Page 14 of Silver Sanctuary
“Have you seen the price of those things? I’d rather make sure I can pay you back for Embrie’s gear.”
“You’re not paying for her gear.” His tone was sharp. Clearly, there was no room for arguing any more.
“I didn’t mean to make you mad. I just don’t want you to think I expect a handout,” she confessed.
“Why would I think that?”
“Doesn’t everyone think that about me? Isn’t that why no one helped me before?”
He stood, eyes moving back and forth between hers again, as if he could pull out every story she buried deep inside her while standing out on the sidewalk.
“I’m not letting that go—I hope you know that. Because the woman standing in front of me? The woman I’m so obsessedover that my friends have been calling meMr. Botanicalbecause I keep buying flowers…flowers, Lace…. That woman? She deserves the fucking world. I don’t know the whole story, and it’s yours to tell me when you feel comfortable, but I want to know it. I want to know so I can prove to you that all those people who never stepped up for you were wrong. So fucking wrong.”
“I don’t know what to say,” she admitted.
He smiled. “You don’t have to say anything. Just… Friday night, yeah?”
“Yeah. Friday night.”
Five
There had never been a longer week in his fucking life. On top of waiting for Friday night to finally roll around for his plans with Lacy and Embrie, work had kicked his ass every single day.
But now that Friday was here, and he was standing inside Petals getting ready to surprise his girls, yeah, all that stress just melted away.
“Excuse me, miss?” Embrie laughed as Nash held out his hand. “I’m wondering if you can help me convince your mother to join me for dinner tonight.”
“You don’t need my help! She was fussing over her outfit this morning before she drove me to school?—”
“Embrie!” Lacy turned the most delicious shade of pink as she walked out from behind the counter, laying her apron down before she smoothed her hands over her dress.
And damn, what a dress it was. Nash’s throat squeezed as he swallowed his nerves. Drop him in the middle of some fucking dusty-ass desert and ask him to retrieve a hostage from one of the most hostile terrorist cells in the world? No problem. Ask him to keep his composure around theprettiest woman he’d ever seen and her hilarious and equally adorable daughter? Nope. He wasn’t going to be able to do it.
“Are you ready to have some fun tonight, Taleggio?”
“Italian?” Brie guessed.
“Molto Bene!”
Embrie rolled her eyes. “You used yourMama Mia!accent with it and skewed my guessing, but I’ll still take the point.”
Nash couldn’t hold back his laughter. “Don’t get too full of yourself, Cheese. I’ve got some harder ones written down for later.” He turned to Lacy, who was smiling at the two of them and their antics. “Are you ready to go?
“Mom! Don’t forget!” Embrie pointed to the counter.
“Oh! Yes. Uh, we made you something, since you were planning everything for tonight—as a thank you.”
His heart tumbled in his chest. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“We wanted to, right, Embrie?”
“Yup!”
“Here, hold out your hand.” Lacy turned and placed a small canvas on his outstretched palm. “Do you remember the scientific name for these, Brie?”
“Lew…lewisia rediviva.”
“Good job. It’s?—”
