Slide Down on Me (6 page)

Travis nudged her. “You thinkin’ to get rid of that god-awful purple?”

Bella groaned. “It’s a dream. I doubt I can talk the owners into it, but I was thinking of trying in the fall. Of course, there’s the issue of my car that has much higher priority, but like I said, it’s a dream. Maybe a painting party. If I could find a couple guys to provide the labor, I’d provide the paint, beer and food.”

“Miles would do it for the beer alone.”

Miles tossed a wadded-up napkin at Travis. “I’m not that easy. Throw in pizza and I might be, but not for beer alone.”

Bella laughed, Travis smiled and Miles was still uneasy, but maybe with a little time he would come around. Travis hoped so because he didn’t really want to have to deck his brother.

Bella broke the silence that had once more fallen around them in the small room. “I need to get back to work. Mrs. Cleary kinda gave me the evil eye when I headed out this way. Thanks for letting me hang around.”

“Thank you for bringing lunch over. I’d have worked right through and so would Miles. It was nice of you.” Travis slanted a look at Miles, who was intensely watching the exchange between him and Bella.

“Y’all aren’t foolin’ me. Go on, Trav. Kiss her. You know you wanna.”

Bella blushed, ducked her head and stood. She wouldn’t look at him. She just gathered her half-eaten lunch and her purse. “See ya.” It was all she said but it was enough.

“Asshole,” Travis muttered in the direction of his brother, to which Miles just shrugged. But to Bella, he said, “He’s right though.”

Travis wrapped his hand around Bella’s upper arm and tugged her toward him. He slanted his head, gave it half a shake when she started to speak, and took her mouth with his.

She tasted of salt and ketchup and cherry. It wasn’t the sexiest taste, but he didn’t care. She was the sexiest woman, and the way she melted into his kiss, slid her tongue along his, nearly made him forget himself and his surroundings.

“I’ll pick you up from work in a few hours,” he said after he’d lifted his head. She licked her lips and looked up at him with lust-filled eyes. Damn, she was hell on his self-control.

“Okay.”

“Damn. I need a cold shower,” Miles commented after Bella had left the office.

“Shut up.”

“I’m serious. You might as well have been naked and fucking for as hot as that was.”

“Drop it, Miles. It was just a kiss.”

“Right. If that was
just
a kiss then I’m
just
the pope.”

Travis flipped him off and walked out of the office after tossing his trash in the can. He resumed his position under the hood of the Wagoneer and did his best to concentrate on the job.

It
was
just a kiss. Miles was blowing it out of proportion. Travis knew the kisses between him and Bella in private were singe-the-paint-off-the-walls hot, but in his office? Not in the same league.

He grabbed the earbuds and turned his iPod back on. The wrench was within reach and soon he was back in the zone of his work. He wouldn’t concern himself with the fact that every few minutes he glanced up at the clock to find the time.

Shit.

* * * * *

Bella locked the cash register and hung her smock on its designated hook. The hours after lunch had dragged on until she was nearly convinced that closing time would never come.

Mrs. Cleary had been gone by the time Bella had returned from Travis’ garage but that hadn’t been surprising. She always left after lunch and gave the afternoon work to Bella. The most pressing orders were taken care of first thing in the mornings and a lot of the prep took place after lunch. It was summer, and the majority of their orders were for weddings. Bella didn’t know how Mrs. Cleary had made the society contacts in Knoxville that she had, but that was where many of the weddings were taking place.

After one last glance around the flower shop to make sure she’d put everything in its place and turned off all the lights, Bella stepped outside.

Travis would be arriving soon and Bella was more than ready to see him. Hell, she was beyond ready to strip naked and fuck him. She wasn’t even sure they needed to be naked.

Seeing him in the middle of the day hadn’t been planned and it was more or less a move that a girlfriend would make, and she wasn’t his girlfriend. She wasn’t sure what she was. Lover? Slut? Woman in crazy lust? All of the above, most likely.

It had been a bold move and in hindsight, maybe it hadn’t been the best one. Miles’ reception had been less than warm, less than friendly, but she hadn’t really expected any different.

She hadn’t wanted to make trouble for Travis by being seen with him in public, but then she’d walked into his garage, in front of his brother, pretty as she pleased with lunch for them all. Travis had seemed both happy and uncertain about her being there, and Miles had alternated between curious and looking as though he wanted to chew nails.

She’d never had much interaction with Miles before Artie’s mess and she hadn’t had any at all since. Until today.

Her apology had been sincere, same as it had been with everyone else she’d offered one too. She didn’t blame Miles for looking at her with derision, but maybe in time it would fade some, maybe even into mild disinterest. Making friends with anyone had proved difficult and she sincerely hoped that when her little fantasy affair with Travis was over, they could be friends of a sort.

For the time being though, they were involved and she wasn’t going to hold back.

“I need some roses.”

Bella turned to find Mr. Martin walking toward her quickly. He’d never liked her, at least not after finding her and his nephew in the screwdriver section of his family’s hardware store.

She kept her gaze steady and hoped her voice matched. “I’m sorry. I just closed.”

“You’ll have to open up again. I need roses.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Martin. Mrs. Cleary’s orders. We close at five. If there are customers after that, they have to come back.” She pulled the key from the lock and turned around, looking for an escape or, at the very least, Travis’ truck. He said he’d take her home, but it was possible he was caught at work.

“She’ll make an exception for me,” Mr. Martin countered.

Bella shifted. She didn’t like the look on his face, the bright-red coloring, the cold gray eyes. He wasn’t an attractive man and his bullying only made him less so. She didn’t know if Mrs. Cleary would’ve made an exception for Mr. Martin or not and she wasn’t quite sure what to do.

“Young woman, if you don’t open that door, I won’t be giving my business to this flower shop any longer. Maybe loyalty means nothing to you and your brother, but Mrs. Cleary understands the meaning. Now, I need roses for my wife’s birthday.”

She hated being intimidated. She looked at him then back at the door. Bella unlocked it even though she didn’t want to. She would’ve rather stuck her tongue out at the man and walked away. She needed her job,
liked
her job. Hopefully Mrs. Cleary would understand.

She gave Mr. Martin a timid smile. “Come on in.” His stunned look made her smile bigger. “What color roses would your wife like? We have some beautiful red ones, but those are so commonplace. Mrs. Martin deserves something a little more special, don’t you think?”

Bella kept up the one-sided conversation, her tone as light and bubbly as she could make it, and didn’t even check to see if Mr. Martin had, in fact, followed her inside. She set her purse on the counter and stood in front of the cases, gazing at the variety of bright blooms.

“S-she doesn’t like red roses.”

“Good woman. I don’t like red roses either.” She sent a wink in the now-uncomfortable man’s direction. He’d followed her in all right, but only just. “My favorites are coral ones. Between pink and orange. Just gorgeous. But are you sure she’d prefer roses?”

“I-I don’t know what else to get her. I always get her roses for her birthday.”

“Maybe we can come up with something else. Tulips? Daisies?” At his shrug, Bella nodded. “Hmm. Well, let me work for a few minutes and I’ll see what I can do. Why don’t you pick out a card from the rack right there while I see to the flowers?”

Bella contemplated the options in front of her. Various blooms in a rainbow of brilliant colors stared back. Sometimes the fragrances and different hues of purples and pinks and yellows and reds were enough to make her smile when dealing with surly customers.

“What’s your wife’s favorite color, Mr. Martin?” Bella asked, reaching for sprigs of baby’s breath.

“Purple. That woman loves purple.”

Bella looked over and was stunned to find such a soft, tender smile on the normally gruff man’s face. “Purple it is then.” She set the baby’s breath back in its place and took out a handful of purple limonium stems. The tiny lavender blooms were used as filler as much as baby’s breath, but added an additional pop of color.

She also gathered purple daisies, pink and white carnations, and three white roses. “Shall I wrap the flowers or would you like them in a vase?”

“I, ah…I don’t know.”

“I’ll—”

“Bella? Why are you still here, dear?”

Bella’s heart plummeted. She swallowed and turned to look over her shoulder. “Hi, Mrs. Cleary. Mr. Martin came in just before closing,” she lied. “It’s his wife’s birthday and he needed flowers.”

“Gilbert?” Mrs. Cleary chastised. “You know perfectly well what time my shop closes, and Gladys’ birthday or not, if you don’t remember to come in earlier, you have to wait until tomorrow.”

Bella glanced up from the flower stems she was trimming for the vase arrangement. Mr. Martin fidgeted under the older woman’s unyielding stare. Bella sort of felt bad for the man.

“It’s my fault,” she interjected. “I told him I’d come up with a special arrangement for his wife since he said she wanted something different than roses this year.”

“Different than roses?” Mrs. Cleary repeated, skeptical. “I wasn’t aware Gladys had an opinion on flowers except that she receives them.”

Mr. Martin did nothing more than give a curt nod. He seemed unsure if he should stick around or flee the scene. Bella wanted to opt for fleeing herself, but a few moments later, when Mrs. Cleary and Mr. Martin caught their collective breaths as she put the finishing touch on the birthday arrangement, Bella gave an imaginary fist-pump.

“That’s just exquisite, Bella. You certainly have a gift,” Mrs. Cleary praised.

“My wife will expect something like this every year now,” Mr. Martin grumped.

“Then I suggest you get your standing order in early, Gilbert. We won’t be staying open for you next time. And this is going to cost you.”

“Actually,” Bella spoke up, wondering what in the hell was wrong with her when the next words left her mouth. “I wanted to take care of the cost.” Both people focused sharply on her and she fought that fleeing urge again. “Please.”

“Whatever you said to this girl, Gilbert, you’d better apologize. That arrangement is worth at least a quarter of her paycheck.”

“I-I’m sorry I was rude, Bella.”

Bella smiled. Mr. Martin’s eyes were full of chagrin and defiance. It was interesting to watch his face shift from one emotion to the other and back again. She knew how hard it was for some people to see her, and how much harder it was for them to be nice. She didn’t expect it to happen overnight, but maybe one day…

“Please wish Mrs. Martin a very happy birthday,” Bella said, handing over the vase of flowers.

“Thank you.” Mr. Martin nodded once in her direction and once in Mrs. Cleary’s, then departed the flower shop as though hell were hot on his heels.

“Now, young lady…” Mrs. Cleary started.

Bella turned and faced her boss. She’d broken the rules. It was the first time, her first infraction, but Mrs. Cleary wasn’t anyone to mess with.

“You didn’t have to be as kind to Gilbert as you were, and you can’t let people know how easy it is to get to you.”

“I know, but he scares me,” Bella admitted, to which Mrs. Cleary laughed.

“He’s nothing more than bluster and that was a very sweet thing you did. He won’t soon forget it, but he’ll be confused by your motives for a long while. It’ll do him good though. He’s used to getting his way but he’s
not
used to getting out of having to pay for it.”

“I was happy to do it. It was the least I could do. I know Artie pretty well drained the Martins’ savings.”

“Your brother is a scoundrel. Always was, and it’s not your job to make up for his mistakes.”

“Someone has to do it.”

“Your parents would’ve been proud of you for trying, but it really isn’t your responsibility. However, it has helped me come to a decision. There’s something I should’ve told you when you first came to me months ago looking for a job.”

“Told me? About what? Did Artie do something else? I thought I knew about everyone he’d hurt, everything he’d done, but if he did something to hurt your business investments or something—”

“No, dear girl. It’s not something Artie did. It’s something I did.”

Mrs. Cleary suddenly looked uncomfortable, nervous even. It was weird seeing her like that. She was formidable on a good day and a damn hurricane on a bad one.

“I don’t understand. What did you do?”

“Right after Mr. Cleary died all those years ago and I opened up this flower shop, I had a partner. A silent partner. Your mother. She invested the capital for it and when I tried to pay her back, she wouldn’t take it. We’ve always done a really good business.”

“My mother owned part of your shop? I never knew.”

“No one did. I don’t know why she wouldn’t let me tell people. She had this idea that no one should know. Your father knew, of course, and several financial people, but no one else. I was able to make a very good living. She sent customers to me all the time, sometimes very important and powerful people. She was a good woman, your mother.”

Bella smiled. Pride filled her heart. Yes, her mother had been a good woman, just as her father had been a good man. She missed them more some days than others and right at that moment, talking with Mrs. Cleary, made it one of the hard days. “I’m afraid I still don’t understand though. What does this have to do with me?”