5. Tara
5
TARA
I usually love this time of year.
The shop is busy, and I hear all the different love stories. People come in that have just started dating, and they’re hopeful that it will turn into something more. Some have been married a year and some have been married ten, twenty, thirty, heck, fifty years. No matter the reason they come in, I love seeing the emotions on their faces as they pick out what they want.
It’s only five days until Valentine’s, and this week is going to be crazy. Instead of being focused and ready, I’m all over the place and dreading the most profitable day of the year. It’s not helping matters that for the last half-hour I’ve had to deal with my sister.
“Tara, you’re not even listening to me.”
I barely resist rolling my eyes. “Brynn, I’m listening to you, but I’m busy. I have a thousand things to do before Friday?—”
She nods, crosses her arms over her chest, and blocks me from getting past her. “I know you do. My flowers are not done yet, the boutonniere, my bouquet, the bridesmaids’ flowers.” She stomps her foot. “Tara! We have to get this done!”
I grip the edge of the counter and take a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Okay, I spent months designing the images until we got them exactly how you wanted them. I made test flowers…” I laugh, remembering it because it’s just another thing my sister bullied me into. She doesn’t care that this whole thing is painful and awkward for me. “You approved everything. All the flowers you wanted for the rehearsal dinner and decorations for the wedding day are done. The wedding day flowers are being delivered fresh to the event on Friday morning—per your request. I don’t know what you’re getting on to me about.”
“You’re going to sabotage this wedding!”
I push past her, and I’m a few feet away when I spot Cruz in the corner of the shop. How did he get in here without me seeing him? He’s looking at me with pity, and I look away, not wanting to see the look in his eyes.
When Lexi came in last night to pick up her keys, she didn’t say anything about her brother, and so I had no idea I would see him today. Oh God, he’s probably here to order flowers for one of the many women I see chasing him.
“Tara! Don’t walk away from me when I’m talking to you. I’m asking you, are you going to sabotage this wedding? I know you still have a thing for Grant, and he’s off-limits. He’s mine.”
I’m trying to hold it together, but I can feel myself weakening. Before I can open my mouth, I feel a firm arm go around my waist. “Baby, can we talk?”
I look up into the brown eyes of Cruz Payne. He’s smiling at me and pulls me firmly against his body. “Come on, Tara. You can’t be mad at me forever. Give me five minutes.”
He touches his hand to the side of my face and then tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. My mouth falls open, and Cruz leans down and kisses my cheek and then acts as if he’s kissing my ear and whispers, “Close your mouth, honey.”
I snap my mouth closed, and I grip Cruz’s arm. “Yes, let’s go to my office.”
Brynn stops in front of me. “Tara, who is this?”
I open my mouth and look between Brynn and Cruz. “Uh, this is Cruz Payne. He’s Lexi’s older brother.”
Cruz holds his hand out to Brynn. “And Tara’s boyfriend if I can get her to forgive me.”
Brynn’s eyes travel down Cruz’s body and back up again. “Boyfriend?”
It takes everything in me not to smack my sister in the face. She’s literally undressing Cruz with her eyes, and I don’t want to stand here and watch. And then it hits me. “What?” I ask him, wanting him to repeat what he just said.
He pulls me flush against his hard body. “I’m sorry for being an ass, and I hope you forgive me. Please.”
He brushes his thumb across my cheek softly, and I lose all sense of self-preservation. “We should talk.”
He nods, and I turn to my sister. “We’ll be right back.”
I grab his hand and pull him toward the back of the shop. I can feel every eye on me, and I’m glad this week I have double the help in the store so I can disappear for a few minutes. As soon as I close the office door, I turn and cross my arms over my chest. “What are you doing here, Cruz?”
He matches my stance. “I came to apologize.”
I jut my chin. “For what?”
“Last night.”
When he doesn’t continue, I wave my hand for him to go on. “And?”
“When I said that no one would believe we were together… I meant that no one would believe you’d choose me.”
My eyebrows lift high. “Excuse me?”
“Look, my life is about to do a big one-eighty. I’m about to be retired, and people are either going to hate me or love me, there’s no in between, and the people that are going to hate me are going to be ten times louder than the people that love me. I’m ten years older than you, and well, I don’t really have a lot to offer. I’m just afraid that us being together is going to cause problems for you.”
I point toward the shop. “Is that why you just told my sister and around ten other people that you’re my boyfriend? You know this is Whiskey Run, right? Everyone in town will be talking about it by tonight.”
He looks sheepish. “I did that because I couldn’t just stand by and listen to your sister talk to you the way she was.”
I lean back and sit down on the edge of my desk. “You realize that I needed you to be my date for one night, and now you’re making it sound like we have a thing.”
He laughs. “A thing?”
I nod. “Yeah, a thing.” I scrunch my face up. “Boyfriend and girlfriend. That thing.”
“Okay, so look, I may have gotten carried away out there, but that doesn’t have to change anything. You can let people think we’re together. I can be your date for the wedding and help you deal with your ex and your sister, and then you can break it off with me.”
I blurt out a laugh. “You think people are going to believe that I broke things off with you?”
He shrugs. “Yeah, I mean, why not? You can let them think you don’t want to be with some has-been.”
“Has-been?” I stand up and stomp a foot. “Has-been? You’re not a has-been.”
“After Wednesday, I will be,” he deadpans.
I can see the pain in his face, and it matches the look he had last night when he was talking about his retirement. “Okay, so one night. Valentine’s Day you’ll come to the wedding with me and act like we’re together.”
“Yes.” He hesitates. “And then you’ll break up with me afterward.”
I nod. “Yeah, okay.”