18. Cruz
18
CRUZ
“Where is she?” I ask my sister as I look around Tara’s flower shop. Her car was outside, but she’s nowhere in the store. I point toward the office. “She in her office?”
Lexi looks at another woman in a pink apron. “Kaci, can you watch the register?”
The woman looks me up and down with a smile and nods at my sister.
I follow Lexi through the store to the office. She stops and glares at me, putting a hand on her hip. “What did you do to Tara?”
I hold both hands up. “Nothing, look, I’m here to fix it. If you’ll just tell me where she’s at.”
She starts tapping her foot. “Is she right? Was it a one-night stand?”
Fuck, am I really having this conversation with my sister? “Not for me it wasn’t. She had a blowup with her sister.”
“I heard. Bitch had it coming.”
I nod. “I agree, but Tara didn’t want to talk to me. She just wanted to be done, and I thought if I let her cool down, we could talk, but I’m going crazy here.”
I run my hand through my hair in frustration. Something must cause Lexi to take pity on me because she finally gives me something. “She’s out on deliveries. She wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be in the shop.” She blows out a breath. “She’s really upset.”
I let my head fall back and groan. I hate to think that Tara is upset and she’s out there alone. Lexi’s cell phone rings, and she pulls it from her apron. “It’s Tara.”
I huddle close to my sister, just wanting to hear Tara’s voice.
My sister pushes me away. “Oh no… where are you?”
“What is it?” I ask as my sister kicks me in the shin.
All I can hear is Lexi’s side of the conversation. “Oh, sorry, no it’s just busy in here. Tell me where you are, and I’ll send reinforcements.”
Another pause. “It’s okay. Don’t worry, everything is going to get delivered. Sit tight.”
She hangs up the phone and starts pushing me from the room. As we walk through the store and outside, I stop next to my SUV. “Where is she?”
She looks back at the full shop and then back at me. “The van broke down. You could fit most of the flowers in your SUV, but you may have to make a few trips to restock.”
“It’s fine. Where is she?”
I get into the driver's seat, but she still doesn’t tell me. “Bub, she’s my best friend. Please don’t make me regret this.”
“I promise you won’t… now where is she?”
She points toward the north side of town. “Out by the distillery. She’s parked on the side of the road. She’s going to be stubborn.”
I laugh. “Oh, I’m sure of it.”
She leans in and kisses my cheek. “Be safe.”
As soon as Lexi clears the car, I take off driving too fast through town. I feel like I don’t take a breath the ten minutes it takes me to get to her, but when I see her pacing beside the van and I know she’s okay, I can finally breathe easily.
I pull up behind her, and she’s staring at me in shock. “What are you doing here?”
I open the back of her van, hoping that she’s not going to refuse my help. “Do you want me to just load everything in my car?”
“Did Lexi call and ask you to come here?”
I shake my head and pick up a box holding flowers. It’s either that or I’m going to take her in my arms. “No, I was at the shop looking for you when you called.”
She groans and throws her head back. “Oh my God, I bet you wish you never met me.”
I lean toward her and look into her eyes. “And you would lose that bet.”
I walk away and put the box into my trunk. When I go back to the van, she’s picking up more flowers. She’s all business as we move back and forth, stacking her deliveries into my SUV. When I close the doors, I hold out the keys to her. “Do you want to drive?”
She blinks, surprised. “You’d let me drive your car?”
I shrug. “Yeah, I think you’re used to being in control, and if you feel better driving, I’m fine with it.”
She reaches for the keys and then stops, letting her hand drop to her side. She looks exhausted. “Ya know, I would love to let someone else be in control for awhile. Do you mind driving?”
I put my hand on her lower back. “Not at all.” I steer her to the passenger side of the car and open the front door. “Just tell me where, and I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”
I drive us through town, making stops. Tara is smiling as she leaves each house and business, but I know she’s still upset by what happened today. We’re all business as we make each of the deliveries, and when we drop off the last bouquet, Tara slouches in the passenger seat, head back, eyes closed.
I have one arm over the steering wheel, watching her. “Now what?”
She huffs, “I need to call a tow truck for the van and then I need to go and help at the store. We’re open late today, so I have a few more hours to go and then I can hopefully forget this day.”
I put the car into gear and drive us across town. “I called the tow truck earlier. Your van is at Dom’s garage, and he said he’d have it fixed by tomorrow.”
She sits up a little higher, and I thought she would be relieved that I took care of it, but it seems like it’s stressed her out a little more. “Oh my God, I’m never going to be able to pay you back for all you’ve done for me.”
I’m not sure she’s ready to hear what I have to say, so I’m quiet as I pull into the open spot in front of her shop. I get out and go around to help her out. Instead of walking to the store, she stops, crossing her arms over her chest. “Thank you again.”
I gesture to the shop. “I’m going in.”
She opens her mouth, closes it, and then opens it again. “Why?”
It’s time to come clean. “Because it’s Valentine’s Day and I want to spend it with you.”
She blinks her eyes rapidly and takes a step back. Her hand goes up. “Cruz, look, you’re great, you really are…”
Her voice trails off, and I can feel the panic rise. “But?”
She nods. “But I can’t be around you… not yet. I need a few days to get myself together and?—”
I put my hands on my hips. “Did last night mean nothing to you? Is that what you wanted, a one-night stand?”
She points to me. “That’s what you wanted.”
I grit my teeth. “When I agreed to this, I wanted to help you, and yes, I agreed to one night, but there’s no way you can believe that last night was just a one-night stand.”
She’s holding herself stiffly. “You’re right. To me, it was more. It was perfect in every way and made me want things I never thought I’d have, but it doesn’t change the fact that you have a list of reasons of why you and I are a bad idea.”
“You’re beautiful.”
She stutters. “So what, now you’re going to flatter me?”
I take a step toward her. “No, I’m going to tell you the reasons why I need you in my life.”
Her mouth falls in shock. “What?”
“You make me laugh.”
When it seems she’s listening, I continue, wanting her to hear me out. “You’re brave, kind, loyal.” I move toward her and put my hands at her waist. “I love the way you make those little whimpers when I press my tongue to your clit.” I kiss her forehead. “I love the way you hold me when you climax.” I kiss her cheek and then lean back and look at her face. “One night was not enough, Tara. I’m not sure forever will be.”
“Forever?” she croaks.
I nod. “Yeah, and I can tell that freaks you out, so why don’t we start with you agreeing to be my Valentine.”
She puts her hands up and touches my chest, and I want to bang my fist in the air, but instead I pull her flush against my body. She lands with an oomph. “You want to be my Valentine?”
I cup her face in my hand. “Oh yeah.”
Her hands slide up my chest, and she goes to her tiptoes and wraps her arms around my neck. “Okay.”
I pull back to see her face. “Okay?”
She nods with fear on her face. “Don’t hurt me, Cruz.”
I shake my head. “I promise I won’t.” I smile. “Now give me your mouth.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re the only one that can get away with telling me what to do.”
She leans in and presses her lips to mine, and I take full advantage. Only when I’ve ravaged her mouth and we’re both panting do I pull back. I tuck her head under my chin and hold on to her. “Uh, so we’re going to need to stand here for a minute.”
She presses her belly into my erect manhood, and she giggles. “Oh yeah, why?”
“Because you’re going to have a shop full of people seeing how aroused you make me.”
She turns her head to face the shop, and sure enough, there are people with their faces pressed against the window. My sister comes out of the shop. “Hey, you two going to kiss all night or you planning on helping?”
“Yeah, we’ll be right in,” I holler to her.
She waves and walks back in the shop. Tara is all smiles as she looks up at me. “I should really go in and help.”
I cup her face in both of my hands. “You’re mine, Tara Brooks.”
She nods. “Yeah, and after we close tonight, I’ll prove it to you.”
I groan as my cock expands even more. I kiss her, and when I break it off, I set her away from me. “Go on in. I’ll be right there.”
She glances down at my obvious erection. “You okay?”
I huff. “Yeah, I will be.”
She giggles and then skips inside. I watch through the front windows as Tara and my sister laugh. Seeing the smile on Tara’s face causes a flutter in my chest. I’m almost afraid to put a name on it because all of this is happening so fast, but when I think about my future, I know she’s going to be in it.