Kate's Valentine: Novelette (Thistle Do Flowers Book 0.5) Read online

  A knock at the door distracted her from her worried thoughts, and she remembered she had locked the door, and Jordan was now on the other side of it. When she opened the door for him, he entered with a concerned look on his face. Before now, she would have made fun of the idea of a man taking care of plants, but after meeting Jordan, and getting to know him, she was impressed that a man could do the job—a heck of a lot better than she could, obviously.

  “I’m not sure what you can do, because the worst has happened and Jessica’s going to kill me,” she said, following closely behind him as he made his way to the display case.

  “What on earth,” he said, reaching into the case to get a closer look at the turmoil. “I know roses are hard to keep, but I’ve never seen anything like this. They all will wilt, usually after a few weeks or whatever, but not like this.”

  That made her feel better... not. She felt like a complete failure, and not to forget, an idiot. She couldn’t even manage to keep more than a few dozen flowers alive. Sure, she had quite a few dozen that were alive and well, but she needed all of them.

  “No worries,” he said. “I have an idea.”

  Nearly laughing at the thought she just had, she said, “What? Are you going to revive them?”

  Laughing in complete amusement, he said, “Of course not.”

  Raising an eyebrow, she asked, “Then what’s your idea?”

  “There’s not a lot of time, but I can place an order today for flowers and they’ll be here by tomorrow morning,” he explained.

  She liked his idea, but there was yet another problem. “How will I pay for them without Jessica finding out?”

  Smiling that charming smile of his, he said, “You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll take care of it.”

  “That’s awfully nice of you, but I don’t think that’s fair,” she said, walking to the counter in search of her purse. Digging through it, she pulled out her checkbook. “Let me pay you for them.”

  Shaking his head, he said, “No, it’s not a big deal. I need to restock some flowers anyway, so the timing’s perfect.”

  Perfect? This was far from perfect. The only thing that was perfect was his reaction to her dilemma. He was willing to help her, help Jessica, when he really didn’t have to. Competitor was the last word she’d use to describe him from now on.

  “I’ll bring them over as soon as they arrive,” he promised, as he made his way to the door. Turning, he said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Seeing him tomorrow should’ve been the last thing on her mind, but it wasn’t—and not just because of the flowers.

  ♥♥♥

  After calling the school to let them know she wouldn’t be there today, she showered and got ready to head to the flower shop. She had a million thoughts rushing through her head, and a to-do list a mile long. She had several gifts to prepare, several more bundles to wrap, and the first thing on her list was to make enough coffee to last throughout the day. She was running on less than five hours of sleep and she looked like a train wreck. Thankful for makeup to hide the mess, she brushed it on after her shower.

  Meeting Jordan at Thistle Do an hour before opening hours had been her idea. It would give her plenty of time to make coffee and prepare as many things as she could. All she wanted was to do right by the business. She would tell Jessica about the chaos later when she arrived back in town.

  Jordan greeted her by the door with a stack of boxes at his feet. “There’re more in my truck,” he said, when he saw her eyes focus on the boxes. “I ordered plenty.”

  “I’d say so,” she joked, unlocking the door before helping him carry them in. “Let’s hope I can keep these alive.”

  He ushered her into the store, carrying two boxes at a time. “That shouldn’t be too difficult, since they’re going to be gone by the end of the day,” he teased.

  “Or so we hope,” she said, trying not to sound too negative. “Jessica won’t be back for a few more days.”

  He set the boxes near the foldout table. He then carried in the last two from his truck. Opening the top box with a utility knife from the side pocket of his carpenter jeans, he took a look through the inventory. “These look great,” he said, moving aside to offer her a peek into the box.

  Flowers, mostly roses, were nestled comfortably inside the box. They had come prewrapped with Valentine’s Day plastic. Her work was half done—thanks to him.

  “How much do I owe you?” she asked, reaching for her checkbook to write him a check.

  “I meant what I said,” he said, dismissing the check she had written to him. “I don’t need your money, or Jessica’s. This was a favor. Something I enjoyed doing.”

  “Thank you,” she said, voiding the check and shredding it. “I appreciate it. I’ll be sure to tell Jessica.”

  “No need for all that,” he said. When she raised an eyebrow, he said, “Well, you can do whatever you want, but there’s really no need for her to know about me helping out.”

  She knew exactly why he felt the way he did. Jessica hadn’t liked him since the day she found out he had opened his business. Whether or not he was truly in competition, Jessica believed he was, and so her opinion about him wouldn’t change... regardless of how many favors he did or how nice of a person he was.

  Kate disregarded the thought of Jessica for the time being. Jordan had done a wonderful thing and he deserved every thanks he could get. She watched him turn before stopping him, “Wait, Jordan.”

  “Yeah?” He slowly turned back to face her.

  “Thank you, again, for everything you’ve done,” she said sincerely. “Even if you don’t want Jessica to know because you think she wouldn’t care, know that I care and I appreciate what you did.”

  Nodding, he turned the knob and opened the door. “I’d better let you get back to what you need to get done. Have a good day.”

  The door shut before she could tell him goodbye or a simple “see you later”, leaving her to fend for herself in a heap of boxes filled with every flower a person could imagine, and lots of work to do.

  She had given herself plenty of time to prepare the last few bunches of flowers she had left yesterday, before having to flip the closed sign to open. Customers were in and out throughout the day. She offered coffee to a few who wanted to sit and chit chat with her, which ended up mostly being a few older women from the local church who wanted to just stop in and see the beautiful flowers—a tradition of theirs every year. Kate had enjoyed the morning chat with the women, who said they loved the decorations and the preparations she had finished, just in time.

  Soon after they left, a steady stream of customers, ranging in all ages, had purchased flowers and other random gifts around the shop. Jessica had stocked stuffed animals, balloons, and the whole nine yards, to prepare this year for Valentine’s Day. A good thing she did, because according to the amount Jessica said she sold last year, this year had nearly doubled that amount—and it wasn’t even noon yet.

  She couldn’t help but wonder how Hughes Plants was making out in sales. She had wanted the best for Thistle Do, but certainly wanted Jordan to have success also. She made a mental note to call him at the end of the day and ask him how his day went—wanting to hear his voice would have nothing to do with it.

  Smiling at the thought, she waited patiently behind the counter for the customers to approach her. Some would need her guidance in choosing the best for their girlfriends, while some would need her assistance with balloons. Either way, she was happy to be here—a part of the town’s celebration, even if she didn’t believe in all of the mushy stuff it entailed.

  At the end of the day, she had worked up an appetite. Who knew that a small town flower shop could bring in that many people in one day? She had been busy from sun up to sun down. She had kept it open an hour later than normal, due to the few men who had just gotten off work or had forgotten to pick up something for their loves waiting for them at home.

  Shutting the light off on her way out, she pulled
the door closed behind her. Just as she was turning the key to lock the door, Jordan walked up behind her and startled her, causing the slightest shriek to escape. She jumped, nearly dropping everything she was carrying out to the car. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, laughing as he knelt down to help her pick her things off the ground. Standing up, he handed over the armful of things he had grabbed. “How’d today go?”

  Thanking him as she grabbed the stuff from him, she said, “Exhausting.”

  “That bad?” he asked, chuckling at her expression.

  Shaking her head, she unlocked her car door and tossed everything into the front seat. “I wouldn’t say it’s a bad thing, because sales were great, but I hadn’t expected everyone and their dogs to come in today.”

  “I’m sorry you had a rough day,” he said.

  “No need to apologize, I’ll be fine,” she said, laughing nervously. The last thing she wanted was someone to feel bad for her actually having to work. “How’d your day go?”

  “Sales were up, but not as high as they were here it sounds,” he said, pointing toward the building. Kicking a chunk of loose ice in the parking lot by the tire of his truck, he said, “What do you say we celebrate?”

  The creak of her driver’s side door muffled half of what he had said. “What’s that?”

  Laughing, he said, “Celebrate? You know, go out and have a few drinks and a nice dinner?”

  She could feel her cheeks warm at the embarrassment of his misunderstanding. “I know what celebrate means,” she explained. “I just didn’t hear everything you said.”

  “Oh, okay,” he said, nodding while he twisted the truck key in his hand. “So, then, what do you say?”

  She couldn’t see what it would hurt to go with him. He had done an awful lot for Thistle Do and for her this past week. Plus, he didn’t seem all that bad—considering the stories she had heard from Jessica in terms of business and his personality. If Kate had anything to say about him at all, it would be that he was quite handsome, charming, and quite friendly too.

  “You can ride with me, if you’d like?” he asked, motioning for her to follow him around to the passenger side.

  “Sure, let me grab my purse,” she said, reaching in across the front seat. She tossed her keys into her purse on her way over to him.

  Following him around the front of the truck to the passenger door, she took his advice on watching her step—the last thing she wanted to do was allow her clumsiness to make another scene in front of him. With his assistance, she climbed into his truck, allowing him to shut the door when she got comfortable.

  He climbed in, and with a turn of the key, his truck grumbled to life. The loud diesel engine hummed as he stepped on the gas. “Where to?”

  “Anywhere is fine with me,” she said, ready to relax with a few drinks and feed her hunger pangs.

  “I know the perfect place right outside of town,” he said, steering the truck out of the parking lot. “It’s actually right on the edge of the next town over. Have you been to Cupid’s Steakhouse?”

  “Cupid’s Steakhouse?” She had never heard of such a place, but then again, she had recently moved here and she was sure there were a lot of places she still hadn’t seen.

  “They have the best food,” he said, gripping the steering wheel as he guided the truck onto the open highway. “Tonight they’re offering discounts for couples.”

  She nearly choked for air. Couples? That was not what this was.

  “Relax,” he said, laughing at her expense. “I’m joking.”

  She couldn’t deny being attracted to him, but being a “couple” was pushing it. She was not one to rush into a relationship... why was she even having these thoughts? She didn’t need to explain to herself the kind of person she was. She needed to relax and have a good time. This week had been a lot of fun, but it had also been stressful.

  ♥♥♥

  “What would you like to eat?” the waitress asked, standing next to their booth waiting to take their order. She had handed them a menu ten minutes ago, and had made rounds back to them.

  Jordan looked up from his menu in Kate’s direction. “Do you know what you’re having?”

  Kate nodded and closed her menu, setting it aside for the waitress to pick up. Jordan gestured for her to go ahead and order, he obviously needed another minute or two to decide. “I’ll have the lemon chicken and a twice baked potato.”

  The waitress scribbled on her pad. “What would you like to drink?”

  It hadn’t gone unnoticed that Jordan was curious as to what she was drinking. She figured he was making sure she ordered something with alcohol to help her relax tonight—it was much needed. “I’ll have a strawberry margarita, please.”

  “Okay,” the waitress said, scribbling some more. Turning to Jordan. “And for you?”

  “I’ll have steak with a twice baked potato,” he said, smiling at Kate. “And I’ll take a beer.”

  Before the waitress could name off the different beer they had to offer, he said, “Surprise me.”

  Kate could tell the wink he had given not only had her heart racing, but the waitress’ too. There was something about him...

  “I’m super hungry,” he said, stretching as he patted his stomach.

  “Me, too,” she replied. “I haven’t eaten all day. The margarita sounds amazing, too.”

  The smirk he gave her caught her attention. “What?”

  “Nothing, nothing at all,” he said, smiling as he held his hands up in defense.

  “Say what you were thinking, Mister,” she said, pointing a finger in his direction while laughing.

  “It was nothing, I swear,” he said, looking into her eyes. Locked in on his eyes, she felt something. There was a moment between them when they didn’t say anything, but yet there had been a million things spoken. Sitting back, she looked down at the purse she had carried in. Distracting herself from his questioning look, she pretended to search for something.

  “Isn’t that how we met?” he asked, pointing to her purse.

  Confused at first by what he was referring to, she let out a nervous laugh.

  “You were searching through that thing when you slammed into me in the hallway, remember?”

  “Yep, I sure was,” she said, zipping her purse and putting it down beside her. She looked up and smiled at him, finding it hard to ignore the unspoken desire between them. His eyes were completely engrossed in hers as he leaned in across the table. She had tried to ignore it over the last week since running into him, but it was no longer easy to ignore.

  Out of all the men she had met in this town, Jordan Hughes was the only one to have this effect on her. It had been her goal to avoid allowing anything like this happening, but here she was, smack dab in the middle of a desire-filled atmosphere with a man she had just met. The chemistry between them had been hard to ignore. The day after slamming into him, she realized they had just clicked. It wasn’t anything she had ever experienced before, and she had tried her damnedest to ignore those thoughts that had swarmed her.

  “Here’re your drinks,” the waitress said, placing them down between them.

  The margarita sounded even better at that moment. Swirling the straw around her drink, she kept silent, hoping maybe this feeling was something only she felt, and it would soon pass. Blaming it on the holiday, she tried to keep her thoughts to a minimum, but the man sitting across from her was making it a challenge.

  “You’re very beautiful, Kate,” he said, after taking his first drink from the bottle.

  There it was, no longer just a feeling. It had been a compliment, but she knew there would be more, and possibly even more after that. Realizing she had not said thank you, but instead had sat in silence for the last minute, overthinking and analyzing the whole situation, she finally said, “Thank you.”

  She didn’t believe in love at first sight, or any of that mushy stereotypical Valentine’s Day ruckus, but what she did believe in was chemistry, and finding someo
ne you click with... and her someone was now sitting across from her.

  The night-out at Cupid’s Steakhouse ended with a lot of great laughs—fun she hadn’t had in a long time. She had missed nights like tonight, and was thankful that he had asked her to join him.

  Pulling the truck into the parking lot next to Thistle Do, Jordan shifted it into park and turned to face her. “I’ve had a wonderful time tonight.”

  She nodded and said, “Me, too.” Looking over at him as she fiddled with the clip on her purse, she said, “Thank you for taking me out.”

  “What do you say we do this again?”

  She didn’t want to say no, but she wasn’t exactly sure she was ready to say yes. She wasn’t ready to go out on dates and get attached to another man. She definitely wasn’t ready to allow her heart another chance to be shattered, and she certainly wasn’t going to rush into anything just because it felt right.

  Looking over at him sitting quietly as he patiently waited for her response; she didn’t want to tell him no. She had enjoyed tonight. He had been a lot of fun to be around.

  “I’m not sure what you’re thinking, maybe you’re not thinking anything at all,” he said, his voice low and calm. “But I had a great time tonight, and I’d love to do it again. I’m not sure if I’m the only one who feels there’s something between us, but...”

  “Yes,” she interrupted him. “There’s something there, but I just don’t know...”

  It was his turn to interrupt her. “We don’t have to rush into anything. Hell, we barely know each other, but I do know that I like you... a lot.”

  “I like you, too,” the words were out of her mouth before she had time to think them over. With no regret, she leaned across the bench seat and kissed him on the cheek. “I would love to go out on another date with you.”

  Leaving it at that, she climbed out of his truck and made her way to her car. There was something about him; and she could foresee surrendering her heart to him—allowing him the opportunity to do what he wanted with it—but for now, she would take it slow and get to know him.