Page 49 of Sweet on You
I reached to scoop up the flowers, and she reached out, stopping me. “Careful… there are thorns on the roses.” I gingerly picked them up and grabbed the vase, too.
“Good call,” I said, saluting her with the vase. “Would have sucked if I’d shown up bloody for our first date.”
“Have a good night, Lex,” Faye said and waved as I headed to the door. “Tell Ronnie I say hey.”
I froze, not bothering to turn around. I knew she was silently snickering behind me.
* * *
I stoodin front of Ronnie’s front door, cradling the flowers in one arm. In the other hand, I held Frost’s leash. She sat at my feet, eyes wide, looking into the bushes, like she saw something delicious she wanted to chase. “Don’t even think about it,” I warned my cat. She yawned and sat, lifting a leg to clean herself.
“Lovely,” I muttered as I lifted a hand and rapped my knuckles against the door. Ronnie answered almost immediately—so quickly, in fact, I wondered if she had been waiting by the window. My eyes swept her body, finally landing on her bright blue eyes. She looked stunning. She was in jeans and a silvery top that showed her shoulders, even though it had bell-like sleeves. Her hair was down, the dark curls coiling around each other and falling just below her shoulders. And her skin held the lovely tint of a flush—almost like she had just finished a run and the blood was rushing to her face.
“Hey,” she smiled, but there was hesitancy behind it. I don’t know why she was so hesitant with me. She always had been. I could see her walls as clear as if they were a literal castle around her, blocking her from romance from the day I met her. But somehow, she and I always seemed to connect—despite these walls. Maybe it was one of the reasons I was so drawn to her. Because London had been such the opposite. Quick to jump in bed. Quick to say I love you. Quick to move in… well, mostly because she was living at the hostile. But that was beside the point. There was something about Ronnie’s reticence that I found alluring. Sexy, even.
But I also knew there was something lurking beneath that arm’s length she kept between us. A reason that I could see bobbing below the water’s surface beyond what she had told me at drinks last night. Whatever it was, I wanted to know. I wanted to know everything about her.
Her gaze dipped to the flowers in my hand, her brows lifting. “Are those for me? Or did you bring them for Penny?”
“They are certainly not for Penny,” I said and handed them over to Ronnie. “Careful, there are thorns.”
She leaned in, smiling and pressed her noses to the petals. “Lilacs?” she asked, turning to go into the house.
I followed her inside, tugging gently on Frost’s leash, and nodded. “And roses. Tudor roses, to be exact.”
She paused, looking over her shoulder. “Tudor roses… as in the Tudor period of England?”
I nodded. “You know your European history,” I said.
“More like I know my Jonathan Rhys Meyers,” she said, smiling. “I loved that TV show.”
“Ah, that explains it.” I shut the door behind me and noticed that Penny was up on his hind legs, front paws pressed into a gate that separated him from the front door.
“Hey buddy,” I said, walking over as Ronnie gracefully stepped over the gate into the kitchen. He completely ignored her, tail wagging, hopping up and down, alternating saying hi to me and saying hi to Frost.
I ran my hand over his head, brushing my thumb between his eyes.
Frost nimbly jumped over the partition into the kitchen as I dropped her leash and stepped over the gate myself.
“The purple lilacs are apparently the state flower—”
“Of New Hampshire,” she finished for me. “That’s right. I completely forgot.” She smiled, glancing down at the flowers once more. “That’s really sweet, Lex.”
I smiled, but also winced. “I hate to admit that it wasn’t my idea. Faye did a little prying and came up with the bouquet.”
Ronnie laughed and set them down on the counter. “Even still. They’re beautiful. Thank you.”
She opened up some cupboards and eventually pulled out a large plastic blue cup. “Hmm. I don’t have any vases… as you can imagine, I don’t get sent flowers all too often.”
I tugged my messenger bag open, which also held some of Frost’s food and necessities, and pulled out the narrow rectangle vase Faye had given me. “I’ve got you covered there, too.”
I handed her the vase and Ronnie put a hand to her hip, narrowing her eyes at me. “You implying I don’t get enough flowers to justify a vase, too?” Despite her accusing tone, her grin suggested a playfulness.
I put up my hands. “Blame Faye.”
“Oh, I will.” Ronnie winked and filled the vase with water before unwrapping the bouquet and placing the flowers inside.
“Wow,” she said, stepping back and admiring. “They are stunning.”
