Page 37 of One Night Valentine

I follow Lexi through the store to the office. She stops and glares at me, putting a hand on her hip. “What did you do to Tara?”

I hold both hands up. “Nothing, look, I’m here to fix it. If you’ll just tell me where she’s at.”

She starts tapping her foot. “Is she right? Was it a one-night stand?”

Fuck, am I really having this conversation with my sister? “Not for me it wasn’t. She had a blowup with her sister.”

“I heard. Bitch had it coming.”

I nod. “I agree, but Tara didn’t want to talk to me. She just wanted to be done, and I thought if I let her cool down, we could talk, but I’m going crazy here.”

I run my hand through my hair in frustration. Something must cause Lexi to take pity on me because she finally gives me something. “She’s out on deliveries. She wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be in the shop.” She blows out a breath. “She’s really upset.”

I let my head fall back and groan. I hate to think that Tara is upset and she’s out there alone. Lexi’s cell phone rings, and she pulls it from her apron. “It’s Tara.”

I huddle close to my sister, just wanting to hear Tara’s voice.

My sister pushes me away. “Oh no… where are you?”

“What is it?” I ask as my sister kicks me in the shin.

All I can hear is Lexi’s side of the conversation. “Oh, sorry, no it’s just busy in here. Tell me where you are, and I’ll send reinforcements.”

Another pause. “It’s okay. Don’t worry, everything is going to get delivered. Sit tight.”

She hangs up the phone and starts pushing me from the room. As we walk through the store and outside, I stop next to my SUV. “Where is she?”

She looks back at the full shop and then back at me. “The van broke down. You could fit most of the flowers in your SUV, but you may have to make a few trips to restock.”

“It’s fine. Where is she?”

I get into the driver's seat, but she still doesn’t tell me. “Bub, she’s my best friend. Please don’t make me regret this.”

“I promise you won’t… now where is she?”

She points toward the north side of town. “Out by the distillery. She’s parked on the side of the road. She’s going to be stubborn.”

I laugh. “Oh, I’m sure of it.”

She leans in and kisses my cheek. “Be safe.”

As soon as Lexi clears the car, I take off driving too fast through town. I feel like I don’t take a breath the ten minutes ittakes me to get to her, but when I see her pacing beside the van and I know she’s okay, I can finally breathe easily.

I pull up behind her, and she’s staring at me in shock. “What are you doing here?”

I open the back of her van, hoping that she’s not going to refuse my help. “Do you want me to just load everything in my car?”

“Did Lexi call and ask you to come here?”

I shake my head and pick up a box holding flowers. It’s either that or I’m going to take her in my arms. “No, I was at the shop looking for you when you called.”

She groans and throws her head back. “Oh my God, I bet you wish you never met me.”

I lean toward her and look into her eyes. “And you would lose that bet.”

I walk away and put the box into my trunk. When I go back to the van, she’s picking up more flowers. She’s all business as we move back and forth, stacking her deliveries into my SUV. When I close the doors, I hold out the keys to her. “Do you want to drive?”

She blinks, surprised. “You’d let me drive your car?”

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