by Donna Alward
“That’s good. All work and no play…”
She laughed a little and looked up at him from beneath her lashes.
“Look at you,” he said softly. “Your eyes are sparkly and your cheeks are pink. What are you thinking?”
“I’ve had the better part of two glasses of wine,” she answered. She really did have a crappy poker face.
“Wine,” he parroted, raising one eyebrow.
“Well, that and the company I’m in.” She held his gaze for a prolonged moment. “Oh listen, that reminds me. Can you come by the store tomorrow morning? I’ve put a few things aside for your mother and I thought perhaps you could run them out to her.”
“My mother?”
“Just some tomato plants and a few peppers she mentioned wanting when I was over before. If you can’t, it’s no biggie. I can run them out after work.”
“I work tomorrow afternoon, so it’ll be between nine and ten, I suppose.”
“That’d be great.” She licked her lips, sudden nerves jumbling around in her stomach. “Or … oh, never mind. That wouldn’t work.” Her shoulders slumped a little.
“What wouldn’t work?”
She didn’t answer so he nudged his foot against her leg. “Laurel?”
“I was going to say … you could just go in the morning … with me. If you, uh, wanted to stay over.”
The air between them seemed to crackle. All it had taken was the awkward invitation and the tension ramped up. “Stay with you.”
“Yeah. It’s okay if you would rather not. Especially if you have to work…” Damn, why had she asked him in the middle of the restaurant? The table next to them was empty, but the dining room certainly wasn’t.
“Oh, I want to,” he answered, and his voice was low and enticing. “I just didn’t think you’d ask.”
“I never thought about your suit, though,” she said, disappointed. Picking up garden items in an expensive suit was silly.
Not to mention the Walk of Shame he’d be doing in the morning. Now that idea made her perk up a bit. That cliché was usually reserved for women in heels and little black dresses with last night’s hairdo askew.
A rumpled Aiden in a wrinkled suit was much more alluring.
“Remember the night we painted? What did I tell you?”
She thought back, but couldn’t quite remember.
“I always keep a change of clothes in the truck,” he reminded her.
Right. Her face heated. This meant that when dinner was over, the night wasn’t.
“Laurel?”
The waiter picked that exact moment to return. “Is everything okay here? Will you be wanting to see a dessert menu this evening?”
No! Laurel wanted to scream. What she wanted—quite irrationally—was to pay the bill and get out of there right now. To drive back to her place and slide that tie out of its knot, get Aiden out of his clothes and …
God, she was turning into some sort of sex maniac. That was a new development.
But Aiden looked up at the waiter and smiled. “Yes, I think we would. We’re in no rush.”
When the waiter disappeared, Laurel lifted her gaze to his.
“We’ve got all night,” he said, holding her gaze steadily.
It was sweet torture, sitting through a shared serving of lemon cream tart, then lingering over Irish coffee. When they finally rose to leave, Aiden’s palm was warm against the hollow of her back. Having decided, and then put off leaving for over half an hour, had all her senses on alert, and even the smallest touch was magnified.
The drive home was quiet, but not awkward. Instead it was fueled by anticipation and a strange sort of certainty that felt good. Right. At home, he followed her inside, shutting and locking the door behind him. Laurel’s heels clicked on the hardwood floor as she took him by the hand and led him straight to the bedroom.
When they got there, he stopped and took both her hands in his. “Laurel. Are you sure this is what you want? Really sure?”
She lifted her chin. If she were being honest with herself, she couldn’t remember a time when she wanted anything more. This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment, heat-of-passion decision. They’d done that already. This was planned, verbalized, and at the point of being put into action and she had no reservations. Maybe she should, but she didn’t.
Instead she felt strong, confident, and hungry. This sort of sexual hunger had been a stranger for so long, and now she gloried in the feeling.
“I want you,” she said, emphasizing the last syllable.
He reached for the tie on her dress.
CHAPTER 14
Aiden watched as Laurel pulled a clean work shirt over her head. The red golf shirt was practical, but the shapeless fit hid the curves he’d now memorized.
The memorizing he’d done with his hands—a few times during the night.
He slipped on his jeans and buttoned them, the scent of her shower gel clinging to his skin. She was taking socks out of her drawer when he put his arms around her from behind. “I think you need to seriously redesign your work shirts.”
“You do? What’s wrong with them?”
Her damp hair pressed against his shoulder. “You need girl shirts. You know, ones that…” He opened his hands and made an hourglass motion in front of her.
“Wow. Sexist.” But he could tell she wasn’t offended and was teasing. She had that sideways grin happening.
“The twins have both waitressed from time to time. They swear their tips double on days they wear lower cut shirts.”
“Aiden!” She spun around. But that put her up against his bare chest and he found he didn’t mind. At all.
“Not too low,” he said, “because then three big brothers would have had a major issue. But it’s true. Imagine how many perennials you could sell.”
“Oh my God. Are you serious?”
She started to pull away but he roped her back in, nuzzling at her neck. “Listen, Tiger,” he said, trying hard not to laugh. “What I’m saying is … you’ve got a hot body. Not sure why you hide it most of the time.”
She looked up at him. “I never really thought about it. I guess … I never really felt that pretty. And Dan’s family was pretty conservative, and then at the accounting firm…”
“Right. Buttoned to the neck, skirts to the knee?”
She laughed. “Not quite that bad. But yeah. I guess I just thought … practical. My wardrobe has always been practical.”
He lifted his hand and cradled her jaw. “Last night you didn’t look practical. You looked beautiful. You have nothing to hide from, okay? I know coming home has had its challenges. You shouldn’t have to hide like you’ve done something wrong.”
She put her arms around his middle and held him close. “Thanks for that.”
“Anytime.” He drank in the scent of her hair. “Anyway, after living with lots of women in the house for many, many years, I’m smart enough to know that you should wear what makes you feel pretty and confident and comfortable and not to please anyone else. If you like the shirts, keep ’em.”
“You have wise sisters.”
“I do. But if you say that to them I’ll deny it to my dying breath.”
She laughed.
“What time do you have to be to work? It’s quarter to eight.”
“It is?” A look of alarm passed over her face. “I should be there already. And you haven’t eaten breakfast or anything. Shit.” She pulled out of his embrace and grabbed a hair band from the dresser, working frantically to pull her hair back and anchor it in her customary ponytail. He liked her hair better down, kissing her shoulders.
“Tell you what. You go to work and I’ll come along behind with some breakfast sandwiches and coffee.”
“Oh, that’d be awesome!” She looked so grateful he nearly laughed. “Can you grab an extra sandwich, do you think? Something lunch-ish?”
“I don’t see why not.”
“Thanks, Aiden.”
“You go. I’ll lock up and be
right behind you.”
“You’re a lifesaver!” She plopped a quick kiss on his cheek and dashed out of the bedroom. A few moments later she shouted out a good-bye and slammed the door.
He’d spent the night. He was locking up her place and going to pick up breakfast. This was damned domesticated, especially for him. The crazy thing was he liked it. He liked her. A lot. Last night when she’d said she wanted him …
But no “L” word had been spoken or even alluded to. He was smart enough to know that this was a lust period. It was just handy that they also seemed to like each other. Considering the withering looks she’d given him only a month ago, it was major progress.
Besides, despite her self-assuredness last night, he sensed a fragility in her that he had to be careful with. She wasn’t as confident in bed as she let on. It was in her tentative touches, her questioning looks. Almost as if to ask, “Is this okay?” or “Do you like this?”
Her past experience had to cast a lot of doubts her way.
Aiden went to the closet and grabbed a hanger, then hung his trousers, shirt, and jacket on it. He locked the door behind him, hung the suit on the hook in the backseat of his truck, and headed for the highway and the coffee shop drive-thru. By the time he bought sandwiches, coffee, and her extra sandwich she’d requested, it was past eight-thirty. Perfect time to stop by the garden center. Employees would be there but they wouldn’t be open for customers yet. Maybe they could actually sit and eat together.
Laurel’s car was parked next to another that he recognized as Jordan’s. The gate to the greenhouse area was still pulled closed, but unlocked, and the closed sign hadn’t yet been turned over. He pulled in beside her sedan and grabbed the paper bag of sandwiches and the tray holding coffee. He’d bought extra, thinking her employees might be around.
She’d seen him pull in, apparently, because she appeared at the gate and opened it a bit for him to enter. After he slid through, she closed it again. “That smells delicious,” she said. “I’m starving.”
“I bet you are,” he replied, looking down at her and speaking in a low, intimate voice. Her cheeks colored.
“You brought coffee for everyone?”
“I wasn’t sure who’d be here. There are cream and sugars in the bag.”
Her eyes twinkled up at him and she looked oddly excited about something as simple as a sandwich and coffee. “What?”
She shrugged. “Oh, nothing.”
Nothing his big toe. He watched as she took paper cups out of the drink tray, wondering what she was up to.
“Hey guys, come get a coffee!” she called out.
Jordan was over in seconds flat, looking for sugar and cream both and thanking Aiden for the beverage. A second employee he didn’t recognize hung back, looking uncertain. “Come on, there’s one for you too,” Aiden said, smiling. “You must be new. I’m Aiden.”
The guy came closer, and to Aiden he looked familiar. Where had he seen him before?
“George.” The guy held out his hand.
Aiden’s jaw dropped. He was aware of Laurel standing beside him, smiling, but he simply stared at the man in plain jeans, sneakers, and one of Laurel’s Ladybug golf shirts. His hat was gone and his hair was clean and freshly cut. And if Aiden didn’t know better, he’d say George was standing taller than he remembered.
“George,” Aiden said, and then clasped the offered hand. “Well, I’ll be damned. When … how…” He looked over at Laurel for a moment, then back at George.
“It’s been so busy that I hired George to work mornings, doing the watering and sweeping up and stuff. He’s been a huge help with deliveries, too. I’m happy to hand off most of the forklift work.”
George nodded. “I like being outside. And the flowers are…” He seemed to swallow thickly. “Nice.”
“Do you take cream and sugar, George?” Laurel asked, taking the lid off the fourth coffee cup.”
“Just cream, Ms. Stone.”
“You ever going to call me Laurel?”
“No, ma’am.”
She added cream to the coffee, gave it a stir with a stir stick, and handed it over. “Go ahead, take five or ten minutes to enjoy it. The lilacs can wait.”
He took the cup, nodded at Aiden, and went back to the shrubs and trees.
Laurel sighed. “He’s very quiet and shy. There’s a bench back there. He’ll sit there and have his coffee by himself. But I made him a deal that he doesn’t have to work with customers. I don’t want him to be overwhelmed, you know? And he’s loosening up bit by bit. I think he likes the plants and flowers.”
“Jesus, Laurel.” Aiden looked down at her, feeling like he’d been hit by a truck. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I thought about it. I wanted to. But then George is so private that I held off. When you mentioned new staff last night … it was so hard not to say he was here. But it’s also early days. He’s still easing his way in. I don’t know.” She shrugged. “He’s not a sideshow. He’s been through something, I can tell. And he’s so reliant on other people. I thought maybe he should own this one thing.”
In that moment, Aiden knew he was in real danger of falling for her. Like really falling, headfirst, no life preserver, all-in, in a go-big-or-go-home sort of way. She reached over and touched his hand. “Without you I wouldn’t have given him a second thought. After hearing you talk about him, I wanted to help, that’s all.” She took a sip of coffee as if it was no big deal. But it was a big deal to him. Huge.
“He always shut down when I talked about work or helping him find a job,” Aiden replied, still trying to reconcile the homeless, hopeless man with the one sipping coffee in a work uniform. The change was remarkable.
“No offense, Aiden, but I’m a girl.” This time her smile was wide and cheeky.
“You are? I hadn’t noticed.”
“Liar.” Her laugh filled the air. “Come on, let’s grab a couple of chairs and enjoy this before it gets cold and customers start arriving.”
They got folding chairs out of her office and sat in a corner of the greenhouse, surrounded by geraniums, begonias, and gerbera daisies. Aiden unwrapped his sandwich and took a huge bite. It had cooled on the drive but was still warm enough to enjoy, and they didn’t waste any time scarfing them down.
Laurel shoved her crumpled wrapper into the bag, then sat back and sighed. “That was good. Thanks.”
“Anytime.” Scary how much he meant that literally.
“So, the George thing. Maybe it was just easier coming from a woman, you know? Is there a man-code or something? Or some weird pride thing that gets in the way? You’d talked about him, I saw him in town, and I just thought maybe I could help.”
“He’s really working out okay?”
She nodded. “More than okay. He walks from the shelter each morning. I’ve offered to drive him home a couple of times, but he won’t accept it. Maybe it’s a pride thing again, or not wanting to be too reliant. Anyway, I know they feed him breakfast before he comes. And I always pay him before he leaves. It’s not much, and certainly not enough for him to be independent. I know that. But maybe … I dunno. Maybe it’s a start is all.”
“Everyone has to start somewhere.” He put his hand over hers and met her gaze. “Thank you,” he said simply. “I love that you did this.”
“The extra sandwich today is for him. I’ll give it to him before he leaves for lunch.”
Aiden wasn’t one for getting sentimental or overly emotional. But the woman beside him had such a good heart. Right now, as he shared a simple breakfast with her, he felt his heart expand and fill with a strange emotion. It wasn’t just happiness, or attraction, like last night. It was … fulfillment.
“You make me want to be a better person,” he murmured, twining his fingers with hers.
She smiled, a sweet, sweet smile that reached into his chest and wouldn’t let go. “Funny,” she replied, “I was going to say the same thing about you.”
“Maybe we bring out the best in ea
ch other.”
“Isn’t that a lovely thought?”
He hesitated. “Laurel, we’re really starting something here, aren’t we?”
She bit down on her lip. “I think so. And I’ll admit it scares me a little.”
“Because you don’t want to move too fast.”
She nodded.
“Me, either.” The last thing he wanted to do was scare her away, and it was crazy as hell that he was the one with all the feelings here and she was the one who needed … what, convincing? He was pretty sure she hadn’t even considered the word “love.”
And now he’d thought it. He’d actually let that “L” word loose in his brain and he couldn’t tuck it away again. His stomach slid to his feet while his heart felt lighter than it had in a long, long time. If this was what love felt like, holy hell. It wasn’t much wonder people got confused.
“I’m glad,” she was saying, and he wondered if he’d missed any of her words. “No commitments, no labels. We can just enjoy each other’s company, right?”
“Sure,” he agreed. Liar, said his brain.
She laughed a bit. “Okay, so I know I just said no labels, blah blah … but I do have a favor to ask.”
Anything, he wanted to say, but instead he asked, “What is it?”
“Dan’s wedding is next weekend. I’m setting up the morning of, and then the ceremony is at two. I can go by myself, but it’s … well, dammit. I’m honest enough to admit that when your ex gets remarried, it’s nice if you can at least have a date. I don’t want to look pathetic.” She sighed and dropped her head into her hands. “Oh, and that just made me pathetic, didn’t it?”
He smiled softly. He was actually glad to see she had a little pride where her marriage was concerned. Laurel tended to do what everyone asked but not necessarily what she wanted to do. He was pretty sure she wouldn’t have offered to help with the wedding if Dan hadn’t asked. If she wanted someone on her arm for the wedding, he’d make it happen.
“You want some arm candy.” He tried a teasing tone.
“Don’t make it sound like that! But yes.” Her cheeks were bright pink now. “That makes me so superficial, doesn’t it?”
