Chapter Eight #2
He took in a long, slow breath. “Fine, Ms. Foster. Why don’t we conduct this sham of an inspection, so we can both get back to our own jobs?”
With that, he had just lit the fuse. Had that been his intention? She stepped forward and held up a hand.
“Just one minute, Mr. Buchanan. This inspection is important and is company policy for all purchases—and I repeat, all purchases—of plant stock that include individual containers selected by personnel other than the actual owner.”
She was so close he could smell her hair, a mixed scent of honeysuckle and soap. He wanted to roar at his sudden and quite ridiculous impulse to step closer and bury his nose in her silky tresses.
“This is our only means of protecting the plant material we work so hard to grow,” she added testily, “by ensuring the owner knows what’s involved in proper maintenance.”
“Garrett’s given me that same speech twice, Ms. Foster. So, if you please…” He motioned her toward the end of the first row. “Why don’t we begin?”
Why was he being such a jackass? He had already blown her off. He could afford to be civil and professional now. Or could he?
Lily stomped to the group of Chorisia trees and began a soliloquy on native home range mixed with temperature needs, light requirements, watering schedules, and finally cold tolerance.
The only reason he knew they were Chorisia trees was from the little tag stuck in the soil at the base of the tree.
She repeated her performance with the adjacent pygmy date palms and each change of species as they progressed down the first row of containers, past the now-familiar Helliconia and Callistemon and back up the second row to end at the austere Bismarckia palms.
Rhett followed along like a recalcitrant schoolboy and paid no mind whatsoever to the abbreviated horticulture lesson Lily verbally delivered.
Instead, his mind filled with questions, or really the same question considered a dozen different ways.
Lily’s horticulture knowledge amazed him, and she was obviously a consummate professional to take such detail with all her plant shipments.
So why would she bother to betray him of all people?
She had a healthy business here and happy employees who obviously thought a lot of her, so why risk all this to pull a fast one over on Rhett Buchanan?
If Rhett wanted, he could destroy her business just because he could. Lily had to know that. She was bound to get caught in her lie eventually—they both obviously knew too many people in Jupiter—so why perpetuate the risk and continue the betrayal as long as she had?
Lost in thought, he didn’t notice Lily stopping to pick a bug off a palm frond, and he walked right into the back of her and almost bowled her over.
Bent almost in half with his torso folded over her back, he wrapped his arms around her middle to keep them from tumbling over and felt the familiar electrified sizzle from his chest to the Cole Haans on his feet.
The subsequent and untimely stab of lust tightened his groin to a painful pitch.
Rhett straightened to pull them both upright and mumbled, “I’m sorry,” into her silken tresses where he could finally bury his nose.
Honeysuckle and soap all right.
Lily twisted in his arms to stare up at him, eyes wide and unblinking, offering no hint at her thoughts. He had no time to worry about her thoughts, he was too busy struggling with his own single-minded pleasure.
She feels so good in my arms. So right in my arms.
“Did you do that on purpose?” she asked softly.
Was that a flicker of hope he detected in her eyes?
Best to stick with the truth. “No.”
Her delicate body sagged almost imperceptibly, and he would never have noticed if his arms weren’t still around her.
Good Lord! Had he not let go of her yet?
He fired off a mental message to his arms to pull back, yet they continued to hold her in place of their own volition.
Her eyes were brilliant blue again, all previous traces of fury subsided.
If he lowered his lips four inches and she raised hers four inches, he could kiss her.
Still another recalcitrant part of his anatomy pressured him to ignore his logical left brain that still screamed, Run! She’ll betray you again.
“You never gave me a chance to explain,” she whispered, so softly that for a moment he couldn’t be sure he’d heard her.
His mind assured him he had indeed heard her while swiftly reminding him of the price required to play the game Fool Me Twice. His mind managed to triumph over the desperate lustful part of him, and he yanked his arms back.
“There was no need to explain.”
“How can you say that?” Lily’s eyes darkened again. “You don’t know what I was thinking or feeling when we met, and you don’t want to give me a chance to tell you?”
Don’t look into those gorgeous baby blues. Remember . . . Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
“I know all I needed to know,” he bit out.
“So just like that, we’re over.”
“Just like that.”
He saw the pain filter through her expression this time. If this was all an act, she wouldn’t feel hurt, right? No, dammit, not right. Lily had already proved she was a consummate actress with that innocent routine she played out in New York.
“And now you’re back with Delia.” Her words came out a statement though he knew she asked a question all the same.
“That’s right.” Delia or whoever, it wouldn’t matter. He had to end this. He had to save himself before he did something stupid.
Lily suddenly seemed distracted. She backed up a few steps and tugged on her ear. Someone approached from behind them.
“Lily,” a deep voice said, “you’ve got a call at the shadehouse.”
Rhett spun around to see the tall grower who had been Lily’s date at the charity gala on Saturday night.
“It’s Dylan James. So I knew you’d want to take it, no matter what.” The grower gave Lily a knowing smile. “I’ll finish this inspection for you.”
Who the hell was Dylan James? And why would Lily want to take his call no matter what?
Lily took off for the shadehouse at a good clip without a single glance back, and Rhett glared after her.
Who was she kidding with that act in his arms just now, like she still wanted to explain?
She had wasted no time finding a date for Saturday night, and now she ran off during an inspection for a call she’d take no matter what?
His gut twisted right back into a knot, and he had no intention of finishing the inspection with Lily’s charity-gala date.
Rhett spun back around.
“I’m Rob Shaw, head grower for Bloom & Grow. We met on your previous inspection.”
“I know who you are, and I’d prefer to wait for Lily.”
“She won’t be coming back anytime soon. She’ll be on that call for a long time. Shall we?” He motioned to the final row of stock a few feet away.
“Whatever.”
Shaw took a handful of steps to the first container and waved a hand dismissively toward the rest of the row. “Here’s the rest of your plants,” he said sullenly. “They look all right to you?”
Rhett glanced down the row and back. “Just fine,” he snapped.
“Then we’ll deliver them to Delray tomorrow like Garrett wants.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Inspection’s over.”
Like hell it is.
Rhett briefly considered forcing the arrogant jerk to give him a detailed rundown on every stinking plant in the last row, but he didn’t want to spend one more minute in the man’s company than he had to.
“Lily’s all yours,” Rhett said sarcastically and turned toward the nursery office.
“You’re such an asshole,” Shaw muttered under his breath, but Rhett heard every word.
He halted mid-step.
Inclination said, Go back and settle up. Common sense warned, You’re a celebrity—walk away without a public scene. Instinct wondered, Why would Lily’s date be angry when you just passed her off to him? Rhett reached the front parking lot and climbed into his Navigator.
Trouble was, Lily’s date had been right.
~ ~ ~ ~
The next morning Garrett found Lily in the back of a delivery truck stacking sleeved plants in rows as a nursery worker passed them up from the carts on the ground.
“Nobody packs a truck tighter than you guys,” he said in greeting.
Lily’s head snapped up to peer at him over the tailgate. “Morning, Garrett.”
“Hey, Garrett,” Rob called, approaching from the shadehouse and dragging another cage cart laden with stock.
“I hear yesterday’s inspection went real well.”
“Who said that?” Rob and Lily complained in unison.
Garrett’s brows rose. “Why? Don’t you think it went well?”
“It was horrible,” Lily grumbled and climbed down from the truck. “Who said it went well? Him?”
Garrett knew she meant Rhett. “Actually no, I assumed.”
Lily and Rob frowned. Both waited.
“Well, Rhett came back to the office and growled at anyone who got within ten feet of him. I hear from his secretary he even threw a few things, which is a first for him. She was so worried she called my cell phone since she’s never seen him like that. Quite out of character.”
“I may have substantially shortened the inspection, Lily,” Rob said, with no small amount of chagrin, “but he wanted to get out of here as bad as I wanted him gone. I don’t think that was what did it. His mood, I mean.”
She patted his shoulder. “It’s all right, Rob. Don’t worry about it.”
She glanced over at Garrett. “Rhett told me he didn’t need any explanations from me, and he was back with Delia.”
Garrett grinned. “Well, what did you expect him to say? I only wanted to get him close enough to see you for a while and realize exactly what he’d given up. My plan worked perfectly.”
“Your and Tammy’s plan,” Lily corrected. “She’s in trouble too. That was a dirty trick, no matter how good your intentions were.”
“Don’t blame Tammy. This was my idea. I owe Rhett. I’m going to fix this mess if it takes all year.”