Chapter 1 #7
“No, it’s fine.” She forced herself to smile. “This was only going to be short term, wasn’t it? We’re too far apart, too different.”
“I think you’re the most beautiful woman in the world.”
But not worth staying for, she thought. And her heart cracked just a little.
Her phone beeped, a reminder that she needed to open the shop. Dammit, why did this have to happen now?
“I have to go to work,” she said.
He nodded, looking apologetic, but he still wasn’t saying the words she needed to hear.
“We’ll keep in touch,” he told her.
“Of course.”
“And I’ll be back. Maybe you can come and visit New York. There are plenty of plants up there.”
It sounded like a breadcrumb he threw out just to make her feel better.
She forced another smile onto her lips. Why were her muscles aching so much? It was like her face had done a full workout. “Sounds good.”
Her second alarm went off. She had three in all. The third one sounded like Armageddon was coming.
“I have to go,” she told him.
“Let’s go out for dinner tonight,” he suggested, walking her to the door. “A leaving celebration.”
Her chest contracted. There was nothing to celebrate. “I can’t,” she whispered. “I’m not good at goodbyes.”
It was true. She hated goodbyes. And she couldn’t handle this one. Instinctively, she lunged forward and threw her arms around his waist, hugging him tight.
“Fly safely,” she told him, resting her cheek on his chest. “And be happy.”
He stroked her hair, and she turned to open the door, determined not to cry.
“It’s funny,” he said. “Because that sounded like a goodbye to me.”
* * *
“So that’s it?” Ally asked her as Juniper leaned on the coffee shop counter. “He’s leaving so your relationship is over? Did you even talk about keeping in touch?”
Juniper nodded. She’d been run off her feet until now and hadn’t even had a chance to think about it. “He said he’d call and visit. But he didn’t sound like he meant it. And anyway, we all know long-distance relationships can’t work.”
“Of course they can.” Ally rolled her eyes.
“He didn’t even tell me he was going to miss me. Just said he was leaving.” She pulled her lips together, remembering how unemotional he’d been. “I guess it really was a fling to him.”
“And to you?”
Juniper slowly shook her head. Her eyes filled with tears. It was so much more, and she wished she’d said something.
Almost as much as she wished he’d felt the same.
“Honey, you need to talk to him.” Ally’s voice was soft.
“I can’t.” Juniper sighed. “He’s made it clear he wants to go home. He’s out of my league. I just need some time to get over him.”
“He’s not out of your league at all. The guy had no friends until you introduced him to us. He looks at you like you’re the sun he wants to orbit around. And you already told me the sex was out of this world.”
One of the older women in the shop turned around to look at them, an interested expression on her face.
“You can’t base a relationship on sex,” Juniper said.
Ally laughed. “Of course you can. Sex can be the best foundation. If you’re compatible at that, and then you find out you’re compatible with other things…” She trailed off. “And then you like each other, too? I’d call that a relationship with promise.”
“I do like him. Too much.” And it was almost too painful to talk about.
Ally’s expression softened. “Why don’t you tell him?”
“Because he has a job to do. He’s flying home to finish his book. I can’t ask him to stay.”
“Nobody said you should ask him to stay. Just tell him how you feel. Let him take you out tonight.”
Juniper sighed. “I’ll think about it.”
“Well, drink this while you’re thinking,” Ally said, passing her a coffee. “And think fast because he’s leaving in the morning.”
Yes, he was. And she was hurting just thinking about it.
* * *
His cases were packed, save for the carry-on he’d fill once he got up tomorrow and changed into the clothes he’d wear to fly to New York.
Oliver stood back and raked his fingers through his hair, then resolutely turned and walked down the stairs.
He had the rest of the day to finish this chapter, and then within a couple of weeks, the whole first draft should be done.
He’d be back in New York and things would be back to normal and maybe he wouldn’t be so confused.
But instead of walking into his office, he turned left into the living room. The Venus flytrap had closed one of its leaves, the thick teeth that edged them sealing it shut. Something had been caught. An insect, he guessed.
He stared at it, wondering how long the insect took to die. Whether it knew what was happening.
And then he was thinking of her. The way she sang to the damn thing, and he’d believed her when she said it helped the plant.
Fuck, he was going to miss her. He’d gotten so used to her arriving every day at six. Even before they were sleeping together, she’d been the best part of his time here.
He remembered how she’d looked when he’d told her he was leaving. Her eyes had been wide. There’d been emotion in them. She’d looked…
Beseeching. That was it, that was the word. She’d stared at him like she was waiting for him to say something. But what?
He scoured his mind to remember the words they’d said. She’d offered for him to stay and then taken it back. And then she’d said it was okay, their relationship was just short term. They both knew it was going to end.
He’d taken that as a rejection. But was it?
She’d sung ‘The Muffin Man’ to annoy him. Had she said those words to appease him?
In his heart, he knew it didn’t matter. What mattered was he hadn’t said any words to her. Not the ones that mattered. The ones that came from the heart. The truth.
He’d been wallowing in the knowledge he had to leave her. But he hadn’t fought to stay.
What an idiot he was. He needed to see her. Now.
Before he lost the best thing in his life.
* * *
Juniper was on the phone, taking a big order, when she heard the door to the shop creak open. This afternoon had been quieter than this morning, which was good and bad. Good, because she wasn’t feeling at her best when it came to dealing with people. Bad because it gave her too much time to think.
Especially about Ally’s words. Her friend was wise, that much was clear. And yes, Juniper was afraid of rejection. Afraid of getting hurt.
But she shouldn’t have told him she didn’t want to see him tonight. That was wrong.
She finished taking the order and gave a delivery date, then hung up and walked out of the office to check if her customer needed any help.
And that’s when she saw the muffins. All over the counter. There were at least twenty of them, smelling sweetly mouth-watering. She craned her head past the row of plants to see who’d brought them.
Oliver was standing there smiling at her. And he started to sing.
Oh, do you know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man.
Do you know the muffin man,
Who lives on Drury Lane?
He stepped forward, and she laughed because he couldn’t hold a note if it killed him. “You bought these?” she asked him, gesturing at the muffins.
“Yeah. If I’d had more time, I would have cooked them. But luckily Ally stepped in.”
“Why?” She was confused. She loved muffins, but why did he bring her so many?
“Because I’m the muffin man. Your muffin man.”
She blinked, not understanding. “You are?”
“Yes,” he said firmly. “Or I want to be. I want to be the guy you sing to just to annoy him, even though it makes him want you even more. I want to be the guy who cooks you breakfast because you can barely drag your body out of bed in the mornings. I want to be the guy who washes your hair at night. Who makes you come until you can’t talk.
The one who makes you smile like you’re smiling right now, minus the tears, because we don’t need any of those. ”
Was she smiling? And crying? She reached up to touch her face. Yes, she was. “What does this mean?” she asked him.
“It means that I know it’s early in our relationship. And I know we live on different coasts. But I like you, Juniper Wilde. I can see myself easily falling in love with you. Hell, I’m halfway there. And I want you to be mine even if I’m in New York finishing a damn book.”
“You want a long-distance relationship?” she asked, swallowing hard. “Okay.” She hated the thought of it, but she could do it for him.
He shook his head. “I want to finish my book and then find somewhere to rent here in Angel Sands. For good. And maybe if you like it too, you can move in with me. You grow the plants, I’ll write the books. It’ll be a match made in heaven.”
“You want to be my muffin man?” She was still getting used to his one-eighty degree turn. Where was the man who wouldn’t even look her in the eye?
“So badly you couldn’t believe. And I was an idiot not to tell you that this morning.”
“I was an idiot, too,” she told him. “I should have told you I was falling for you.”
A hopeful smile pulled at his lips. “You are?”
She nodded.
“You want me to stay? Or at least to come back?” His voice was thick.
“Yes.” Her tears fell faster. “Of course I do.” There was nothing she wanted more.
“Then come here.” His voice was rough and happy and everything she loved about him.
Because she wasn’t falling, she’d already landed smack on the ground.
Still, she did as she was told, running to him, launching herself at him as he caught her in his arms.
And then he was kissing her. This man who rocked her world every time they were together.
Oliver Sinclair. Her man in black. The one she’d fallen for, hook, line and sinker.
As she kissed him back, she knew that he was her muffin man.
And she liked that very much.