Page 13 of Roses for Rosie

“Mr. Smythe, this is my boss, Vivian. Vivian, Adam Smythe.”

“It’s so nice to finally meet the man behind the best seller!”

“The pleasure is all mine,” he replies, reaching out to shake her hand.

I notice that he doesn’t pull her fingers to his lips. He doesn’t turn on the charm offensive for her. It’s only me he’s out to humiliate then. Great.

“Mr. Smythe was just leaving to go check into his hotel,” I interrupt, pleading with him with my eyes to go along with my story.

He relents and nods. “I’ll just go freshen up and see you ladies back here at six.”

“That would be perfect. Our readers are looking forward to meeting you,” Vivian says as she walks with him toward the front door. Their voices fade away, but the drumming of my heart still thumps in my ears.

How am I going to make it through tonight? How?

I feel myself starting to panic. My breath comes in tiny little bursts and I break out in a cold sweat. No, no, no. This can’t be happening.

I take a deep breath and then another. In through my nose and out through my mouth, just like my yoga teacher taught me. There’s nothing to fear right now, Rosie, I tell myself. You are OK, right here, right now.

I am just beginning to regain control over myself when Vivian reappears.

“Isn’t Adam a delight? What a gentleman! The readers are going to eat him up,” she gushes. “What were the two of you doing back here? It’s certainly not the guest parlor of the place.” She looks around and wrinkles her nose at the mess.

I glance through the storeroom door and see the bouquet of roses still laying on a pile of books in plain view. I grab the door and quickly pull it closed behind me before Vivian sees them. That would be difficult to explain!

“Oh, that, um…” I scramble for a reasonable explanation.

“You weren’t making out with our number one best seller in the storeroom, were you?” she asks with a laugh. “I know what a crush you have on him.”

My jaw drops. She knows. How does she know? Did Adam tell her? Why would he do a thing like that? I open my mouth, but no response comes out.

“The idea isn’t that absurd, Rosie,” she laughs again. “I know you don’t date because of your father and everything, but you are a lovely, smart, fun young woman and he is a very available gentleman. Stranger things have happened.”

She’s joking. Adam didn’t tell her. My life is not over. I can recover from this.

“Ha, ha. Very funny. Adam Smythe and me. No way.”

“I don’t know. I think I saw a little glimmer in his eye as we were walking out. I swear he looked back over his shoulder at you before we turned the corner.”

“I am here to plan this event and make sure it goes off without a hitch, Vivian. That is all. I swear it.”

“I have no doubt that the event will be flawless, as always. I do wish you could have a little fun once in a while though. You work so hard here and at home. You deserve a little fling. Maybe not with my best-selling author though.” She laughs again.

“I’m OK. I don’t need a romance, at least not one that happens outside the pages of a book. It really wouldn’t be worth it.” I glance in the direction of my house, wondering what my father is up to. Hopefully he’s still asleep. He can’t cause any trouble while he’s sleeping.

Vivian gives me a hug and starts down the hall at the back of the store. “I’ll just be back in my office if you need anything.”

As soon as she shuts the door, I dart into the storeroom, grab the obscenely large bouquet of flowers and carry them out the door. I give the roses one last deep inhale, reveling in the luxurious aroma and then stash them in my car and cover them with an old blanket I keep in the trunk.

Thank goodness I drove to work today. The shop is only a few blocks from my house so I usually walk to work, but I like to drive when we have nighttime events. Jamesville is about as safe as a town can get, but it’s still not a great idea for a single woman to walk around alone at night.

I straighten up and turn back toward the bookstore, steeling myself for the rest of the day. There’s no escaping now. Vivian knows I am here and Adam is here and that I obviously know that the event is tonight. I’m just going to have to put on my big girl panties and get through it.

Calm and cool. That’s my plan. I will be the professional ice queen. He can be as suave and chivalrous as he wants, but he won’t crack my defenses. I’ll treat him like I would any other author. It’s just one night. Once I get through this event, I’ll never have to see Adam Smythe again.

I expect to feel a little lift in my spirits at that thought. It should be a freeing thought, a relief. Instead, longing settles deep in my stomach. A memory of his lips on mine dances through my mind. I see his ice blue eyes staring into mine, looking at me like I’m special.

Kissing Adam was amazing actually. I can see that now that I stop to take a moment to process what happened, to think about the moment itself and not just the disastrous implications following up on it would have on the rest of my life.

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