Page 15 of I Need You Tonight
Chapter 7
Nicole
I parked at the far end of the strip mall parking lot. The hem of my dress was halfway up my bare thighs, and for a second Mason’s eyes were focused on them before he glanced away. Just the thought of his lips against my skin was enough to cause an ache between my legs, and I sighed dreamily.
You’re not having sex with Mason. So get your head out of the gutter.
Easier said than done, especially since I wasn’t getting sex on a regular basis.
“You sure you want to come inside?” I asked. The only time guys ever entered the store willingly was to pick up flowers to impress a date or a significant other.
“You know all about my job. Now I want to see where you work.”
I laughed. “This is hardly the same thing. It’s not like I was on tour with you.”
We got out of the car, and Mason and I headed to the store.
I opened the door and stepped inside. A blast of air-conditioning greeted me, along with the classical music playing softly in the background. Cindy was at the register, taking a customer’s order, and glanced up. She smiled at me, and her gaze darted momentarily to Mason before returning to the customer.
Mason scanned the store, which hadn’t changed since Heidi and I had taken over the boutique. Other than the brick wall behind the register, the walls were light gray. The shelves and counters were brown and fully stocked with tubs of various types of flowers. A sweet floral scent filled the air. The smell was one of my favorite parts about working here—it soothed the soul and calmed even the crankiest of customers.
“Eventually I plan to have a section of gift glassware,” I explained to him. “I’ve been working on my own designs to etch on them.”
Well, it was more like I’d been playing around with ideas for the theme surrounding the designs. So far I hadn’t come up with anything meaningful. All I’d figured out was that I wanted to avoid anything to do with flowers, which seemed too clichéd.
“Did you make those?” Mason pointed to the floral arrangements filling one counter.
“No, that was all Heidi. She’s a natural. I tried to do it a few times. The outcome wasn’t pretty.” Which was like saying it was slightly cool in Antarctica. “That’s why I stick to the business side of things and dealing with the customers. I even created our website.” A few small businesses in town had asked me if I could design theirs too. Heidi didn’t know about that—she complained enough as it was about how much I was working. “We’re even on Instagram and Facebook, and I blog a few times a month about special events Heidi’s been hired for, which lets me showcase her creations.”
Cindy finished up with the customer and came over as I was explaining the different flowers to Mason.
“Oh my God,” Cindy said, her eyes as round as daisies. “You look exactly like the drummer of Pushing Limits.” Her gaze shot back to me with an unspoken question.
“I get that all the time,” Mason said, his expression serious—other than the glint of mischief in his warm brown eyes. “Except I’m better-looking than him.”
I snorted a laugh.
Mason turned to me, eyebrow raised. “What, you don’t think I’m better-looking?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I bet the real deal has amazing abs.” I had no idea if that was true or not, but based on what I could tell, I’d have bet I wasn’t far off.
He yanked up his T-shirt, revealing some very lickable abs. Cindy was practically drooling at the sight of them.
“Not bad,” I said, doing my best not to laugh.
Mason crossed his arms, chin raised, one side of his mouth tilted up. “Damn straight they’re not bad.”
“But I bet the real deal is a better kisser.” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them.
“Only one way to find out,” he shot back. “Kiss me.”
I’d been ready to tell Cindy the truth, but his eyes possessed a challenge I couldn’t ignore, so I reached up on my toes and planted a quick kiss on his lips. The action was innocent—the unexpected electrifying hum through my body not so much.
As if hit by a bolt of lightning, I jerked away from Mason, my gaze going everywhere but to him.
“Looks like fake Mason kisses better than the real one,” Cindy said mischievously. Mason opened his mouth to protest, but Cindy just giggled and waved her hand. “I know you’re the real Mason Dell. Your voice gave it away.”
Just then the bell over the door jingled, followed a second later by “Oh my God! You’re…you’re…”
