his shoulder length hair. “He’s a bartender. They’re fairly friendly by nature.”
“Have you ever seen him with anyone?”
“If you’ve spent any time at all inside that bar, you know anything goes. I think it’s fair to say I’ve seen him with a lot of anyones.”
She slumped against the counter, pressing her cheek to the wood. “Terrific. So even if I got him to acknowledge I’m alive, I’ll only be able to hold his attention until the next piece of ass walks through the door.”
“Oh. My. God. You sound like a high schooler!” He lounged back onto his elbows. “If you get him to notice you? Of course he noticed you. You’re hard to forget.”
“What?”
“You and Chris both are. The two of you have something special. It lights up your eyes when you smile and makes people take a second look whether they want to or not. You’re genuine, something new and fresh, probably something he’s never seen before.”
It was a beautiful speech, but it didn’t tell her how to proceed. “So?”
“Sweetie, if you want him, you have to go in there and let him know. He’s a man. You’ve got to spell it out for him.”
Emory thought about the blonde who’d strutted in, kneeled down, and took Alex’s erection into her mouth. How was Emory ever supposed to compete with that kind of sexy, no-holds-barred approach? And once she had his attention, what was she supposed to do with it? What if she was wrong? What if the blackness reared up and swallowed her whole, leaving nothing but a quivering, wobbly mass of gooey Emory who could barely stammer her own name?
“You’ve got nothing to lose, Emory.” Fox’s soft words drew her back to the moment.
“My self-respect?”
“No, baby, that’s what you’re trying to get back.”
It was too much for now. She needed to think about it, decide a course of action, and maybe bury herself in paperwork for a few hours to avoid the necessity of making a decision. “How about we get the flowers loaded so the wedding planner doesn’t put out a contract on my life.”
“Those wedding planners are overly dramatic.” Fox put his glasses back on his head and headed for the walk-in cooler. “I’m telling you, drama is so overrated.”
“You would know.”
They bantered back and forth as they loaded vases, wreathes, and bouquets into the back of his SUV. He might be a drama queen on occasion, but there was no doubt in her mind that Fox was an important part of hers and Chris’s life. She was reminded of what her brother had said about his partner the night before. Would Emory ever find someone to balance out her life?
Focus on one thing at a time. Find a way to put the past in the past and move forward before you start thinking about more.
They’d just closed the back window of Fox’s SUV when Donovan MacIntyre’s sports car purred its way into a spot right in front of her shop. Fox twirled his keys in his hand, the expression on his face letting her know without question what he thought of their early-morning visitor.
“Emory! Good morning, honey. Looks like you’re already busy!” MacIntyre strode around the hood of his car, swiping invisible lint from his standard issue polo and khakis. Either he’d just gotten out of the shower or he’d gone a little overboard with the gel, because his dark hair looked like an oil slick. She wondered if he gelled his beard into place too.
“Just finishing up with flowers for a wedding.” She kept her tone brisk, hoping he’d realize she was too busy for idle chitchat.
“Fantastic. I was hoping you’d have time for a little break and we could grab some breakfast.”
Fox crossed his arms, his friendly features looking downright hostile. “Em, Chris was planning on stopping by in just a few minutes.”
“Oh, that’s right. Thanks, Foxy.” She gave MacIntyre her best apologetic smile. “My brother’s coming to chat, and I’m all by myself today, so my breaks will have to be here at the
“Have you ever seen him with anyone?”
“If you’ve spent any time at all inside that bar, you know anything goes. I think it’s fair to say I’ve seen him with a lot of anyones.”
She slumped against the counter, pressing her cheek to the wood. “Terrific. So even if I got him to acknowledge I’m alive, I’ll only be able to hold his attention until the next piece of ass walks through the door.”
“Oh. My. God. You sound like a high schooler!” He lounged back onto his elbows. “If you get him to notice you? Of course he noticed you. You’re hard to forget.”
“What?”
“You and Chris both are. The two of you have something special. It lights up your eyes when you smile and makes people take a second look whether they want to or not. You’re genuine, something new and fresh, probably something he’s never seen before.”
It was a beautiful speech, but it didn’t tell her how to proceed. “So?”
“Sweetie, if you want him, you have to go in there and let him know. He’s a man. You’ve got to spell it out for him.”
Emory thought about the blonde who’d strutted in, kneeled down, and took Alex’s erection into her mouth. How was Emory ever supposed to compete with that kind of sexy, no-holds-barred approach? And once she had his attention, what was she supposed to do with it? What if she was wrong? What if the blackness reared up and swallowed her whole, leaving nothing but a quivering, wobbly mass of gooey Emory who could barely stammer her own name?
“You’ve got nothing to lose, Emory.” Fox’s soft words drew her back to the moment.
“My self-respect?”
“No, baby, that’s what you’re trying to get back.”
It was too much for now. She needed to think about it, decide a course of action, and maybe bury herself in paperwork for a few hours to avoid the necessity of making a decision. “How about we get the flowers loaded so the wedding planner doesn’t put out a contract on my life.”
“Those wedding planners are overly dramatic.” Fox put his glasses back on his head and headed for the walk-in cooler. “I’m telling you, drama is so overrated.”
“You would know.”
They bantered back and forth as they loaded vases, wreathes, and bouquets into the back of his SUV. He might be a drama queen on occasion, but there was no doubt in her mind that Fox was an important part of hers and Chris’s life. She was reminded of what her brother had said about his partner the night before. Would Emory ever find someone to balance out her life?
Focus on one thing at a time. Find a way to put the past in the past and move forward before you start thinking about more.
They’d just closed the back window of Fox’s SUV when Donovan MacIntyre’s sports car purred its way into a spot right in front of her shop. Fox twirled his keys in his hand, the expression on his face letting her know without question what he thought of their early-morning visitor.
“Emory! Good morning, honey. Looks like you’re already busy!” MacIntyre strode around the hood of his car, swiping invisible lint from his standard issue polo and khakis. Either he’d just gotten out of the shower or he’d gone a little overboard with the gel, because his dark hair looked like an oil slick. She wondered if he gelled his beard into place too.
“Just finishing up with flowers for a wedding.” She kept her tone brisk, hoping he’d realize she was too busy for idle chitchat.
“Fantastic. I was hoping you’d have time for a little break and we could grab some breakfast.”
Fox crossed his arms, his friendly features looking downright hostile. “Em, Chris was planning on stopping by in just a few minutes.”
“Oh, that’s right. Thanks, Foxy.” She gave MacIntyre her best apologetic smile. “My brother’s coming to chat, and I’m all by myself today, so my breaks will have to be here at the
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