Page 12 of Roses for Rosie

Suddenly she isn’t laughing anymore. Instead, she is staring up into my face, desire and terror pulling at her expression. I’m only inches away from her. I could bend down and kiss her right now. I want more than anything to do just that.

But I don’t want to scare her away when I’ve barely begun to win her trust. She’s frozen like a rabbit in my headlights now, but she looks like she might bolt any second now. I gently take the bouquet of flowers from her arms, plucking one from the bunch before I set the rest down on one of the piles of books.

She stares at me, wide eyed and silent, while I bring the rose to my nose and inhale. She relaxes infinitesimally, sensing I’m not going to pounce on her. There won’t be any rushing things today, there will only be sweet slow seduction and the rose will be my ally.

The velvety soft petals draw goosebumps on her arm as I allow the tip of the rose to graze her skin from her fingertips up to her shoulder. Her eyes flutter closed, and she takes tiny little inhales like she is afraid she’ll blow the moment away with a deeper breath.

The sensitive skin of her neck is exactly where I want to be. The petals of the rose skim her milky shoulder and flirt with her collarbone. She arches her back, exposing herself to me and asking for more. I am happy to oblige.

As the rose moves up her throat, her lips part in a tiny O. I am entranced by her immersion in the moment. The skittish rabbit of a moment ago has relaxed and surrendered under my attention. A gentle touch is all she needs, I think.

The rose crests her jaw and sweeps up to caress her lips. The brush of the petals is soft and elicits a low moan from her. Her lips are begging me to kiss them, but I wait, teasing her with the rose, brushing it back toward her ear and then over her lips again. She leans in toward me, reaching out a hand and placing it on my chest.

I wonder if she can feel my heart thudding under her touch. I see her pulse flutter in her neck and am assured that she is as turned on as I am. My free hand circles behind her, pulling her toward me, molding her body to mine. She melts under my touch.

I lower my mouth to hers, dropping the rose on the floor to free my hand to tangle in her hair. Our lips barely brush each other in a tender kiss. It’s electric, like no kiss I have experienced before. Pulses of fire spread from my lips and into my core. I pull back, stunned by my own response.

Rosie’s eyes are liquid pools of desire as she gazes up at me. She is as overcome as I am.

As I lean back toward her for another kiss, the bell over the front door rings followed by a muffled voice. Rosie springs away from me, raising a hand to cover her mouth.

“I shouldn’t have,” she starts, looking terrified. “I have to go.”

She darts for the door, leaving me standing in the storeroom surrounded by books and my own confusion.

Chapter 7

Rosie

I can’t believe I just did that! I just practically made out with Adam Smythe in the storeroom of Nooks and Books. This is wrong on so many levels. So many, many levels.

He is totally off limits. Event planners at bookstores do not have affairs with authors. I am supposed to be a professional. Representing Nooks and Books is the best job I have ever had. I love my co-workers. Vivian is a dream of a boss. I get to spend my days surrounded by books. I talk to other readers all day. My work life is heaven! I am not about to blow it up over a little crush on some guy.

I don’t care how hot the steamy scenes in his books are. His handsome face and the body under that tailor-made suit are irrelevant. A few dozen roses and a little seduction act are not nearly enough for me to abandon everything I have worked so hard for.

Vivian would be appalled if she knew what just happened. I picture the look on her face at our book club meeting when I shared the debacle of a phone call with everyone. She looked disappointed – no, that’s not strong enough – horrified. She would fire me for sure if she found out that I just made out with an author, especially after my promises to do an extra fantastic job on this event after I almost torpedoed the whole thing before it even got started.

What am I going to do if she lets me go? My life is over. I can’t tell my father that I lost my job. Or the reason I was fired. He would totally lose it and go on a three-day bender. Who knows how much damage he would cause? How am I going to put food on the table?

My face burns just remembering my wanton abandon. I think I even moaned when he ran that damn rose over my lips. The humiliation of this moment will haunt me for the rest of my life. I thought I was embarrassed after the sex worker act I put on when he called the shop for the first time. That shame is nothing compared to this.

He is going to walk out of that storeroom any minute now. How am I going to face him? Maybe I’ll just burrow my way under a pile of books and hide. I can fake a migraine. I can say Sammy got sick and I had to rush him to the vet. Sneaking out the back door and pretending I forgot I was scheduled for work today might work. I can just pretend that I thought the event was tomorrow.

The event is all set up already, but I could say I was just working ahead. They don’t really need me for tonight. Everything is so well organized that Vivian could absolutely pull it off by herself. This might work. I just need to escape before Vivian sees me.

I listen intently for a moment. I know she came in the front door, I heard the bell ring. “Rosie”, I hear her voice from the direction of the children’s department. Good, she doesn’t know where I am and there is a clear path to the back door.

I grab my coat and tiptoe toward the exit, holding my breath and hoping I don’t step on a squeaky floorboard.

I have one hand on the doorknob when Adam’s voice rings out behind me loud enough to wake the dead, with zero possibility of not alerting Vivian to my location. I sigh deeply and shrink into myself, turning to face my undoing.

“Rosie,” he calls. “Are you all right?”

“Just stepping out for a breath of fresh air,” I mumble. “I’ll be back for the event tonight. You should go check into your hotel.”

“I was planning to stay here for the afternoon, get to know you a little better. Since you found such a great place to store my bag, there really isn’t any reason for me to leave.” He reaches out toward me and I flinch away. The last thing I need is for Vivian to find us together in a compromising position.

“Rosie, there you are. Oh, hello. Mr. Smythe, I presume,” Vivian greets us both.

---