He wipes the grin off of his face. "Of course, not."
"Good. And for the record, I do know that you and Cass have a thing going on."
His features firm. He narrows his gaze on me in the mirror, then returns his attention to the road.
I chuckle. "You do like her, don’t you?"
No response. Not that I was expecting one. Still, I wouldn’t have expected Adrian to turn out to be this chatty. I figure I might be able to get some information from him while he’s still in a mood to talk to me… A mood which seems to have evaporated since I mentioned Cass.
"I spoke to her before I got in the car," I continue. "She seemed fine, in case you were wondering. Not that you asked me or anything. I mean, I am sure you speak to her whenever you go to see Michael. I mean—" I hit the back of my head against the headrest, "now I am putting my foot in my mouth, right? Are you taking the long way to the shop or what?" I laugh nervously.
Almost immediately, the car slows to a stop. I glance up and find we are at our destination. Finally. "Oh, here we are. Thanks for the ride," I push open the door and jump out before Adrian can come around to get it for me. I tap on the window on the passenger side and he lowers it.
"I can find my way back."
He stares at me.
I blow out a breath, "No seriously, I have lived in this town my entire life. I should be able to find my way back without any problem."
He merely holds my gaze.
"Fine," I throw up my hands, "I’ll be done by five."
"I’ll be here."
I turn around and enter theThe Tilted Tulip. When I glance back, the car is only just pulling away. So, he waited until he was sure I was safely inside. Was it Axel who told him to do so? Doesn’t matter.
I draw in a breath and the scent of roses, lilies, and hibiscus envelops me. I drag the scent of the flowers into my lungs and my muscles immediately relax. It’s always been this way. I walk into my shop and I feel instantly calmer. This is my space, my little heaven that I have carved out in the middle of the craziness that is life. I may come from the Mafia, and when I am with the Sovranos I often end up falling into the stereotype of a meek woman, but I had managed to give shape to my dream. I had found a way to open this flower shop, hadn't I? This is my baby, this business, and it means so much to me. Yet one look at a wounded Axel, and I had dropped everything to be by his side. That man has the ability to make me forget my priorities. Not to mention, when he asks me to do something, I seem unable to refuse him. It's like his dominance completely overpowers me, and pushes everything else out of my mind.
I approach the counter and Elsa glances up.
"Theresa!" she exclaims. "Finally—I have been so worried about you."
She comes around the counter and throws her arms about me. "The last time you messaged me was from the hospital when you said an emergency had come up and that you might not be able to come into the shop for a few weeks. Then you seemed to vanish off the face of the earth. I texted you so many times. Did you get my messages?"
"I did." I bite the inside of my cheek. "I am so sorry I didn’t reply to them." I hug her back. "It's just, I knew the business was in safe hands, so I could focus on what needed to be done and not worry about the shop. I owe you a big thank you Elsa. If you hadn't been here to take over of all the day-to-day operations of the shop, I would have never managed to take so much time off."
Elsa blushes, "I was only doing my job."
"No," I shake my head, "on the contrary, you went above and beyond what anyone else would have done. You treat this business as if it is your own, and I want you to know how much I appreciate you. In fact, I want you to take over the day-to-day running of the shop from now on."
"What?" Her gaze widens, what are you saying?"
"Effective immediately, I am promoting you to General Manager of the shop."
"OMG!" Her gaze widens.
"I’m also putting you on salary and raising your salary by twenty-five percent."
"Oh, vow!" She blinks rapidly, "Really? Are you sure? Not that I can't do with the extra money but I have to ask."
"I am sure!" I smile, "You deserve it, Elsa. It's because you are so capable and so dedicated that I could stay away and not worry about the business going into decline." I step back, and take her hands in mine, "How can I ever repay you for what you did?"
"By telling me what's going on."
"Umm," I release her hands, "I was uh, busy. That's all."
"It's a man, isn't it?"