Page 11 of Bloom and Burn
Jack looks sheepish as he scans the interior of the shop, his hazel eyes lingering on the woven baskets with potted late tulips on the table by the floral bar. I finished arranging them before Mrs. Patt showed up and I’m quite happy with how they turned out, the moss and yellow primrose complimenting the pastel pink of their bulbous blooms.
“I would like one of those baskets?” he blurts out, sounding adorably unsure of whether he actually wants one. “Please?”
“For Emily?” I prompt, raising an eyebrow as I look him over from head to toe. “I see you lived through the night.”
He laughs, deep and rumbly, shaking his head. “Ah, the card was no problem, she knows I love her. But I’m not so sure you can call it living through the night, considering we were up until three in the morning watching movies and discussing the principles of made-up pseudo-science. And then she woke me up at six-thirty to get back at me for pointing out a logical gap in her arguments. I feel like a zombie.”
I bite my lip to stifle down a snort. That’s crazy.Is this guy for real?But he does kind of look a little underslept. Still, it doesn’t take away from how hot as fuck he is. And that column of his lean neck as he swallows while we silently and awkwardly stare at each other? Totally lickable.
It doesn’t take long for the shivers to start. They rile up my pulse and other places, eliciting little bolts of pleasure as his hazel eyes keep looking at me. My heart decides to do a marathon just because, and my stomach floods with jittery anticipation. What will he say next? Will he kiss me? Maybe shove his hand inside my pants?
Oh, Jesus, Ryan, keep it together with the delusions! You don’t even know each other!
I mean… we don’t have to, do we?
And what if he is that same asshole? What if he’s here to play some nasty joke on you just because he feels like it?
That thought unnerves me, shooing away the rose-tinted glasses I’d put on without realizing it. There is a hint of tension in the set of Jack’s square jaw that I didn’t notice, and guessing why it is there ties my stomach into knots.
“So, uh…” he says as our silent staring contest stretches, averting his eyes first. Fuck, that’s not good, is it?
He picks up one of the tulip baskets and brings it over. I busy myself tying a pink ribbon around the handle, fumbling a little with the silk material as I feel his gaze return to me.
“Yees?” I help him out, ever the poster child for five-star customer service. Mom would be proud if she could get over the fact that I’m flirting with a customer.
He huffs a laugh and leans forward on the floral bar, his forearms showing off some definition. It has me picturing him sweaty and half-naked in a gym, doing pull-ups. Or that bench thing with the bar and the weights? I guess either one works, though he has to be topless, for obvious reasons.
“I actually wanted to talk to you about something,” he confesses as if that isn’t obvious. His eyes flick to mine as I cock an eyebrow in challenge, amusement making them shimmer. “Two things, I suppose.”
I school my expression into sardonic shock. “Not one, but two things? Jack Keller!” I gasp, covering my mouth with a hand. “The suspense is killing me!”
My attempt to remain deadpan evidently fails as a shit-eating grin takes over his attractive face. The dimple is in full force now and I have to exert extra self-control not to swoon and make an idiot of myself. Although… something tells me he wouldn’t mind that at all and might even try to one-up me by being an even bigger idiot.
Jack bobs his head, at himself I think, clears his throat and lets the smile drop. My stomach does a sky dive at the sudden change in his vibe, and I can’t help but wonder how bad what he is about to say must be to have himsuddenly look more like the rich suit-wearing piece of hot ass that he is. Personally, I prefer the puppy-like sunshine dorkiness he’s been showing off so far.
“I would like to buy your shop.”
My blood freezes. The commanding note in his voice sends a series of mixed signals within me which both confuse and kind of excite me. Under different circumstances, I would be all over him, but bedroom fantasies have no place here considering the giant bomb he just dropped on me.
“You want to—What?”
“I would like to buy the Blooming Orchid off you,” he repeats calmly, with that same authority.
“You want to buy the Blooming Orchid…”
He nods, not seeming to mind my very confused and very slow brain.
Hold on. Time out. From all the things I expected to come out from that sinfully kissable mouth, wanting to buy the Orchid wasn’t it. He shows up in Estacada after how many years and wants to buymyshop? Which I just got from mom after months of strenuous negotiations?
Anger flares inside my chest, wild and hot. This better not have anything to do with her, or I swear to god, I’m gonna lose it.
“Did my mom put you up to this?” I clench my hands into fists, ready to punch his pretty face. “Fuck, is she really pulling this kind of shit just because I want to change a few things? Seriously?”
His eyebrows knit together. “You mom? What?” He frowns, the gears of his brain turning. “Oh! No, no. Sorry, uh, this has nothing to do with your mom.” He rubs his temples, smiling apologetically. “Uh, sorry. I meant thatI want to buy your shop’s stake in the building. Not the business or anything like that.”
Oh. Huh? I remember, vaguely, a call dad had a while back with someone inquiring the mayor’s office about properties for sale around town, but from what I can recount there wasn’t anything suitable for whatever it was they wanted to do with it. I didn’t ask about it at the time—town hall stuff is not really my business—but now I’m wondering if it was Jack who called that day.
“So, let me get this straight. You want to buy the one third of this oldass building that the Blooming Orchid owns?” He nods like a puppy that’s been praised for doing a trick. Fuck, it’s adorable. “Okay… And what are you going to do with it? Open a designer suit store?”
