Blue Roses (Baker Street Romance #1)(2)
Author: Mimi Strong

I ask him, “Have you considered… not doing that thing anymore?”

“Where’s the fun in that? Maybe it’s one of my favorite things.” He grins, dazzling me with great-looking teeth.

“So, you need an apology arrangement?”

“That depends. Do you offer a money-back guarantee?”

“No, but if she kills you, we’ll do your funeral for half price.” I chuckle at my joke. “Florist humor.”

He keeps smiling, but doesn’t laugh.

“Can I get something by closing tonight?”

“Absolutely. Do you have a budget? A type of flower that holds a special meaning for the two of you?”

“Surprise me.” He lays some cash on the counter. “Is this enough?”

My eyes bug out at the money. The bike garage business must be profitable. I also notice he doesn’t wear a wedding band.

“That’s more than enough,” I say. “If she doesn’t take you back, you can marry me, and I’ll throw in my sister, too.”

“Beg pardon?”

I point my thumb toward the door to the office. “That joke makes more sense if my sister’s actually here.”

“I’m sure it does,” he says.

The door chimes with another customer coming in.

Luca gives me a funny look, and then he turns and walks back out again.

I stare at the door for a few minutes. The scent of his masculine cologne lingers in the air.

I offer the customer help, and she replies that she’s just looking for now.

I pick up the money and smell it. I expect the stack of bills to smell like Luca, but it just smells like money.

The woman gives me a funny look and then leaves.

I sigh and stare at the front door.

Luca Lowell is every bit as handsome as people have told me. And he’ll be working right down the street from me, day in and day out.

The first thing I need to do after making Luca’s flower arrangement is… purchase a scooter.

Obviously.

Chapter 3

It takes me two hours to create the apology bouquet. I consider making it ugly, just so she’ll break up with him.

And then what will you do, Tina?

Luca and I would just be friends at first, on account of his recent breakup. Our friendship would become intimate, but not physical at first. Then one day he’d walk in here, lock the front door, and take me in his arms. He’d knock all the paperwork off the desk in the office, and demand to have me immediately.

I shiver at the thought of a man like Luca Lowell touching me with those big hands of his. A real man. I’ve had a few nice boyfriends, but they were boys. When they tried to take charge and dominate, it always made me laugh.

How can you take a guy seriously when he gets more excited over video games than your new sexy underwear?

One time, I was on a blind date with a guy who pulled out his phone to bid for virtual spaceship weapons on EBay. He won the auction, but lost the chance at a second date.

That was over a year ago. I shouldn’t be so picky, because I haven’t had a date since.

If only someone half as hot as Luca would walk into my life…

With a sigh, I tuck the final bits of greenery into place. My pride as a florist is stronger than my desire to sabotage his relationship. The arrangement is stunning.

Luca comes back in at closing. He has flecks of paint all over him, most likely from his renovations at the garage. Looking at his thick fingers, speckled in paint, makes my whole body tingle.

“Those flowers are almost as pretty as you,” he says. “How’s your handwriting?”

My cheeks flush at the double compliment. I grab a pen and a notecard.

“You say the words and I’ll write ‘em.”

“Just put down the usual.”

I glance up. “You want me to write ‘Sorry I’m such a jerk’ on here?”

“If that’s the usual, then I guess it’ll do.”

“It’s your funeral,” I joke, writing the note.

Immediately, I rip up the card. My Florist Code kicked in. I can’t do harm.

“Why’d you rip that up?” he asks.

I gaze up into his breathtaking blue eyes.

“Luca, you asked me what I know about women. Let me give you a bit of advice. There’s not a woman out there who wants to get the usual.”

He takes the pen from my hand. His fingers graze my fingers in three separate and distinct spots. I feel the contact in every part of my body.

He picks up a fresh card from the stack on the counter. In simple block letters, he writes:

SORRY I’M A JERK. -LUCA

He looks up at me, a devilish grin on his lips.

“Good luck with that,” I say.

He leans across the counter. He’s going to kiss me.

His brown wavy hair brushes my cheek. He wraps his arms carefully around the large vase holding the arrangement, picks it up, then walks to the door.

My sister comes in as he leaves, holding the door open for him. She walks in, her eyes and mouth wide open. “Who was that big hunk of man-candy with half the store’s flowers?”

“Some lucky girl’s boyfriend.”

“The good ones are always taken. Or g*y. Or players. Or live with their mother.”

“We live with our mother.”

“It’s not weird for girls.”

I start closing the cash register for the end of day reports.

She gives me her pitying look. “Tina, I saw the blue roses in the cooler. Are you okay? Prom’s coming up soon, and then…”

“I’m fine. I’m not going to your lame-ass support group.”

“If you really were fine, you might do more than work here and hide away with your sad movies. What was going on last night? I had my window open. I haven’t heard sounds like that since we gave Muffin his anti-dandruff bath.”

“Just a stupid movie with a golden retriever. I should know better. The dog on the poster always dies. People who make movies are ass**les.”

“But it’s not just the movie. You always get bad this time of year.”

I slam the cash drawer shut.

“And I always get over it. So leave me alone.”

“Leave you alone? Careful, or you might get exactly what you ask for.”

I roll my eyes and walk away. “Close up the shop yourself,” I call over my shoulder.

Chapter 4

The lights are on, so that means my best friend Rory is waiting for me when I get home. She’s used the hidden key to let herself into the place I call my cottage. It’s actually a converted former garage in my mother’s back yard.