Page 46 of Unruly Obsession
She chokes on a laugh until she realizes I’m serious. “Well, I’m rather busy today. So, I’ll come in another time,” she says dismissively, turning to walk away. I’m not surprised she’s not willing to pay for the flowers, but it only makes my blood boil hotter.
Once she’s gone, I glare at Lorenzo. “You don’t need to intervene.”
He shakes his head. “Stop fighting me, Sunshine. You’ll only exhaust yourself. What’s in the box?” he asks.
I hide it behind my back, raising my nose in the air. “Stop asking questions. You’ll only exhaust yourself,” I bite back. For some reason, I’m nervous about how Lorenzo will react. Or maybe I’m more scared of the fact that he won’t react at all, which lacks any logical sense.
“Are you hiding something from me?” A devilish smile appears, and I’m too stunned to move because it’s breathtaking. It’s the first time I’ve seen him with a full smile, and warmth floods my core, though I know too well nothing good will come from it. He’s in my space within seconds, and I squeal as I try to hold the box away from him.
He pins me between his body and the counter, and we freeze as the vase on the corner crashes to the floor, exploding into pieces, water splashing everywhere, with a heap of flowers spilling out.
“Now look what you’ve done. You’ve—” The words die on my lips as I look up at him, acutely aware of everywhere our bodiestouch. My chest rises and falls faster at the way he’s staring at me. The way his dark gaze devours me.
It’s been a week since he last touched me, and the way he's looking at me, it’s as if he’s thinking the same.
The bell chimes, and Romi walks through the front door, holding an iced tea in one hand and her roommate's long-haired terrier in the other. “Can you believe this little shit gave up on his walk two blocks up?” She huffs and freezes when she sees us. I shove Lorenzo away, as if I’ve been caught doing something inappropriate.
“Oh, did I walk in on some hanky-panky time?” She raises an eyebrow. “Didn’t think you’d have it in you to fuck in the middle of your shop while still open.”
“Stop!” I raise my hand to her, not wanting to hear any more, and noticing the distinct heat that blooms over my cheeks. I slide the red velvet box under the counter as Lorenzo heads into the back room and then comes back with a dust pan and broom.
“Don’t pick up the pieces. I’ll get those.” He practically pushes me out of the way. I don’t know where to look as Romi smirks at me. She then hooks a thumb over her shoulder.
"The evil assistant that just walked out of here? We don’t like her, Borris. She’s a bit of a bitch,” she says to the dog.
“Borris?” Lorenzo questions, finishing picking up most of the pieces and scraping them into the nearby trash can.
“Yeah. This is Borris.” Romi dumps the dog in Lorenzo’s hands. He looks like he doesn’t know what to do with it as she throws the red leash over his shoulder. I bite my bottom lip and try not to laugh at the awkward-looking scene.
“Lorraine’s traveling at the moment?” I ask, taking the dustpan and broom to clean the remains of the mess.
“Yeah, she’s visiting her mother for the week, don’t even get me started on that situation, so it’s just me and this little guy in the apartment,” she says with a smile, scratching under hischin. She’s been living with her roommate now for almost two years, and Borris is the terrier Lorraine allegedly adopted after working at an animal shelter for only a week.
“Do you mind taking him out to pee? He became skittish in the last two blocks, but I’m certain he needs to tinkle.” Romi looks pointedly at Lorenzo.
Lorenzo and Borris stare at one another. “You want me to walk him?”
“Just around the block.” Romi does a circle with her finger. “While we have some girl chat. I get there’s a honeymoon smoochy period and all, but you don’t want to be clingy or toxic, right?” she says with her hand on her hip. “Don’t want us getting bored with you so quickly. Looks don’t hold up as much as you would think.”
Lorenzo’s eyebrows rise. “You certainly don’t care about what you say, do you?”
Romi casually shrugs as she leans over the counter, her shirt stating,No. You do it.
“No,” she says flatly. “Oh, I got you an iced tea,” she says, noticing the one already on the counter. “But I guess this will be mine then.” She takes a large slurp as she looks at Lorenzo expectantly.
He’s not going to leave.
He never does.
No matter how much we argue or fight, he’s forever at my side.
He leans in, and every hair on my arms rises, an immediate flashback of the night in the changing room comes to mind. “I’m locking the door behind me. I won’t be long. Call me if you need anything.”
My jaw drops as I watch him leave. Is he actually giving me… a moment of space?
“Wow. I don’t want to know what dirty talk he was whispering in your ear to make your jaw drop like that,” Romi comments as we watch him leave.
He does exactly as he stated, except I’m not surprised when he only walks back and forth in front of the store, seemingly encouraging the small terrier to urinate.
