Burned (Cunningham Security Book 5)

by A. K. Evans

  While I wasn’t in a position to hire someone on a full-time basis, nor was that something I was interested in doing anyway, I did have to admit that it would have been a good idea to hire some seasonal help. At this point, I knew I’d be fine on my own until it got closer to Christmas. Even though I hadn’t been super busy this past Christmas, I had to take into consideration that I was still very new at that point. Given that it would be more than a year by the time the next one rolled around, I knew it’d be smart to have some extra help. I figured someone would be happy to work some part-time hours at that time of year for an extra bit of gift money. Then, I’d keep them on through Valentine’s Day. Assuming it worked out and they were interested, I’d ask them back for the Easter and Mother’s Day rush as well.

  I also had requests from more than enough people for delivery. It hadn’t ever been a thought in my mind, but with the number of people who had inquired about it, I knew I couldn’t ignore it. There was definitely a possibility of having a delivery driver in my future as well.

  Even still, I had time before I really needed to think about all of it.

  Noting the time and realizing I’d had a long exhausting day, I started my closing routine. I moved flowers to the coolers and cleaned up remnants of last-minute arrangements I’d made for walk-ins. I hadn’t gotten through a fraction of it when my cell phone rang.

  I saw the name of the caller on the display, half expecting I was going to receive the call, and answered, “Hey, Mom.”

  “Hi, Zara. How are you?”

  “Okay,” I began. “I’m just about finished with work today.”

  “I wanted to call and thank you for the flowers you sent. They arrived a little while ago,” she explained.

  Even though our relationship had deteriorated over the last two years, it didn’t mean that I didn’t still love my mom and appreciate her for everything she had done for me.

  “I’m so glad they made it on time. Was everything intact when they arrived?”

  “Yes. And they’re beautiful. Thank you for sending them.”

  It was nice to hear that compliment. My mom had mixed feelings about my flower shop. She always knew that I wasn’t happy at my former job, so she supported my desire to change careers. When that change resulted in me moving so far away, I think she needed to find something to blame. The flower shop was the easiest thing because if we sat down and looked at the real reason, we’d all end up needing to go to a place that none of us wanted to revisit.

  “You’re welcome. Happy Mother’s Day.”

  “Thanks, Zara.”

  We sat in silence for several long seconds. This happened quite often. We both knew it; we both felt it, but neither one of us did anything to change it. I wasn’t sure either of us knew how to fix it. To be honest, I spent a good deal of time wondering if we’d gotten to a place that was beyond repair.

  “How’s everything there?” I finally asked.

  “Okay. There was a bit of drama at church last weekend,” she shared.

  My mom was a regular churchgoer. When we were younger, she saw to it that we all went to church together every weekend.

  “Oh no. What happened?”

  She launched in and told me about the latest gossip. When she finished a few minutes later, we were back to silence.

  I hated this.

  I hated that this was what we’d become.

  But I didn’t know how to change it.

  My mother was also likely experiencing a similar reaction. It was hard not to notice that we’d gone from talking to each other at least once a day, if not several times, over the phone to barely being able to have a five-minute conversation once every few weeks.

  “Well, I know you’re busy. I don’t want to keep you. I just wanted to reach out to say thank you for the flowers and to let you know that I think they’re beautiful.”

  “You’re welcome,” I repeated my same sentiment from only minutes before. “I hope you have a good day tomorrow.”

  “Thank you, Zara. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Okay.”

  “Love you,” she said.

  “I love you, too,” I returned.

  I disconnected the call with my mom and let out a sigh.

  That was brutal. Tomorrow was Mother’s Day, my mom and I hadn’t spoken to each other beyond text messages in more than a month, and we couldn’t find anything to say to each other.

  What a disaster.

  A disaster that I couldn’t manage.

  So I didn’t.

  I pushed it back and buried it so deep I hoped it’d never resurface.

  I’d only barely managed to do that when I heard the bell chime.

  Glancing toward the door, I saw Pierce striding toward me with a smile on his face. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw him.

  Man, did it feel good to see him.

  “Hey, beautiful, how’d it go this week?” he asked.

  “I am so grateful for all of the bounty I received this week, but I’m thrilled it is finally over. I’m beat,” I confessed.

  A look of concern washed over his face. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes,” I assured him. “I’m just really tired. Tired and hungry. I had customers in here all day up until about five minutes ago, so I didn’t even have a chance to eat today either.”

  “Do you have plans for tonight?”

  “Yep,” I began. “I’m planning to climb the stairs up to my loft, where I’m going to sit my butt down on the couch and watch television until it’s time for bed.”

  Pierce laughed and wondered, “What about dinner? Since you haven’t had anything to eat, and I haven’t eaten since lunch, would you like to have an early dinner with me?”

  My shoulders fell. “As much as I’d really love to do that, Pierce, I’m not sure I’m up to it tonight. I’m not joking. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this tired before in my life.”

  He gave me a look of understanding and suggested, “It’d make me happy to know you’ve at least had something to eat. If you want, I’m more than willing to run down to Tasha’s to get something. We could eat here so you don’t have to go out.”

  That was incredibly generous of him.

  And I was hungry.

  Grinning at him, I agreed, “I’d love that if you really don’t mind.”

  “Not at all. Do you have something specific you’d like to eat?”

  “I’ve been meaning to try her chicken salad croissant sandwich,” I shared.

  “Her sandwiches come with chips or a salad,” he returned.

  “Caesar salad.”

  He gave me a nod and said, “I’ll be back.”

  Before I had a chance to reply, he had turned and was already out the door.

  As badly as I wanted to sit down and relax, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get up once I did. Considering I still had some work to do to properly close down the shop, I got to work on that.

  By the time I finished getting everything picked up, thrown out, or put away, Pierce walked back through the door. I walked over to it, locked it, and flipped the sign in the window to closed.

  “Do you have a break room?” Pierce asked, holding the bag with the food up in the air.

  “Oh, um, well, I was just thinking we could go up to my place to eat. I’m not sure I’ll be able to stand again after I’ve sat down, so I figure it’s best if I’m somewhere that I won’t have to.”

  Pierce just stared at me. He did it for such a long time that I began to wonder if perhaps inviting him up to my loft was the wrong thing to do.

  Finally, he spoke and instructed, “Lead the way.”

  “Sure, but first, let me grab some money for the food.”

  “Don’t even think about it,” he ordered before I could even take a step in the opposite direction.

  I jerked my head back. “What?”

  “I’ve got it covered.”

  “Pierce, you don’t have to—” I said before he cut me off.

  “I said I’ve
got it covered, beautiful.” His words were firm, but his voice was gentle.

  I shifted on my feet, nervous and unconfident. The things he said to me made me feel things I knew I shouldn’t be feeling. Not for someone like him, someone who was so incredibly handsome he deserved someone just as beautiful.

  “Let me get your flowers first. I’ll put them in my refrigerator upstairs,” I said, ignoring my negative thoughts.

  With that, I turned and walked to the cooler, got the flowers, and returned to where I’d left Pierce waiting. When he saw the bouquets, he marveled, “Wow. Those look amazing.”

  I gave him the biggest smile I could remember ever giving anyone before I replied, “Thank you. I hope they’re well received.”

  Pierce stumbled backward, but quickly caught himself.

  “Are you alright?” I asked.

  “Sorry if this is too forward, but I’ve got to say this. You’re beautiful, Zara; I’m sure I’ve made that abundantly clear already. But when you smile like that, you’re beyond gorgeous.”

  The warmth spread through my body and the flush hit my face. I could feel it, but obviously had no way to stop it.

  “And you’re incredibly cute when you get shy,” he added in.

  I swallowed and ordered on a whisper, “You have to stop now.”

  Pierce grinned at me but thankfully stopped.

  Fifteen minutes later, we were sitting on opposite ends of the couch in front of the television. Pierce had met Callie, who took to him immediately, and we were now eating our early dinner. I was surprised at how comfortable I felt having him there with me.

  We’d gotten through a handful of bites when he decided to speak first. “So, what did you do with your flower shop back in Pennsylvania when you moved?” he asked.

  “I didn’t have a flower shop there,” I shared.

  His brows pulled together in confusion. “Sorry?”

  Shaking my head, I explained, “I worked in the insurance and financial services industry for more than ten years. It paid great; the people were wonderful, but the job just wasn’t my thing. Still, I stuck with it. When things changed for me and I moved out here, I decided I was going to do something that would make me feel fulfilled.”

  Pierce’s eyes widened as he stared at me. “Did you ever have a job working with flowers or was it something you did as a hobby?”

  I simply shook my head and remained silent.

  A look of disbelief washed over him. “So you’re telling me that you just decided you wanted to open a floral shop, even though you’d never worked in the industry a day in your life, and less than a year later, you’re this successful?”

  Again, I stayed silent, but this time I shrugged my shoulders.

  “Zara, do you realize just how talented you are? I know virtually nothing about flowers, but I know what I see when I look at something. The first day I walked into your shop I could see that you had an eye for what you did. I thought it was something you’d perfected the art of over many years.”

  Wow. That felt really good to hear. So good that I felt a lump forming in my throat. “Thank you,” I croaked.

  “Why did you pick flowers?” he asked.

  I held his eyes for a few moments before I said softly, “They’re beautiful. I’m not sure you could look at a flower and not find something lovely about it, whether it be the shape, the color, or the fragrance. I just knew when I decided to leave my old job that I wanted to do something where I’d be surrounded by something pretty all the time. Plus, being able to see someone, especially a man, come in to purchase a specially-designed bouquet for the woman he loves melts my heart.”

  Pierce didn’t respond. He seemed to think for a minute about what I said, but ultimately, accepted it before the two of us got back to our food.

  My mind had a million thoughts running through it. But of all the things I was thinking about, most of which were related to Pierce, the one thing I couldn’t stop thinking about was just how great of a guy he seemed to be. I didn’t know if it was just that we were in a very early stage of our friendship and he was just trying to make a good impression or if he was genuinely this nice. I tried not to dwell on it too much. The two of us ate in silence and I took the time to get a handle on the gamut of emotions I was experiencing.

  When I’d successfully done that, I declared, “I’m thinking that I need to hire a seasonal employee.”

  “That probably wouldn’t be a bad idea,” he agreed.

  “I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to handle the load on my own now until Christmas gets close. Hopefully I won’t have any trouble trying to find anyone, though.”

  Pierce shrugged it off and insisted, “People are looking for part-time or temporary work all the time. If you need it for the holidays, you won’t have any trouble. Worst case, Alex would be happy to help you out.”

  “Your sister?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Oh. She doesn’t work?”

  Pierce shook his head. “No. She went to school, got her degree in accounting, and worked in the field for a while. A few years after she got married, she realized she was unhappy. Her husband is a doctor, makes great money, and loves her. He didn’t like seeing her like that, so he told her to quit her job and find something that would make her happy. Ever since, she hasn’t gotten an official job, but she makes it a point to volunteer at at least two different places every year. That seems to be bringing her joy. Or, at least, it was until she had Theo. Now her days start and end with him and she loves being a mom.”

  She sounded a lot like me. Well, the part about not being happy in a job and deciding to do something about it. Not the being married to a doctor, getting pregnant, and having a child part.

  After flashing Pierce a smile, I set my empty plate on the coffee table.

  “Thanks for getting food,” I started. “I’m not sure I would have made food for myself after the week I’ve had.”

  He gave me a sly grin and admitted, “In all honesty, I’m liking that I’ve now had two opportunities to get to know you better and we haven’t even officially gone on our date.”

  I laughed and joked, “Well, now that you know more about me, are you sure you still want to go on that date?”

  His eyes burned into mine when he replied, “Absolutely.”

  I bit my lip to stop myself from letting out a moan at the gorgeous look on his face, the look that was directed at me. Pierce’s eyes dropped to my mouth. I stopped biting my lip.

  He cleared his throat and asked, “Alright, so now that the busy week is done, what do your days look like?”

  “I’m actually planning to make a couple of changes to my routine,” I began, situating myself on the couch so my back was against the armrest and my heels were pressing into the middle cushion of the couch. “I want to start getting up early so I can exercise before work. I’m planning to go hiking in the mornings, and I want to take a couple of yoga classes at Leni’s studio.”

  “Who?”

  “Leni. Her name is Lennox, but she prefers to be called Leni. Her yoga studio is two doors down from my shop. She gave me her schedule last week, so I am going to stop in and try a class. I like being active, so I figure I’ll like it and continue.”

  The sly grin Pierce had only moments ago reappeared. “Blaze and I go hiking every morning,” he shared. “You’re more than welcome to join us.”

  “You do?”

  “He’s a husky, Zara. He needs regular, vigorous exercise or he’ll destroy my place. We typically go in the mornings, but especially do now because the warmer it gets outside, the more difficult it is for him. July and August are the worst months for him.”

  I blinked my eyes slowly and stared at him.

  When I didn’t reply, he asked, “What do you think? Do you want to go with us?”

  My lips parted, closed, and parted again. Somehow, I managed to find my voice, and I asked, “Um, well, are you sure?”

  Pierce cocked an eyebrow at me. “Is that a serious question?”<
br />
  “It was, but I guess your response answers said question.”

  He let out a sound of disbelief as he shook his head. “I can’t imagine why you’d think I wouldn’t want you to come with me.”

  He had no idea.

  And I wasn’t going to tell him.

  Instead, I simply asked, “What time should I meet you and where?”

  “What time were you planning to head out?”

  “I have to give Callie her breakfast by seven on the nose or she gets angry,” I shared. “My plan was to head out after she was taken care of.”

  Pierce grinned. “Blaze and I will pick you up at seven-thirty tomorrow morning.”

  My eyes rounded. “But it’s Mother’s Day tomorrow,” I reminded him.

  “Blaze doesn’t care. If I don’t get him out, he’ll tear apart my place,” Pierce explained through a chuckle. “Besides, Alex spends most of her night awake with Theo, so she’d shoot me if I stopped by that early. Mom isn’t expecting me until later in the day.”

  “Okay,” I agreed. “Tomorrow morning at seven thirty.”

  At that, Pierce reached over and wrapped his hand around my sock-covered foot. He gave me a squeeze before turning his attention to the television.

  It took everything in me to not crawl across the couch and cuddle into him. Minutes after he’d squeezed my foot, I could still feel his touch lingering. Before I could get too consumed by my own thoughts, the exhaustion from the week caught up to me and I closed my eyes.

  When Callie’s purring woke me the next morning, I found myself tucked tightly, warm in my bed.

  And I knew that Pierce had carried me there.

  “Please send me all the good vibes you’ve got,” Gwen pleaded with me.

  “Good vibes are coming your way,” I assured her. “Can you tell me why I’m sending them?”

  “I’m having Jason’s sperm turkey basted into my uterus this morning.”

  I choked back a laugh and asked, “What?”