Page 67 of 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Forty-Seven

Silence.

Avery waited him out. He cleared his throat and finally spoke. “I’m beginning to see this town is stubborn regarding change.”

Avery gave a half laugh. “Fair assessment. We also love Christmas around here, so anyone who wants to take that away, we get suspicious of.”

Jameson seemed to consider her words rather than wave them off. “Understood. May I point out, that there is an underserved population of people who don’t find the holiday as satisfying. I thought by giving them a place that’s more neutral, they won’t be drowning in sentiments of how theyshouldfeel. They can just be who they want and eat really good food.”

Devon stared at him in surprise. It was the first real statement that gave her a hint of the man he was beneath the surface polish. Her insides warmed when she realized maybe there was a very good reason Jameson didn’t like Christmas. One he wasn’t about to share with a stranger.

Avery must’ve reached the same conclusion. “Good point.” An understanding passed between them and the air dissolved of tension. Avery gave Bear a few loving pats and moved toward the door. “Thanks for helping with Bear. I’ll make sure everyone knows about it. Nice to meet you.”

With those cryptic words, she left.

Jameson arched a brow. “Was that code for something I missed?”

“Yep. She’s going to let the town know you’re not the bad guy. You were getting a terrible reputation, but Bear will give you a second chance.”

His jaw firmed. “Hell, no. You need to take him back, Devon. I have too much going on to babysit an overgrown baby. He ruined Mac’s house.”

She winced. “What did he do?”

“What didn’t he do? Chewed up the furniture, the curtains, overturned the garbage. He did everything.”

“Wait—how long did you leave him alone?”

“About six hours. I came back before dinner shift to check on him. It was a nightmare.”

She blew out a breath. “He can’t handle being by himself for so long. Why didn’t you bring him to Vintage?”

He made a low growl in his throat that was way too sexy. She wondered what type of sounds he made when he was turned on, then felt her face turn red at the thought. “I did,” he grit out. “But one of the customers brought in her dog and Bear made a scene. Abigscene. It was humiliating.”

Devon stood up from the floor and brushed off her pants. “What happened?”

“It was a damn Chihuahua. A tiny little thing in a pink collar who was well behaved. The owner had her in a purse, and when she took her out, Bear spotted her. He went apeshit. Started howling and barking, rolling around in the grass as if he was being tortured. And the dog wasn’t even near him! The entire restaurant came out to look and stare, and tried to offer help. I told them to ignore him and suddenly I was the bad guy being mean to my overgrown baby dog. I had to move the Chihuahua to the other room and gave them dessert on the house.”

She tried hard, she really did, but a giggle escaped her lips. “A Chihuahua?”

He glowered. “Yes. I cannot deal with this anymore. You need to take him, at least during the day.”

“You want to share custody?”

“No, I want you to have full custody of the beast, but I lost the bet. So, yeah, I’ll take him after the dinner shift. Is that acceptable?”

She grinned, tipping her head back. “Well, the shop is small but I can put a bed by the storage so he can still see me. I guess I can live with that.”

“Thank God.” His muscles relaxed and he glanced around. “This is a great space. It’s very…happy.”

Her grin widened. “I know that’s a compliment but you sound unsure.”

He smiled back. “Sorry, there’s nothing wrong with happy.” Jameson moved around the counter to investigate the tables and shelves displaying various bouquets. The refrigerated section held double doors of clear glass where customers could gaze at individual blooms along with curated arrangements of different sizes. Multiple ones were tagged for delivery or pick up. Foiled balloons clustered in a giant bubble in the corner streaming with gaily colored ribbons. She’d set up some small Christmas trees decorated with ornaments and shimmering with tinsel. Holiday music streamed from the speakers, and filled the space with warm cheer. She enjoyed the way he poked and prodded through her displays, and made low murmurs of approval under his breath.

Devon studied him amidst the cheerful flowers. Why did he attract her so much? Was it the mystery of him, the longing to uncover secrets females couldn’t resist? His male scent rose and mingled with balsam and roses. She sniffed a bit deeper, liking the mix. “What do you think?”

“I think I was wrong about you, flower girl. There’s an organization beneath the happy surface. I didn’t realize you managed multiple weddings here and that in the summer you do two or three per weekend.”

She cocked her head. “How’d you find that out?”

“Your website. Also, the Yelp reviews are insane. You average five stars at a high rate of customers. I saw some of the pics at that Dr. Seuss type wedding—those flowers looked like they came right from the books with those puffy type heads.”

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