James. It’s good to have you home.” His smile lasted only a second longer before it faded as we were both reminded of the reason he was back. I pulled away and turned to introduce him to Shaw, but he wasn’t where I left him. I caught his back just as he slipped out the door. There was a ten dollar bill on the counter. I frowned, but then brushed aside his hasty exit.

  “Can I get you something? A hot coffee? Hot chocolate? Hot tea?”

  A soft chuckle fell from his lips. “A plain cup of coffee is fine.” It had to be a tough guy thing, but maybe there was something to be said for a plain cup of coffee. James was almost as easy on the eyes as Shaw, though slightly leaner and fair haired like Em. For a brief moment in time after Em introduced us, I had a little crush on him. And by little I meant huge, but then Em squashed my dreams of making us sisters. James was as committed to his military career as her father had been. While she and I both held immense respect for that commitment, we also knew it wasn’t the life for me, and she knew her brother well enough to know that he wasn’t anywhere near being ready to settle down. According to her, his flings never lasted longer than his leave.

  “Reggie, this is Em’s brother, James. Can you get him a large black coffee on the house?”

  “Sure thing. Nice to meet you,” he gave James one of those guy chin lift things before getting his coffee. James answered with his own, and then faced me again.

  “You don’t have to do that Nora. I can pay for my coffee.”

  “Not here. Em’s family, which makes you family. You’re money is no good here.” Once Reggie brought James his coffee, I made sure he could handle the counter and I led James over to one of the small couches against the wall.

  He commented on how happy he was that it looked like business was going well, but then shifted the conversation to his sister. Even though his parents had been giving him regular updates, he wanted to hear everything from me, mostly about the guys she saw. It wasn’t a conversation any guy wanted to have about his sister and it certainly wasn’t one I wanted to have about my best friend to her big brother, but I told him as much as I could, ending with last night and the maybe prowler snooping around the house.

  That didn’t sit well with him. He insisted on going to collect his things from his parents’ and moving into Em’s room temporarily. My objections that he should be with his mom and dad were dismissed. He argued that they would take his side on this, which was true because they were the ones who raised him to watch out for his little sister, and as her best friend, big brother protection extended to me.

  Once it was settled that I would have a house guest, he finished his coffee and took off. I gave him my spare key and informed him I wouldn’t be home until after eight, but he could let himself in. On his way out, he passed Will and Cassie on their way in.

  “Damn, where do you find these superhero looking sex mandroids?” Reggie grumbled once James was out of the shop.

  I laughed.
>
  “What sex mandroids?” Cassie asked enthusiastically as she and Will approached the counter.

  “Did you see the one who just walked out?” Reggie asked her.

  “Mmhmm,” Cassie grinned and I couldn’t help but chuckle. Will’s face was pinched in a scowl, and I had to wonder if maybe I shouldn’t have discouraged Cassie from going there. I’d have to make it my mission to find out if he had a little thing for the cute, sassy barista.

  “Em’s brother, James,” I told them. “He got leave to come home and be with his parents, but I don’t know how long he’ll get to stay before they call him back to duty.”

  “Maybe I should have signed up for the army,” Reggie muttered under his breath and we all chuckled.

  The perks of being the boss meant that once Cassie clocked on, I was able to take another break and I sat and chatted with Will for a while. Either he was completely oblivious, or knew exactly what I was doing because not once did he take the bait when I subtly brought up Cassie. I didn’t need him to say anything, though. Gauging his reaction when she stopped by the table was enough.

  “So, with Captain American in town, does this mean you will be moving on from Shaw? Because, if you are, I’d like to throw myself at him shamelessly in hopes that he’ll drown his rejection sorrows in me. If not, I wouldn’t mind having a go at G.I. Joe.”

  Will didn’t like that if the scowl on his face was any indication. I had to bite back my smile.

  “So, you tell me which one is yours.”

  Instead of answering her, I gave her butt a shove toward the kitchen. “If you put as much effort into this job as you do fantasizing about the men that come in here, you’d be employee of the month.”

  “You don’t even do employee of the month, but we both know if you did, I’d have that shit in the bag. I got you his name, didn’t I?”

  I shook my head. “Work. Go. It’s what I pay you for, not to be my pimp.”

  She snorted and I was unable to make out what she mumbled under her breath as she sauntered off.

  Will didn’t stick around after that and made his excuse to take off.

  Cassie pounced the second I re-joined her behind the counter. “Sooo . . . does he want me?”

  “What was all that about Shaw and James?”

  “To see if it made Will jealous, obviously. So did it work?”

  “I don’t know, maybe. He’s hard to read,” I admitted. I didn’t want to give her false hope if I was wrong.

  She let out a deep sigh. “But we would be so perfect together. You know? It’s like destiny.”

  Before I could tell her just to pull up her big girl britches and ask the guy out, Danny appeared at the counter.

  “Actually it’s a combination of pheromones, responses within the immune system and chemical reactions in the brain.”

  “Whatever,” Cassie shrugged. “Who cares whether it’s pheromones or fucking Aphrodite? My point is that Will and I would be so good together,” she whined dreamily.

  “If you don’t take into account the height difference,” Danny unwittingly blundered. I cringed as Cassie’s features transformed into an intense scowl directed at him. He wasn’t wrong that Will towered over her, but at five-foot-two, with shoes on, just about everyone did and she didn’t especially appreciate people pointing out her short stature. Danny quickly picked up on that.

  “Of course that doesn’t matter. I’m sure you two would be, um, very happy together.” The scowl didn’t leave her face. “I’ll, uh, just take my napkin and go sit down now.”

  “Ignore him,” I laughed. “If you want something to happen with you and Will, then maybe you should make the first move.”

  “But I don’t want to make the first move,” she groaned. All I could do was shrug. I wasn’t Cupid. Fortunately, work kept us busy through the rest of the day and I didn’t have to listen to her love woes.

  Not only did we open an hour later on Sundays, but we closed an hour earlier, so when eight o’clock came around, Mitch, who was on closing tonight, and I were both eager to get out of there. He walked me out to my car and made sure I was safely inside before heading toward his own pickup. I took a minute to check messages on my phone and listen to a voicemail from my mom.

  After listening to her message, I slid my phone into the cup holder and then lifted my hand in a wave as Mitch pulled out. I started up my own car only to remember that I’d left the deposit for the night sitting on the front counter when I put my coat on and hit the lights. I weighed the risk of leaving it there until I came in tomorrow. It wouldn’t be smart, especially since Reggie was opening and he didn’t have the safe code to toss it in.

  I grudgingly slipped back out into the cold and hustled inside, going through the hassle of disengaging and resetting the alarm. The whole thing couldn’t have taken more than two minutes, but when I came back out, I stopped short. There was a figure leaning on the hood of my car.

  Five

  “I thought you went back to Redmond last night.” I didn’t take another step toward him, but he pushed off my car and ate up the distance between us with cocky strides.

  “I told you I would give you more time, but I also said I wasn’t giving up.”

  “One day is hardly more time.” I folded my arms across my chest.

  “I needed to see you tonight. It’s important. There’s something I need to tell you.”

  Already he was keeping me from getting home; I didn’t want to stand out on the street arguing with him. “Then say whatever you have to say, Nathan. You’ve got one minute.” Then I was probably going to pull out my pepper spray and use it on him just for the fun of it.

  “Look, I was thinking about the roses you said someone has been leaving, and it didn’t sit well with me.” Of course not. On top of being an arrogant prick, he was also a jealous, possessive one.

  “Well, it’s really not any of your concern who is sending the flowers.” I started to brush past him, but his fingers wrapped around my bicep, gripping it just tightly enough that I wouldn’t be able to pull free without bruising my arm.

  “What if they’re not for you?”

  “Who would be leaving flowers for Emily when she’s missing?” I retorted, my irritation growing. Even Emily’s asshole ex-boyfriend wouldn’t be that callous, and as far as I could tell, he was the only one with a reason to apologize to her.

  “Think about it, Nor.” The annoyance in his tone further grated on me.

  “I don’t need to. I need you to let go and leave me the hell alone.”

  He let out a little huff of indignation. “Look, you need to listen to me. I was talking to Elizabeth–”

  I snorted and, not caring about a bruise, tried to yank my arm free. His grip tightened. “Let. Go. Of. Me. Nathan.” Elizabeth was his ex. Yeah, that one.

  His features tightened in frustration. “Just stop and hear me out. She works in the King County Prosecutor’s office. She let it slip to me that the FBI is being brought in on the case and that they requested Emily’s file.”

  For a moment, I forgot all about his hand on me and stilled. “They think it’s connected?” It had been in the back of my mind these past few weeks, but I hadn’t really wanted to accept that it could be the same guy.

  “I don’t know, and she didn’t either, but they’re going to be looking into it. I thought at the very least you would want to know that. If it is connected, then you need to be careful. Especially staying in that house by yourself. You should let me stay with you.”

  And there it was; his angle. My anger returned and I jerked on my arm again. “That’s not happening. And fuck you for trying to use my fear for Emily to weasel your way back into my life.” I shoved his chest hard when he still wouldn’t give up his hold on my arm. He stumbled back a step, releasing his grip.

  “Dammit, did you hear anything I said? You shouldn’t be in that house alone. Whoever took Emily could still be around.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I’m not there alone anymore.” I turned
my back to him and hit unlock on my key.

  “What do you mean you’re not alone anymore?” His hand came down hard on my shoulder and he jerked me back around.

  I shoved his hand away. “It’s none of your damn business.”

  “It is if you’ve got some fucking guy staying with you.” His jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. Nathan rarely lost control, but I could see he was losing it now. Maybe it wasn’t smart of me to push him further, but I couldn’t help it when I was so pissed off.

  “I can have whoever the hell I want stay with me. I can have a fucking orgy if I want and it would still be none of your business!” I shouted.

  “You’re wrong. You’re still mine, Nora, which makes it very much my business,” he said tightly, regaining a small measure of his control.

  “That’s what you don’t seem to get, I’m not a fucking possession. I don’t belong to anyone, least of all you.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that. If you would stop overreacting to everything–” he didn’t get to finish that statement, and it was probably a good thing, because his tone had turned patronizing and I was about two seconds away from whipping out that pepper spray, but another voice sounded from the street.

  “Is there a problem, Nora?” I knew that deep voice, and its rough-and-tumble owner.

  Shaw stood near the rear of my car, his stance aggressive, his expression fierce and his eyes regarding the two of us carefully.

  “Who are you?” Nathan demanded, but Shaw dismissed him with a glance and fixed his eyes on me.

  “What do you want me to do here?”

  “Nothing, because Nathan was just on his way out of town. Weren’t you?” I turned to him.

  His glare bounced back and forth between me and Shaw before he leaned in close. “When you get over your petty games, call me.” He turned on his heel and stalked toward the Porsche I could see parked across the street. I knew it was hardly the last I’d hear from him, but I was relieved to be done with him for tonight.