I breathed out a sigh of relief when the woman agreed. Smiling, I gave Colt the directions after I hung up with her. “You’re lucky she was willing to accept the booking. It might cost you, but it won’t be anywhere near as bad as Teddy’s disappointment if she’d realized we lied.”
He chuckled. “Well, technically,youlied. I just went along with it.”
“That makes you an accessory and, therefore, just as guilty,” I said, finally relaxing as I settled back in my seat and dropped my phone on my lap.
Making the mistake of shifting my seat to look at him, I felt another pang of nostalgia and desire. Colt and I used to be in exactly the same positions in the ice-cream truck when we had to move from place to place.
He even still drove the same way, with his one hand relaxed on the steering wheel and his elbow resting lightly on the windowsill. The other hand gripped the gearshift in a way that made the muscles in his forearm roll every time he shifted the stick to the next gear.
Although his black mirrored sunglasses were designer brand instead of the dollar-store type now, he favored the same style, and the confident smirk while we drove hadn’t changed either. It was completely crazy how much it turned me on to watch him drive even so many years later, but the longer I watched, the more my body remembered how his had felt above me and against me while we’d made out back then.
Once he’d found a spot off the beaten path to park, he suddenly stopped and shot me the exact same wicked smile that he used to. I nearly swallowed my tongue and my mouth went bone dry. The smile turned into a smirk, but instead of confirming that he remembered too or asking me if I wanted to try out the backseat of the SUV, he dug out his wallet and took out his credit card.
“We’re here, Emma. This is the place, right?”
My cheeks flushed when I spun to look out the window instead of staring at him and realized we were at the spa, not at one of our old spots. Hiding my face behind my hair just in case there was any chance he hadn’t already caught me blushing, I plucked the plastic card from between his fingers.
“Yep. This is the place.” I opened my door but didn’t look back at him. “Wait here. I’ll just go in to make sure they’re all set.”
Putting my mortification at being caught staring like that red-handed behind me for a moment, I went inside with Teddy and Scott. Mary-Ann had two therapists waiting for them with champagne and a tray of chocolate-dipped strawberries each.
Teddy squealed and gratefully accepted a strawberry when the tray was held out to her, but Scott grabbed the champagne and chugged down a good long gulp of it. I laughed before going over to give them both a hug.
“You guys enjoy it, okay?” I whispered. “I’m going to head back out now, but I’ll deliver the right flowers. I promise. Just relax and have fun.”
Once they were ushered to the back, I turned to Mary-Ann and handed over Colt’s card. “Give them the works, please.”
She looked up at me in surprise when she saw the caliber of the credit card I’d presented her with. I shrugged in response. “She’s a bride and her brother is a big shot from New York. If you can just make sure they have everything they could ever want and need, we’d appreciate it greatly.”
Smiling wide, she took the card with a flourish and nodded. “You bet, sweetheart. I’ll check in on them personally. By the time we’re done with them, they’ll be so relaxed that they won’t even remember there was a wedding to get stressed out about in the first place.”
9
COLT
Emma was in a snit at the florist. Every time I tried to make a suggestion, she spoke as if I hadn’t said anything and ignored me completely. Meanwhile, I was left feeling like the meek puppy dog of a man who got left holding her purse while she did what needed to be done.
Not that I was literally holding her purse. She’d left it on the counter in front of her, and the redheaded florist, who I was assuming was Ms. Anita, had gone to make a lap to admire the fresh blooms in the buckets mounted on the walls.
Ms. Anita was holding a tattered notebook in her hand, talking to Emma a mile a minute about what she’d discussed with Teddy and what she had in stock. Since she’d taken Emma’s cue and was ignoring me as well, I’d sat down in what I was sure was an armchair placed here specifically for men like me whose opinions weren’t welcome.
Their latest exchange ended and Anita grinned and rushed into the back. Emma had her back turned to me, her golden-blonde waves loose but being held back from her face by a pair of light pink barrettes.
How she managed to be so strong and assertive and yet so soft and feminine at the same time, I didn’t know. In fact, over the last few days, I’d definitely remembered why I’d been so attracted to her back in the day.
My dick hadn’t stirred in over six months since my wedding had fallen apart, but around Emma, it sure as hell was coming back to life. She didn’t have any of the hard edges I’d become so used to in women like Anna, and although I’d once thought of those hard edges as strength, I knew better now. Emma was a spitfire wrapped up in a pink fluffy package and she had a backbone of steel. I’d been an idiot to ever have thought any differently about her just because she was also so sweet and polite.
Going over to her, I couldn’t resist the urge to touch her, even if it was just in some small way. I settled for putting my hand on her shoulder despite the fact that what I really wanted was to pull her into my arms.
“What’s going on, Em?” I asked, keeping my voice down in case Ms. Anita wasn’t too far away. I didn’t want every word I said to be repeated at the next gathering of her book club or something.
In my attempt to get close enough that I wouldn’t be overheard, I got so close to Emma that when she turned toward the sound of my voice, our faces were less than a foot apart. Her bright blue eyes flared wide open, but she didn’t back away.
“What are you talking about?” she breathed. “What’s going on where?”
“With you,” I replied, unable to tear my eyes away from hers as I looked into those crystalline depths. “Why are you ignoring me? Red roses are a classic. They would’ve looked great at the winery.”
My words seemed to shake her out of some kind of trance, just like they had back at the spa. Whatever rush of chemistry had passed between us seconds ago gave way to a spark of irritation before she finally took a step away from me.