Chapter 8
A bell tinkled Kristy’s arrival into the small shop with flowers everywhere, and she breathed in the floral fragrance. It was a bombardment of scents, a kaleidoscope of colors. How wonderful it would be to be greeted by all this beauty every day.
Within a heartbeat, a blond-haired woman emerged through the curtains behind the register. She was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans and green apron.
“How can I help you?” Her eyes twinkled with friendliness.
“June, as in Flowers by June?” She looked like her website photo.
“I am.” She cocked her head sideways. “How can I help?”
“I’m Kristy Winslow of An Affair to Remember.” She extended her hand over the counter, and June shook it.
“I’m so happy to meet you.” June’s smile broadened. “And thank you for that lovely email about the flowers for the Wilson-Chapman wedding. I’m so glad you were pleased.”
“I loved those long-stem vases. It meant that when people were seated, they could still see each other. And the colors were just perfect for that royal feel we were going for.”
“So do you have another wedding we can help with?”
“Not a wedding. A bigger project. We are talking twenty tables that will need centerpieces, as well as flowers in the lobby, entrance, and dais. And all needed by August fifteen.”
June took a deep breath. “We can do that.”
“It is just you here though?” The place was small, and Kristy needed some assurance June could handle the order. A modest wedding was one thing, a banquet hall quite another.
“I have an assistant who comes in at two o’clock and another employee who is not involved in design but can certainly help put together one. And I have sizable refrigeration space in the back, so the arrangements won’t have to be made all on the same day. I assure you I can do this. We supplied the flowers for last year’s Boots and Bells event.”
“So you know the event I am asking about.” Knowing June had some experience with the event took a lot of tension off Kristy’s shoulders.
June nodded. “You may have met my sister, Lexi McClane. She’s on the committee. Pretty much everyone in Gillette knows the Boots and Bells fundraiser. Half the bigwigs in town will be going, and the other half will wish they were. It draws people from all over the state.”
“So I hear.”
“Congratulations on landing that assignment. It’s the biggest event of the year in our neck of the woods. This will surely set your company up around here. So what did you have in mind?”
“Well, our theme is going to be an old-fashioned barn dance in the old west, so we are creating a barnlike atmosphere. And we’re having several fun activities to liven things up.”
She didn’t dare mention the bail-out-of-jail activity or June would be asking about her brother, just as Lexi had. Kristy had yet to discuss it with Rusty, or any other possible participants.
“I love it. So I guess you’d be interested in daisies, wildflowers, that sort of thing.”
“And I was thinking baskets so, again, people can see the other attendees at their table, as baskets are low. Of course, the basket of flowers would be one that the table winner would be pleased to take home.”
“Very doable.”
Kristy liked June’s can-do attitude. “Great. If you can send over some ideas before the end of the week and the pricing, I’ll let you know on Friday what I’ve decided. There are two other florists who are submitting proposals as well.” Just because June’s sister was on the committee didn’t make June’s selection automatic, at least in Kristy’s book. She wondered if it would have in Marcia’s book.
June inhaled. “Okay. I’ll give it my best shot.”
“You’ve an edge, June, since you’re the only one I’ve worked with so far, and I liked your work. That will count a lot. But so will the execution of the theme, and of course, the pricing. Remember that there will be a lot of people with money at this thing, so the value to you will not only be in what you make on the event, but it will be stellar advertising.” Which was just what Kristy was hoping for with regard to An Affair to Remember.
“I’m aware. But as you know, flowers cost. I can’t afford to do it as a donation.”
Kristy had to admire her forthrightness. Apparently June was a straight shooter, like her brother. “Understood. And I can’t afford to not give the assignment to the lowest bidder who meets the requirements.” Kristy reached out her hand. June shook it.
“Talk to you at the end of the week.” Kristy wished she could give the assignment to June outright, because she did like the woman. But this was a charity event, and the lowest-cost vendors meant more for the charity.
***
“Rusty, can you take this to An Affair to Remember?” June held up an inverted white cowboy hat overflowing with yellow, purple, and white flowers.
Rusty viewed the arrangement from all sides as he stood in the back room of his sister’s flower shop. The worktable was the repository of dozens of cut-off stems and leaves, and scents of several flowers teased his nose.
“A cowboy hat full of flowers?” Although it looked pretty, it seemed a waste of a good hat.
“I found these cheap hats, cheaper than baskets, and I thought it would be fun. And in here”—she held up a notebook—“is my proposal. The dais will have arrangements at each end in a cowboy boot. And I’ve got wagon wheels with flowers for spokes, for the entrance. It was such fun doing these.”
“You got the contract for Boots and Bells?” Both his sisters involved with Kristy and he wasn’t?
“Not yet. This is my proposal for the contract.” She thumped the notebook. “And basically, I’m doing it for cost. As Kristy reminded me, this is great advertising. I did the same thing last year to get the contract, and my business improved by twenty-five percent, so fingers crossed it works out this way again.”
Junie’s eyes were wide as she held the hat against her aproned chest. Dressed in jeans and a short-sleeved tee, and as petite as she was, she looked like his little sister, not the owner of a retail business.
“You know, it would probably be better if you delivered this. I can watch the store.” He didn’t relish meeting Kristy while doing errands for his sister again. They hadn’t spoken since he’d helped her move in. He’d texted her a few times to see how she was doing, but all she’d texted back was one word: okay . When he’d asked if she wanted to go out to dinner one night, she’d texted back, Sorry, too busy .
Junie cocked her head. “I thought you liked Kristy.”
“I’d be interested if she was. But I tried to follow up on the other night, and she texted back that she’s busy. I’m pretty sure I know what that means.” A little pinch hit his heart as he shoved his hands into his jeans pockets.
“That she’s busy. This is a big deal for her. She must be under a lot of pressure.”
“And I’d be happy to help, but apparently she doesn’t want my help. And I don’t know that there’s anything else I can offer.” Anything that she’d want, anyway.
“Your support. Your understanding. Your ear to listen to her concerns. It isn’t all about what you can do for a person but what you can be for that person. Todd doesn’t help me in the store. He can’t since he has a full-time job. But he’s always willing to listen to me vent, and sometimes that’s all I need.”
Rusty liked Junie’s husband, Todd. Always willing to lend a hand. But he was the quiet sort, not much in the way of conversation, and since he worked as a geological engineer, Rusty didn’t have much in common with the guy.
“I’m better at taking action.” If someone told him about a problem, he felt an obligation to solve it.
“But sometimes what a person wants is someone who will just listen. You don’t need to solve the problem by taking action for them. Sometimes just being present, hearing them, understanding, or helping them think it through, figure it out, rather than you rushing in to save the day, is more of what they need. That Rusty saving-the-day thing can make some people feel like you don’t think they’re capable of fixing it themselves.”
She wasn’t making sense. “If I can solve a problem for her, wouldn’t that be proof I’m who she needs? And if she doesn’t need me to help her, then guess I’m not the guy for her.”
She sighed. “Just think about what I said.”
He climbed the steps to Kristy’s office, tucked away as it was in the generic professional building that also housed an optometrist and an accountant. He turned the knob and entered into the tiny waiting area.
The door was open to the inner office. She was standing behind her desk, phone to ear. He caught her eye. She nodded.
He’d hardly settled on the sofa when Kristy stepped into the waiting room. She looked good. Her blond hair was loose across her shoulders, and she had on a pink T-shirt and white jeans. Simple, but on her it looked like a million bucks.
She’d made her position of not dating him clear, so why did it still bother him? He should just move on. But something about her made him want to try harder. Was it the challenge because she’d brushed him off? Or something more?
“Just the guy I wanted to see.”
His heart skipped a beat.
She glanced at the cowboy hat arrangement. “Oh, is that from June?” She bent, took a whiff, and straightened. “I love it!” She plucked the arrangement from his hands and studied it more thoroughly. “Nice balance. Great colors. And love the hat.” She peeked from behind the arrangement, her eyes sparkling. “What else do you have for me?”
A loaded question. He raised the binder. “She’s sent over her concepts for the entrance and the dais, as well. And I guess the pricing.”
“Great. Come into the office.”
Things were looking up.
When he entered the office, he was surprised to find more substantial upholstered chairs in front of her desk. And Ariel was sitting in one of them, having been hidden from view from the doorway.
“Oh good. Just the man I wanted to see.” Ariel rose and repositioned in the opposite chair so she had a view of the doorway.
Wasn’t that just what Kristy had said? Something prickled the back of his neck.
“Why’s that?”
Kristy motioned for him to sit down. He did, but his sixth sense, the one that had kept him alive in dangerous situations, hit alert .
“As you know, An Affair to Remember has the assignment for the Boots and Bells charity event,” Ariel began.
Kristy waved her hand. “And our boss is going to be out of commission for a while, so Ariel and I are in charge. We have presented our ideas to the committee…”
Ariel gave Kristy the side-eye. “None of which is relevant. Anyway, we are carrying out the western theme that was approved with Marcia. But since this is for charity…” Ariel looked at him like he was being served up for lunch.
“And please remember that, or we wouldn’t ask you.” Kristy sounded apologetic.
This couldn’t be good.
“We’ve come up with a fun idea to help raise additional money.” Ariel’s smile broadened.
Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad.
“I’m listening.” But his sixth sense was still on high alert.
“During the evening, we’re planning on a bail-out-of-jail event, but with a twist.” Ariel looked pleased with herself.
“What is that?” Jail certainly didn’t sound good.
“It’s a fun thing where people go to jail, a fake one obviously, and then someone pays to bail them out.” Ariel nodded, as if that explained it all. It didn’t.
“And why would someone pay to bail a stranger out of jail? If they want to give to the charity, wouldn’t they just make a donation?”
Kristy plopped onto her office chair.
“Well, that’s the thing,” Ariel continued. “It’s actually a dance auction.”
“A dance auction?” None of this was making sense.
“The idea is that you’re the Wild West outlaw behind bars, and someone is going to bid to spring you so that you dance with them…”
He rubbed his chin, hoping this was not leading to the place he feared. “Who is it that will be dancing?”
Kristy sighed. “She’s trying to ask you if you will be one of our outlaws and let the good single women of Gillette bid on a chance to dance with you.”
“Why would some stranger bid on a having a dance with me?”
“Because…”
Before Kristy could say more, Ariel jumped in. “You’re a good-looking guy and have that sexy-cowboy thing going on.”
He smiled. So at least Ariel thought he was sexy. He looked over at Kristy. She was blushing.
“I don’t think I’m your guy for something like this.” The only woman he wanted to dance with was standing behind the desk. “Who would want to bid on me?” And the fact that Kristy was promoting this was not a good sign for him either.
“Plenty of women if they knew you were available,” Ariel said. “Your face will be on a wanted poster so that the single women of Gillette will know you’re in the auction, and then when it’s time, we put you in the jail cell, which will be on a raised platform near the dais. And the bidding will begin,”
The thought of strange women bidding on him in public, or worse, not getting any bids, made his skin pebble, like when he’d faced down an armed enemy. “Seems right up there with getting a tooth pulled. I mean, how many single women are going to be at this shindig anyway? What if no one bids?”
“That’s not going to be a problem. I guarantee it.” Kristy sounded a lot more confident than he felt. “I mean, I’ll bid if no one else does.”
Had she really said that? He didn’t figure many strange women would want to dance with him. He didn’t exactly look light on his feet, though he could do a mean two-step. Her offer could be the silver lining and maybe the only way he’d get to be with her.
“The more who agree to participate, the more money we’ll make for the charity,” Ariel said, not waiting for his response.
Kristy leaned forward. “And that’s what this is all about, Rusty. This is for charity. Will you do it for the people who depend upon the county foundation?”
She was playing the sympathy card.
“How many other people have said yes so far?” None of his friends had mentioned it, and they definitely would have. It would be right up Colby’s alley for sure. That guy loved being the center of attention. Rusty did not.
“You’re the first person we’ve asked,” Kristy said.
“But we are asking a lot more people.”
“You’ll bid if no one else does?” He looked at Kristy. Her face was serious, but her eyes held amusement. Apparently she liked seeing him squirm.
“Yes. Absolutely. Will you do it?”
There was desperation in her voice. And he wasn’t above taking advantage of it.
He looked directly into her beautiful, sparkling sapphire eyes, the same color of the water in the lake on his family’s former ranch. “Come out for lunch with me, and I’ll think about it.”
“I…”
“She’d love to,” Ariel answered for her. “And while you’re thinking about it, do you think Mel and Stetson would do it? We’d like to get people from all walks of life.” Ariel shot a look of desperation at Kristy.
Kristy sighed. “I guess I can go for a quick bite.”
His pulse quickened. “Ready and waiting.”
***
Kristy sat across from Rusty at the small café situated only a few steps from her office, Rusty frowned as the waitress delivered her salad and his burger. She’d talked about the gala the whole way over, trying to persuade him to think of the bigger picture and remind him that the town’s police chief would likely be in attendance.
That frown told her she hadn’t made the sale yet. “It’s a great way to get noticed.”
“I’d prefer to get noticed for the right things.”
He took a bite of his burger, as if that should be the end of the discussion.
“This would be the right thing. Helping out the charity.” What could be better?
He set the burger on his plate and looked directly at her. “So what is it about me that has you swiping to the left?”
Now there was a change of subject. One she hadn’t been prepared for. She took a moment to process because though he’d asked a direct question, she wasn’t sure how to answer.
She liked him. She found him attractive. He intrigued her. But something in her head, or maybe her heart, was signaling that if she got involved with him, it would be very involved. That was what scared her. But she couldn’t say that.
“It’s not you…”
He shook his head, and a lock of chestnut-colored hair fell over his brow, giving him a bad-boy look. That scared her too. She’d always been a sucker for bad boys, hence Dean the Weasel.
“Don’t give me the ‘it’s me’ routine. We haven’t known each other long enough for that.”
Should she be honest with him? Or be cruel and tell him she was not interested even though she was, perhaps too much. She took a sip of her seltzer and tried again. “I just can’t focus on anything right now except the charity event. It’s going to either make or break us, and with Marcia out of commission, I’ve got to be all in to assure that it doesn’t break me .”
He leaned forward. So close she could see the golden flecks in his eyes, smell the scent of coffee. “And if it weren’t for the charity event?”
She bit on her lip. “Then I’d swipe right.” There, she’d said it. Though the moment the words had left her mouth she’d wanted to take them back, except for the fact that a big old smile had replaced the frown on his face.
“You did say you’d bid on me if no one else does.”
She felt the heat rising in her face. This was what she got for being honest. “I am a hundred percent certain that I won’t be required to bid.”
He cocked a half smile. “But will you bid even if someone else does?”
Her pulse danced as she sat back and looked at his cocksure expression. She’d gone this far. It would only be a dance. With a man who at least seemed to be a good guy.
“Maybe.” She couldn’t contain her smile.
“If you promise to bid regardless, I’ll be part of the auction.” His eyes sparked, and those sparks headed straight to her heart, warming her from the inside out.
How could she resist? “I promise I will bid.”
“And if someone overbids you, will you still go out with me after the event?”
How could she say no now? Because part of her definitely didn’t want to say no. She nodded.
He sat back, seemingly satisfied with his negotiations.
Oddly, so was she.
“Are you going to be in jail too?” His tone was hopeful.
“Not if I can help it, because what I am certain of is that I will have my hands full, overflowing, in fact. This is such a big event. Please don’t mention this to your sisters, but I’ve only done events this size under Marcia’s tutelage.” She figured his sisters knew this already, but she didn’t want to sound like she was worried.
“How is your boss?”
“I talked to her the other day. Besides being concerned, I wanted to reassure her that things were going well and to discuss our ideas more thoroughly.” Surprisingly, Marcia hadn’t said no to anything. “She’s doing just fine.” And was busting Kristy about meeting the business goals, so definitely okay.
“How is the business doing besides the gala?”
“So far I only have one wedding booked between now and September and another one booked for November. And both came to me because the plans to wed had come unexpectedly and they need someone to pull things together in a short time frame.” She placed her hands on the table. “The gal in Sheridan for the end of this month just found out she’s pregnant, and since she’s holding the wedding at her fiancé’s ranch, it has to be during a good-weather month and one where it’s not so busy. And then the one getting married in November is actually doing it over Thanksgiving break because her intended teaches at a local college and they didn’t want to wait until winter break, since both families will be in Wyoming for the holiday. So our company needs this gala as much for the promotional opportunity as the income.”
He reached his hand across the table and rested it on hers. She stared into his mesmerizing blue eyes and felt warmth spread through her. If only he was a good as he seemed. And trustworthy.
“It’s rough starting up someplace new, I guess.”
She didn’t pull her hand back even though a voice inside her head was prompting her to. His touch was comforting, nice, calming. “My mother warned me that it takes six months to get a business running.”
“Six months?”
“That’s how long Marcia’s given me to turn a profit at this location. That’s how long the office is rented for. And my apartment.”
“You seem on top of things. But honestly, what’s a date now and again going to do to your plan? Unless you have any objections to me personally.” The frown was back.
She pulled her hand from under his and tucked it in her lap. “It’s not that. You’ve been great.” She meant that. “And agreeing to be in this bail-out-of-jail event is above and beyond, because you’ll definitely raise some funds.”
“So you think I’m a sexy cowboy too?” He grinned that Cheshire cat grin she’d seen before. Made her want to curl up on his lap.
“Not answering except to say I think you’ll fit the bill.”
His grin broadened. “Really.” He held her eyes for a heartbeat.
Tingles ran through her. Yup, she’d entered dangerous territory.
“Look, I’m only asking to see you now and then, not a commitment,” he said. “When you’re free, of course. Maybe do another lunch, or maybe even breakfast, if you can’t do dinner. Late-night drinks is a possibility too. Basically, you can call the shots.”
His smile and that twinkle in his eye made him so tempting. And he really did sound supportive, so unlike Dean. And she was lonely. Except for Ariel, she knew hardly anyone else. “ If I have an opening, I’ll call you… but don’t count on it before the gala.”
“And you know that if I can help in anyway…”
Music to her ears. “Find us some more guys to bail out of jail. Stetson or Mel or both would be great.” Since he was offering…
One side of his grin cocked up in a Brad Pitt-worthy smirk. Her pulse did a dance “On one condition.”
“Again with the conditions. You’re being awfully transactional.” She’d already agreed to bid for him and to a possible date sometime in the future—what more could he want?
“Since I’m going to be at this charity thing anyway, go as my date.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but he raised a hand. “I know you’re going to be working and your work will have to come first. But I’d like to escort you nonetheless.”
She bit her lip. This was getting real.
“And you can’t bid on any of the other guys.”
She had to laugh. “That’s actually two conditions.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Is it a deal?”
It was a hard bargain, but she couldn’t help being flattered by his persistence. “Deal.”
She hoped she wouldn’t regret it. She knew men who were all about the chase and once they’d got you, they were no longer interested. Rusty could be one of those. He’d already said no commitment, not that she was looking for one. And if he was a fly-by-night kind of guy, it would be a way to at least pass the time. She’d just have to be on her guard, because he was a tempting bundle of good looks and a kind heart.
She extended her hand. He grabbed it, and the roughness of his skin sent little butterflies to her stomach. “You’ve got yourself a cowboy,” he said in a low growl.
He winked, and those butterflies took flight.