With Love

by J. L. Langley

  Laine was sprawled on the floor, snickering, his feet still tangled in the covers. “Oops.”

  Chapter Four

  Dev checked out of the hotel the next morning and moved his things to Laine’s condo. Laine lived close to work and the realtor’s office was just down the street from Laine’s job. Although it was chilly out, they decided to walk and leave Dev’s truck at Laine’s place. It gave Dev a chance to really see the town at a more leisurely pace, once again confirming that Asheville really was a nice place.

  “Ooh, let’s get a cup of coffee.” Laine pointed to a coffee shop, Café Noctem, a few yards ahead of them. Laine was practically bouncing.

  Dev was almost scared to see what caffeine would do to him. Laine had been bubbly all morning. Dev had contributed it to the wake-up sex, at first, but now he wasn’t sure. Perhaps Laine was always this chipper. He could very well be a morning person. Dev wasn’t a grump in the mornings, but he certainly wasn’t as bright and cheery as Laine either. Maybe the coffee would help wake Dev up. He needed it if he was going to keep up with his mate. “Okay, sure. Do you always walk to work?”

  Laine nodded, smiling. “Yep, except when the weather is bad. I like to walk. That’s why I moved into my condo, it’s close to the shop.”

  “What is it you do again?”

  “I’m a florist.” Laine’s grin was infectious.

  “A what?” Dev asked as he held the coffee shop door open, allowing the smaller man to enter first.

  “You know, flowers. I own a flower shop.”

  A florist? It was a little surprising at first, but the more Dev thought about it, somehow it fit Laine. He was a happy, upbeat person, flowers seemed to work with his personality. “How did you get into that?”

  Laine shrugged. “It was my grandmother’s. When she retired, I took over. I like flowers.” He slid up to the counter, ordered a double espresso then turned towards Dev. “What do you want, Dev? Do you want a bagel or something? I’m sorry I didn’t have time to fix us breakfast. I will tomorrow, I promise.”

  “That’s all right, I’m not much of a breakfast person. I’ll just have a regular cup of coffee.” Dev had never gotten into all the froo froo lattes and such. Plain ole black coffee for him. He tried to give Laine some money to pay for it, but Laine shook his head and waved it away. Dev didn’t argue. He firmly believed in the “what’s mine is yours” philosophy. They were partners now, he’d be buying Laine stuff too, it would even out.

  They left Café Noctem and walked the three blocks to Laine’s business, just enjoying each other’s company. They talked about the town and Dev’s appointments for the day.

  After crossing the street, Laine tripped and espresso went flying everywhere. The cup landed with a splat several feet in front of them. Luckily they weren’t splashed with the hot liquid. “Oof.” He turned and studied the ground where he’d just walked.

  Dev looked too. There was absolutely nothing there. When he glanced back at Laine’s face it was almost as red as his hair. Dev stifled the urge to laugh. Something told him that he was going to be seeing a lot of such incidents. The man hadn’t been kidding about being a little on the clumsy side.

  Laine grinned sheepishly. “At least I didn’t throw it on someone this time.”

  Dev threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, Lainey, you didn’t.”

  “Oh, yes, I did. Twice actually. The second guy wasn’t nearly as understanding as the lady and her sister from the first time. Now I try to make sure I stay pretty far behind others when I walk.”

  Dev bit his lip to keep from cackling. “You want a drink of my coffee?”

  “Nah. There will probably be some at the shop. Assuming I remembered to buy coffee.” Laine scrunched up his face in thought.

  It was an adorable look, making Dev grin. Caroline was going to love Laine. God, Cole is going to kill me. Laine and Caroline were going to get into so much trouble together. Dev started chuckling again.

  “It’s really not that funny, Dev.” Laine’s cheeks were still pink.

  Dev grabbed his mate’s hand. “It’s not that. I was just thinking you and Caroline are going to love each other. You two are going to keep Cole and I on our toes.”

  Laine’s brow furrowed, his head tilting slightly. “Who are Caroline and Cole?”

  “Cole is my best friend and business partner. Caroline is his mate.” Dev took the last sip of his drink and tossed his empty cup in a nearby trash can without breaking stride.

  Laine started swinging their hands. “What kind of business do you have?”

  Dev halted the momentum, stopping their arms from moving. He didn’t think Laine even realized that he’d started their hands swinging. “We own a construction company.”

  “You’re a contractor?”

  “Yes and no. I am, but we have our own crew that does most of the work. I don’t keep air-conditioning and heating guys or plumbers in employment, we contract out for them. Cole and I oversee the job sites and on occasion, we help out and get our hands dirty too. Cole and I both started out as electricians before we decided to start our own company.”

  “So, you do the electric work?” Laine looked genuinely interested.

  Dev couldn’t help but smile. What a novelty that was. Most men he’d dated could care less about the boring details of his job. They wanted to know one thing, did Dev make a lot of money. Yes, he did and that was why he’d broken it off with the majority of them. Not that there were all that many, most were one-night stands. “No, not usually. We have electricians. Every once in awhile I’ll help out. Cole actually helps out more than I do. Bookkeeping and running the job sites pretty much takes up most of my time.”

  “Isn’t being an electrician dangerous?” Laine sounded worried.

  Dev shrugged. “No more than anything else I suppose.”

  Laine squeezed Dev’s hand and tried to start their arms swinging again. “Good. I’m not ready to lose you.”

  Dev stiffened his arm, keeping Laine from moving it. “Good because I’m not ready to let you go yet.” And he wasn’t. He’d been half afraid that he wouldn’t have a mate. He wasn’t giving Laine up for the world. Dev was already way past attached to him.

  Laine bumped his hip against Dev’s and head-butted Dev’s shoulder with the side of his head. “Good.” Laine stopped, turning towards him. “We’re here.”

  Dev looked up at the sign and grinned. “Flower Lane?”

  Laine chuckled. “Grammy named it after me when I was a baby. Kinda cool, huh?”

  “Yeah, real cool. Are you her only grandchild or are you the oldest or something?”

  “I’m the only one. Grammy raised me. My parents died when I was three months old.” When he spoke about his grandmother his whole face lit up. “Actually, I just moved out. I was living with Grammy until last November. I would have moved out sooner, but then we lost my grandpa two years ago and I didn’t want to leave her by herself. You know? I mean she isn’t that old; it’s not like she’s feeble or anything, but well, yeah, she’s all I have.”

  He kissed Laine’s forehead. You had to love a man who obviously adored his grandmother. “So, when do I get to meet your grammy?”

  “Tonight?” Laine’s smile was almost blinding. “I can cook us all dinner.”

  “How about I take you and your grandmother out to eat?”

  A forty-something brunette woman stuck her head out of the shop door. “Lainey? Mrs. Barker from the bed and breakfast up the street wants to place an order and she won’t talk to me.” She rolled her eyes. “Kookie old woman.” She looked at Dev and held out a hand. “Hi, I’m Serena.”

  Laine waved the hand that wasn’t in Dev’s towards Serena. “This is Dev. He’s my mate.”

  Serena’s mouth dropped open, her eyes widened then she clapped her hands together. “Oh my God. I’m so pleased to meet you.” She glanced back at Laine. “Has Grammy met him?”

  Laine shook his head. “Not yet. We were just discussing that. Go tell Mrs. Barker
that I’ll be right in.”

  Serena hesitated, gave Dev a wink and hustled back into the store.

  Laine sighed dramatically, but there was nothing but fondness in his expression. “That’s the trouble with working with women who’ve known me since I was two. I bet she puts Mrs. Barker on hold and calls Grammy.”

  Dev laughed and kissed Laine’s nose. “Go in and get to work. I’ll take you and your grammy to dinner tonight. Do you still have my cell number?”

  “Yup, I programmed it into mine first thing this morning.”

  “Good.” Not that he thought Laine would need him, but he would rather play it safe. Victor was definitely the vindictive type. “If anything comes up…if you need anything, call me. I’ve got a few business meetings, but I should be in the area all day. I’ll be done around three o’clock.”

  Laine nodded. “Okay. So, you’ll meet me here around three?” he asked hopefully.

  Dev winked. “Just try and stop me.” He gave Laine one last kiss and walked down to the real estate office to meet the realtor, smiling the whole way.

  Laine floated into Flower Lane grinning from ear to ear.

  Serena kissed his cheek and held out the phone as he stepped up to the front counter. “I want details, Lainey. And Grammy is on line two, after you’ve talked to Mrs. Barker.”

  “I knew you’d call Grammy. Told Dev you would.” Laine tried to snatch the phone but Serena scoffed and clutched it to her chest.

  “I did not!”

  Beth came from the back, the top of her blonde head peering over a huge flower arrangement that she placed on the counter. “Nope, I did. Lainey, honey, he’s handsome.” She turned the arrangement to face Laine and waggled her eyebrows. “Is he as good as he looks?”

  Laine shook his head, chuckling. Oh brother. “It looks nice, I like the daisies and the tulips together. And yes he is, not that that is any of your business.” Laine fluttered his eyelashes devilishly, and held out his hand for the phone.

  Serena mouthed the word “details” and handed it to him.

  Laine pushed the blinking button on the phone that had a number one above it, his gaze never wavering from his employees. “Hello, Mrs. Barker. Sorry to keep you waiting. What can I do for you?” Laine held up his hands, about a foot apart. Okay, it was an exaggeration—Dev was only about eight inches—but Serena and Beth were fun to tease, he couldn’t help it.

  Serena’s eyes got comically wide.

  Beth snickered and ran to the back.

  Laine heard her start talking excitedly and saw the orange blinking light—the one labeled two—on the phone go steady. He slapped his hand to his forehead. Great. Like he really wanted Grammy to know about the size of Dev’s— “Yes, Mrs. Barker. I can have that ready in two hours.” He quickly said his goodbyes and hit the line two button. “Hi, Grammy.”

  “Twelve inches? Good Lord, Lainey,” Grammy said, amusement heavy in her voice.

  Beth started cackling and hung up the phone. A few seconds later she popped her head around the doorjamb and stuck her tongue out.

  Laine stuck his out right back, giggling.

  “Lainey, tell me all about him. Do you like him, honey? Is he handsome? Does he have a job? What’s his name, dear?”

  He smiled so big his face hurt, just thinking about Dev. “Grammy, he’s gorgeous. Tall, dark and handsome. Real tall, he’s six-foot-six. His shoulders are sooo wide.” Laine shivered at the thought. “He owns his own construction company, Grammy. His name is Devlin and he’s from Texas. And he’s really nice. He rescued me from Victor and his goons.”

  Grammy groaned into the phone. “Lainey, what were you doing with Victor and those ruffians?”

  Laine’s excitement faded just a little. It was an old argument between he and Grammy. She couldn’t understand why he had anything to do with Victor. “Grammy, I can’t really avoid them. Victor is my Alpha, I sort of have to listen to him.”

  “Your grandfather would have never put up with that nonsense, and you shouldn’t either.”

  Laine sighed. “Grammy, I’m not as strong as Pappy was. But Dev is. He’s not going to let Victor pick on me anymore.” Maybe that would help.

  “Then I like him already. When do I get to meet this young man?”

  “How about tonight? Dev wants to take us to dinner so he can meet you.”

  “He sounds like a thoughtful young man. And of course I’d love to meet him, dear. What is his last name, again? You know I used to know some wolves in Texas, maybe—”

  His last name? Oh man. He had no idea what Dev’s last name was. How embarrassing. “Uh, Grammy, Texas is huge. You don’t know any of Dev’s kin. He’s from around Dallas. Everyone you know in Texas is from Beaumont.”

  “Well, I guess we’ll find out tonight. Where should I meet you?”

  “We can come pick you up around seven.”

  “Are you driving?” she asked hesitantly.

  “Grammy, I haven’t had a wreck in close to four months.”

  She scoffed.

  Laine sighed. “Dev will drive. We’ll pick you up.”

  “In that case, I’ll see you around seven. I love you, Lainey.”

  “Love you too, Grammy.”

  Laine managed to get one of Mrs. Barker’s arrangements done and was about to start on the other one, but he couldn’t hold out any longer. He had to call Dev. He put down his shears and floral tape and bounded to the wall phone by the door. He dialed Dev’s cell number, which he’d already memorized, and leaned against the wall next to the phone.

  “Hello?”

  Laine shivered at the smooth, sexy drawl. He could probably get off just listening to Dev talk. Hmmm? “Dev?” Laine asked hesitantly.

  “Yes, Lainey?” Dev sounded happy.

  Laine looped the coils in the cord around his finger, undid it and coiled it again. “Uh, this is going to sound really stupid, but what’s your last name?”

  “It’s Johns. What’s yours?”

  “Campbell.” Lord, that voice was sultry. Laine pushed away from the wall, turning to glance around the room. Maybe he could lock the door and have Dev talk dirty to him.

  “Lainey, I think I found a great place to build a house. I’ll take you to see it after dinner tonight.”

  Oh! Dev wanted him to see where he was going to build his home. “Sure. I’d love to see it.”

  “If you like it, we can put a bid on it and then start talking to architects. Be thinking about what you want in a house.”

  Laine twirled around, barely holding in a gleeful squeal. Dev wanted his help. “You mean you want me to help design it?”

  “It’s going to be your house too, Lainey.”

  Laine turned, doing a little happy dance. He didn’t even try to keep the giggle in this time.

  Dev chuckled. “What about your grandmother? Is she going to have dinner with us tonight?”

  “Yup. Grammy says dinner would be lovely. She’s really excited to meet you. That’s what got me thinking about your last name. Grammy wanted to know what it was. I felt like a real doofus not knowing. I mean it seems like something we should know, yeah? Hey, how’s your meeting going? Did you like the office building on the inside as much as you did the outside?”

  “I’m still looking, but so far so good. I think the office building is going to work, I just need to check out a few more things in it.”

  “Oh. Am I bugging you? Oof.” Laine was walking—okay spinning—around and the next thing he knew, he was smashed up against the wall by the phone. “Shoot.”

  “Lainey?”

  “Yeah, I’m here.” He looked down at the cord pulled tight across his chest. How had he managed to get tangled up this bad? He turned the other way and nearly fell on his butt. “Crap. Serena!”

  “Lainey, you aren’t bugging me, love. I like talking to you, but if you’re sure everything is fine, I should get back to the realtor.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I—I—yeah, I’ll um…crap.”

  “Laine, is somethi
ng wrong?”

  Laine heaved a sigh. He was going to sound like a goober telling Dev what he’d done. How did he get himself into these situations?

  Serena’s laughter interrupted any explanation he might offer.

  Laine frowned. “Stop laughing and help me, Serena.” Maybe if he shimmied out… Now, how had he managed to get the darn thing in a knot?

  “Lainey?”

  “Uh, I sort of got hung up in the phone cord.”

  “You, uh, don’t have a cordless?”

  “No, we have one of the old wall phones with the long cord in the back of the shop. I was sort of, er, twirling.” Laine flinched.

  “Twirling?” Dev whispered, humor evident in his tone. To give Dev credit, he held it in as long as he could—which was about five seconds—then he started cackling.

  Laine groaned. “It’s really not that funny, Dev.”

  “Yes it is funny. I’m never going to be bored am I, babe?”

  Chapter Five

  After putting a bid on the office building, Dev headed back to Flower Lane. He hadn’t had lunch and it was only two o’clock. Maybe he could talk Laine into leaving early and grabbing a bite to eat. Perhaps he could even take Laine to see the land, so they could make a bid on that too…if Laine liked it that was.

  Halfway there Dev’s phone rang. The caller ID read, Cole’s Cell. “Hey, buddy, what’s up?”

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Was Cole laughing?

  “Try me?”

  “I told Caroline that you found your mate, so we took the first flight out of DFW we could find—”

  “Whoa, wait a minute. Are you telling me you’re in Asheville?”

  “Yup. We caught a plane into Charlotte this morning then caught a flight to Asheville. We rented a car and—”

  Great. “Why?”

  “Why what? So that we’d have a way to get around—”

  Dev suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. He knew Cole was being obtuse on purpose. “Not that. Why are you coming to Asheville in the first place?”

  “Because Caroline and I want to meet your mate.”

  Dev couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. “Okay, where are you?”