Chapter 2
Tessa
Ididn’t look back.
Even when I felt him watching me from across the street.
Even when every instinct told me exactly where he was standing.
I kept walking.
The bell above Bloom & Vine chimed softly as I stepped inside, and the familiar scent of fresh eucalyptus and roses wrapped around me instantly.
Safe.
Predictable.
Mine.
I exhaled slowly and set the flowers onto the worktable near the window.
Sunlight spilled across the shop in warm golden stripes, catching glass vases and ribbons hanging from the wall. Buckets of fresh blooms lined the cooler in neat rows—white peonies, sunflowers, lavender stock.
Normal things.
Quiet things.
Exactly the kind of life I’d fought for.
“Get it together, Tessa,” I muttered under my breath.
Because Ace Mercer was becoming a problem.
A six-foot-two, broad-shouldered, unfairly handsome problem with gray eyes that looked at me like I mattered.
I grabbed the floral clippers from the counter and started trimming stems with a little more force than necessary.
Snip.
Snip.
Snip.
The image of him leaning against the tavern porch refused to leave my head.
That lazy smile.
That rough voice saying my name.
You ever gonna give me a real shot, Tessa?
“Nope,” I told the flowers.
The bell above the door jingled again.
I froze.
Please don’t let that be—
“Tough crowd today.”
I closed my eyes briefly.
Of course it was him.
Slowly, I looked up.
Ace stood just inside the doorway, one shoulder braced casually against the frame like he belonged there. Morning light spilled in behind him, outlining the tall shape of him in gold.
The man really needed to stop looking like that.
“I thought Rangers were supposed to be good at reading danger,” I said coolly.
His mouth twitched. “I am.”
“And yet you walked in here anyway.”
He shut the door behind him, the bell chiming softly again. “Guess I like dangerous things.”
My pulse gave one hard kick that thoroughly annoyed me.
I turned back to the flowers before he could notice.
“You’re going to scare off customers.”
Ace wandered farther inside, glancing around the shop slowly. “Looks empty to me.”
“It won’t be if you leave.”
A low chuckle rumbled out of him.
Warm.
Deep.
Entirely unfair.
I focused harder on the bouquet in front of me, sliding stems into place with careful fingers.
“You’re avoiding me,” he said after a moment.
“I’m working.”
“Mhm.”
I glanced up sharply. “You always this persistent?”
“When I care about something.”
Something in his tone made my hands pause.
Just for a second.
Too long apparently.
Because when I looked up again, Ace was watching me with that same steady look that made my chest feel tight in ways I didn’t appreciate.
I set the bouquet down carefully. “Ace.”
“Tessa.”
“You need to stop this.”
“Dinner’s considered ‘this’ now?”
His voice stayed soft. No teasing. No pushing.
That somehow made him more dangerous.
“You don’t even know me,” I said.
“I know you make arrangements for half this town and still stay late to sweep the sidewalk outside your shop.”
I blinked.
His gaze stayed on mine.
“I know you carry pepper spray in your purse, and tell people you carry it to keep you safe.
Heat crept into my cheeks before I could stop it.
“I know,” he continued quietly, “you bring coffee and food to old Mrs. Henley every Thursday because she can’t make it down the mountain anymore.”
My throat tightened unexpectedly.
Because those weren’t things people noticed unless they were paying attention.
And Ace Mercer had definitely been paying attention.
“That doesn’t mean you know me.”
“No,” he agreed. “But I’d like to.”
The words settled somewhere deep in my chest before I could block them.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
I crossed my arms tightly. “You really don’t give up, do you?”
A smile tugged slowly at one side of his mouth.
“Not usually.”
That look in his eyes softened again, and suddenly the shop felt too small.
Too warm.
For one reckless second, I imagined saying yes.
Dinner.
One night.
Seeing what happened.
The thought hit hard enough to steal my breath.
Because I wanted to.
And wanting anything connected to a Ranger felt like stepping toward the edge of a cliff all over again.
I hardened instantly.
“You’re wasting your time, Ace.”
He held my gaze for a long moment.
Then nodded once.
“Maybe.”
Relief flickered through me—
until he pushed off the counter and added quietly, “Still not stopping.”
The bell chimed softly as he walked out.
And the second the door shut behind him, the silence inside the shop changed.
I stared down at the bouquet in my hands.
The stems were crooked now.
My fingers weren’t steady anymore.
And worse—
part of me was already waiting for him to come back.