“Don’t start with me,” he warned.
“You need to call her back,” she told him in her oh-so-patient mother-hen voice.
“I don’t have to do anything,” he said grimly.
“Now, there’s the mature reaction I’d expect from someone your age,” she commented. “Let me rephrase. You need to call her back if you expect me keep working here, brother dear. I’m getting tired of trying to fend Bree off, much less pretending that I don’t know perfectly well who she is and why you’re avoiding her. If she ever recognizes my voice, she’s going to start asking a whole bunch of questions I don’t want to answer. You don’t pay me enough to run interference between you and Bree.”
“I’m paying you enough to get your daughter through college, which is more than anyone else would,” he retorted. “She starts next year, if I recall correctly. How’s that tuition money adding up? Can you afford to walk out on me?”
She gave him a sour look. “Sometimes it is very hard for me to understand why Mom always liked you best. You are not a nice man.”
“But I am a very good brother,” he teased. Because of that, she knew he would never, ever fire her, despite his constant threats. And she wouldn’t quit for the same reason. Connie’s ex-husband paid decent alimony and child support, but Jake considered it his responsibility to see that she and Jenny had whatever else they needed.
“You’re an annoyance,” she retorted.
“But you love me, anyway,” he said. His expression sobered. “Please, keep Bree away from me. Consider it your personal mission.”
“Assistants aren’t allowed personal missions,” she retorted.
“But sisters are.”
“Jake, you’re the one who made the rule about not taking on any new wholesale customers unless you personally approve it. You said we only have so much stock available and you don’t want to get overextended and wind up disappointing a good customer. Do I not have that right?”
His expression brightened. “That’s it. Call her back and tell her we’ve talked. You can explain that unfortunately, due to huge demand, we’re not taking on anyone else right now.”
“But the florist in Myrtle Creek just closed,” she reminded him. “Jensen’s was one of our bigger accounts. If Bree’s done her homework, she’s going to know that.”
“What makes you think she’s done her homework?” he asked wearily. “Last time I checked, she was writing plays, not running any kind of business.”
“And last time I checked, she was the smartest woman you’ve ever known. She’s certainly smart enough to ask around about the best suppliers in the region. I’ll bet that’s exactly how she got our name. Ted Jensen probably recommended us when he decided to retire after his heart attack.”
Okay, that was possible, but not insurmountable. “If she brings that up, tell her we’d only kept supplying Ted because he’d been a customer for years.”
Connie rolled her eyes. “That ought to go over well. How on earth will it look if we refuse to supply a new business right here in Chesapeake Shores, a business owned by an O’Brien, no less? You’ll never hear the end of it. The chamber of commerce will be all over you. And if you think there was talk when you and Bree broke up, it’ll be nothing compared to the speculation that would stir up.”
They were still debating the point when the door to the outer office snapped open and Bree strode through and straight into his office. She was wearing shorts that made her legs look endless and a halter top that made his mouth water. Strands of curly auburn hair had sprung free of the knot on her head and with the sunlight behind her, it looked as if she was on fire. The color was high in her cheeks, as well. She was not a happy woman. Jake braced himself to deal with all that heat and sexiness and walk away unscathed.
“If the mountain won’t come…” Her voice trailed off as she spotted his sister.
“Connie, hi,” she said. Unmistakable relief spread across her face as something else apparently registered. “Oh my gosh, you’re the one I’ve been talking to on the phone all this time. I’m so sorry. I should have recognized your voice. Why didn’t you say something?”
Connie grinned. “Frankly, I was just as glad you didn’t. I really didn’t want to get caught between you and this hardhead over here. Now you two can battle this out between yourselves. I’m going home to cook dinner.” She gave her brother a smug look. “Shall I make a plate of humble pie for you? Or will you be making other plans for dinner?” She glanced pointedly at Bree when she said it.
“I already have dinner plans,” he retorted. As of two minutes ago, he planned to drink it.
6
“Y ou’ve been avoiding me,” Bree accused, sitting across from Jake, her shorts hiking up. She hadn’t worn such a revealing outfit deliberately, but judging from the rapt gaze on Jake’s face, she was glad she had. At this point she was willing to take advantage of any edge she had. Maybe that didn’t speak well of her as a woman, but she was desperate. After a week, it had become clear that Jake was even less anxious to deal with her than she was with him. Both of them had to find a way to suck it up and figure out a way to conduct business.
“Have not,” he muttered. “I’ve been busy.”
“Well, you don’t appear to be busy right this second,” she said cheerfully. “So let’s make this deal now and I’ll get out of your hair. Unless you drive the delivery truck, you’ll never have to deal directly with me again.”
His jaw hardened. “There’s not going to be any deal, Bree. Not between us.”
She leveled a look directly into his eyes. “This is business, Jake. I’m not asking you to go out with me or to trust me or to have any kind of personal contact beyond whatever it takes to get this agreement on paper. It’s simple. I’m opening a flower shop. You sell flowers. It’s pretty cut-and-dried.”
“Nothing with us was ever simple or cut-and-dried,” he said, walking slowly around his desk to perch on the edge. Their knees were almost touching, hers bare, his clad in faded denim. “It’s bound to get complicated faster than the ink will dry on our agreement.”
She swallowed hard, but managed to keep her voice steady. “How so?”
He leaned forward, oh so slowly, until her pulse fluttered wildly at the nearness of his mouth. It hovered over hers. Their breath intermingled. Suddenly she wanted his lips on hers with an urgency that took her by surprise. Memories of a hundred other kisses—deep, tantalizing, soul-stirring kisses—swarmed in her head and left her dizzy. What had made her think for a single second that this kind of sizzle could be doused by simple determination?
As if he sensed her turmoil, he drew back, his expression smug. “See what I mean?”
Oh yeah, this definitely had complication written all over it. But she couldn’t let that stand in her way. She wouldn’t. Flowers on Main was going to be her fresh start. She’d do whatever it took to make it a success.
Jake had obviously made a success of his business. She’d been astonished by the size of the nursery, a little awed by everything she’d heard when she’d asked around about the best flower supplier in the region. Seeing it today with its greenhouse, outdoor displays of flats and flats of colorful plants, rows of flowering shrubs and trees, had been an eye-opener. This wasn’t the tiny Shores Nursery of old. Jake had expanded it beyond her wildest expectations. Given what he’d accomplished, surely he could understand why her new business mattered just as much to her.
“I need these flowers, Jake,” she said simply.
“Get them from someone else. There are other growers.”
“Everyone says you’re the best. And you’re the closest.”
“I’m also unavailable.”
“Are you speaking personally now, or professionally?”
He frowned at her flip attempt at humor. “Both, just to keep the record straight.”
“That kiss that almost happened said otherwise.”
“It didn’t happen, did it?”
“All that proves is that you’
ve got great willpower. I’m duly impressed. In fact, a man with that much willpower surely won’t be tempted to ravish me just because I get a few posies from him every few days, so there’s really no reason not to deal with me, is there?”
“How about I don’t want to? Do you have an argument for that?”
“Because you’re scared,” she accused.
“Of you? Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Prove it.”
His eyes widened. “You’re making this a challenge?”
“Why not?” she asked with a careless shrug. “Let’s see if you’ve got what it takes to stay away from me, Jake. Make this deal. Deliver the flowers personally. And keep your hands to yourself. That will suit me just fine. I can prove I only care about business, and you can prove you’re over me. Sounds like a win-win to me.”
She saw him struggle with himself. He clearly wanted to show her that she no longer meant anything to him, that he was well and truly done with her. But he also knew he didn’t stand a chance of making good on it. Whatever there’d once been between them, it was still there. The air was practically humming with it.
And, based on the obvious inner struggle he was waging, it apparently still had the power to rip his heart out for a second time. No wonder he wanted to stay as far away from her as humanly possible. She could hardly blame him. She was more than a little shaken at the moment herself. She was supposed to be mourning the end of her relationship with Marty, not stirring up old feelings with Jake.
“Okay,” he said at last. He moved behind the desk, shoved a few stacks of catalogs and papers aside, shuffled through another one and then handed her a form. “Fill out this credit application. Drop it off with Connie in the morning. I’ll waive the payable on delivery clause that’s standard for new customers for the first year. We’ll bill you every thirty days.”
“Don’t do me any favors,” she said.
“I’m not. I know your credit will check out. That’s all I care about. When are you opening?”
He was all business now, which should have made her ecstatic, but she couldn’t help being a little bit annoyed. She had to force herself to match his cool tone. “The first Saturday in September, in time for the Labor Day–weekend crowds.”
“I’ll see that you get your first delivery before nine o’clock that Friday morning. I’ll need to know what you want on the Monday before, earlier if there’s something that has to come from another grower. Connie will see that you have a list each week of what’s available. If you need deliveries more than once a week, we’ll adjust the schedule. Or you can come by here to get what you need to fill in.”
“Thank you.”
“Like you said, it’s business. Don’t read anything into it. Close the door on your way out.”
She frowned at the dismissal, but she knew better than to try to prolong the encounter. She’d gotten what she came for.
And then some.
Jake cursed when his hand actually shook as he reached for his phone after Bree was finally out of his office. He’d been dead serious earlier when he’d decided to drink his dinner, but he wanted company. A man who could still be rattled by an ex-lover six years after the breakup was pitiful enough without turning into a solitary drinker.
If he’d ever been the type to gravitate toward willing female companionship of the kind that didn’t ask questions or make demands, tonight would have been the night to seek out such a woman. Unfortunately, he’d never seen the value in simply hooking up. He’d always wanted more. He’d wanted what he’d had with Bree. Or what he’d thought he had, anyway.
That left him with Will and Mack. And when Mack turned out to be busy, it left him with Will.
“Ground rules,” he said tersely when they met in the bar at Brady’s. “No questions. No trying to psychoanalyze my mood. We are here to drink. Okay?”
Will gave him a knowing look. “You must have had one hell of a meeting with Bree today.”
Jake scowled at him. “No questions. Didn’t I make that clear?”
Will grinned. “You did. And if Ms. Davis, our English teacher, were here, she’d explain to you that the sentence I just uttered was a statement, not a question. Bree O’Brien is the only person I know who can put you into this kind of mood.”
Jake downed half his beer. “Okay, wise guy, I know I told you not to try to psychoanalyze my mood. I was very clear about that.”
“But this is so much fun,” Will retorted. “Your love life is much more interesting than watching the Orioles blow another lead, which they’re doing, by the way.” He gestured toward the TV above the bar, his expression mournful. “How can they do that night after night?”
“Because they’re having a lousy season,” Jake said, warming to the safe topic. “The pitching sucks. The bullpen’s worse.”
“Can’t argue with you there,” Will agreed just as Mack joined them.
Jake stared at him. “I thought you had a date.”
“It wasn’t a date,” Mack said, his expression sour.
“Which means he was out with Susie O’Brien again,” Will said.
Mack scowled at the assessment, but Jake chuckled. “Don’t mind him. Will thinks he has a deep understanding of our sad love lives. Of course, that raises the question of why he doesn’t have a love life of his own to worry about.”
“I had a date just last night,” Will said indignantly. “A real one, not like whatever’s going on between you two and the women you maybe are and maybe aren’t dating.”
Mack’s expression brightened. “Do tell,” he said. “Give us a shining example by which we can live our lives.”
Will frowned. “Mock me if you will, but this could be the one. This was our fourth date in two weeks.”
Jake and Mack exchanged a look. Will rarely went out with the same woman more than twice. Either he got bored or they got tired of having him analyze them. In one instance, when he’d gone out for two months with the same woman, he’d belatedly realized she’d actually been using him for free counseling. He’d sworn off dating for months after that.
Just as Mack was about to speak, Will stopped him. “Don’t worry. This isn’t another Jasmine. In fact, Laura’s a psychologist, too. She has a practice in Annapolis. She just bought a weekend place here.”
“And this is the first we’ve heard about her?” Jake chided. “Are we not your best friends? Aren’t you supposed to run something this serious past us?”
“No,” Will said succinctly. “You’re my best friends, but you don’t have veto power over the women in my life.”
“I’ll remind you of that next time you try to exercise your veto power over the women in mine,” Mack grumbled.
“I’d never veto Susie,” Will told him.
“I’m not dating Susie,” Mack repeated.
Jake nudged Will in the ribs. “Protesting too much, wouldn’t you say?”
“I would,” Will agreed, clinking his beer bottle to Jake’s.
Mack looked as if he might want to crack his beer bottle over one of their heads, but instead, he took a long drink, then regarded Jake innocently.
“So why are we here? Does this have something to do with Bree?”
“I’m guessing yes,” Will said. “Jake’s not talking, though.”
“Because there’s nothing to say,” Jake insisted.
Because they’d each ruled out further discussion of the women in their lives, they fell silent. Sipping their beers, they turned their attention to the game just in time to see the relief pitcher walk in the other team’s winning run.
“Orioles suck,” Mack said.
Will nodded.
“You got that right,” Jake said, then sighed. It pretty well described the way his whole day had gone.
The smell of freshly cut wood filled the air inside what would soon be Flowers on Main. Bree stood back and admired the stainless steel–topped island that would be her primary work space in the backroom. It had nooks and crannies and drawers for storing vases, box
es, ribbons, wire, florist tape and anything else she might need to create spectacular arrangements.
“What do you think?” Mick asked, standing beside her. “Is it what you had in mind?”
She turned and threw her arms around him. “It’s perfect, Dad. Thank you so much. I can’t believe you were able to create that from the scribbles I gave you.”
He laughed. “Believe me, it wasn’t the scribbles. It was the way you described what you needed for it to be functional. Running over to Ted Jensen’s place one morning helped, too. I figured after all the years he’s been in business, he’d know what you’d need.”
“Since he’s closing down, I probably should have bought his furnishings instead of having you go to all this trouble,” Bree said.
“Absolutely not,” Mick countered. “You’re starting out fresh. Everything should be top-notch. I did make an offer on his coolers, though. Told him I’d need to run that by you, but they’re in good condition and it’ll save you some start-up money.”
Bree bristled that he’d done such a thing without asking her, then realized she was being silly. He’d left the final decision to her, after all. If Mick had made a contact that could save her money, she needed to consider it. “I’ll go and take a look later today,” she promised.
“Okay, then, let’s take another look at this floor plan,” Mick said. “I want you to show me again where you think the front counter ought to be.”
They started into the front room just as the door opened and Megan stepped inside. Bree wasn’t sure which of them was more shocked, her or her father.
“Megan!” Mick said, his face lighting up. “I wasn’t expecting you. Bree, honey, did you know your mother was coming?”
“No,” she said tersely, watching as Mick crossed the room and pressed a kiss to her mother’s cheek.
“How could I stay away when I heard about your new business, Bree?” Megan said, giving Mick a pointed look that Bree couldn’t quite interpret.
Flowers on Main Page 8
