Accidentally in Love (8 page)

For the most part.

Maybe she should get a dog.

Brett waited just inside the door of Maya’s flower shop while she finished up with the guy at the counter.

“A dozen white?” she asked. “I’m sorry, we don’t have them in stock, as we don’t get a lot of call for white tulips—except during wedding season, of course.”

The guy nodded. “There’s no rush.”

“When would you like them?”

“Next week’s fine.” His voice was low, quiet. Smooth. Brett instantly didn’t like it.

“No problem. I get deliveries a couple times a week, so I can have them here on Monday or next Thursday.”

“Thursday’s fine.”

“Great. If you want to leave me your name and phone number, I’ll—”

“No, I’ll call back next week.”

“Okay, but I’ll need your—”

The guy turned and headed straight for the door, he and Brett giving each other a brief once-over before he exited and walked down the street. Medium build, shaggy brown hair, brown eyes, thin scar running along half of his chin, both ears double pierced, and purplish-tinted sunglasses. Not a local, at least not one Brett had ever seen, but there was something oddly familiar about him.

“—credit card number. Damn it. Hey, Brett. How’s it going?”

“Good. Yeah.” Blinking, he turned toward the counter. “Do you know that guy?”

“Nope, never seen him before.” Maya sighed down at her notepad. “That scar makes him look a little like Harrison Ford, don’t you think? Like Han Solo Harrison Ford.”

“What?”

“Never mind. What’s up?”

“I need to, uh—” He looked back over his shoulder as if he expected the guy to be standing there, waiting for Brett to figure out why he knew him.

“Generally speaking, I’d suggest roses. They’re classic, it’s hard to go wrong, though at this stage, it’s definitely too early for red. Pink, maybe…or yellow. Yellow doesn’t just mean jealousy, you know, it’s also for—”

Brett finally blinked her into focus. “What? No, no roses.”

“Too soon? Okay, what about daisies or lilies?”

“Too soon for what? What are you talking about?”

“I heard you had dinner with…” Maya’s eyes widened and flashed toward the huge plate-glass window, then back. “And when you looked over there just now, I…Okay…my bad, never mind.”

“What…No, I wasn’t looking over there.” Except as he said it, he did turn and look across the street at Ellie’s store, which is exactly what Maya thought he’d been doing the first time.

“Sure, yeah, whatever you say.” She didn’t seem even the slightest bit convinced, and she proved that even more by leaning over the counter. “But just a heads-up before you spend your money on flowers for her: she’ll have them dead before the ink’s dry on the card, and I’m not even kidding. You want to buy her a plant, make it silk, and even then…well…Forget it, stay clear of all plants, real or fake. Buy her a book instead, or—”

“Stop!” He didn’t mean to say it that loud, but at least he got her attention. “Whoa already, I’m not buying her anything. I just need to send some flowers to my mom.”

“Oh.” She took a second, letting that sink in; then she turned to look at the calendar hanging above her computer monitor. “Right, it’s April. Pink lilies with a few purple mums?”

“Uh, yeah. How’d you know?”

Maya typed his name into her computer and up popped his purchasing history. Six transactions, each occurring in early to mid-April, and always the same order: pink lilies with purple mums. He’d never bought flowers from her any other time, and why would he? It wasn’t like he had someone to give them to.

“Your mom’s birthday or something?”

“No.” He cleared his throat and pulled some cash out of his pocket. “An anniversary of sorts.”

Click click click
and his order was placed.

“And delivery for…” She ran her finger down the screen, then looked back at him. “The twenty-first again?”

“Make it the week before this time, please.”

“Done.” She nodded at the computer as the printer cranked out his receipt. “You not working today?”

“I’m on nights.”

“Ugh.” She grimaced. “That can’t be much fun.”

“It’s never boring, that’s for sure. Thanks for your help.” He turned to go, but Maya called him back.

“How’s it going with you and Ellie?”

“What…what do you mean?” And why was his throat so dry all of a sudden?

“The driving classes and all that. I hope she’s not giving you too much of a hard time.”

“Well, it’s only been one class,” he managed, one hand on the door already. “So far, so good.”

“None of us expect you to cut her any slack with the whole driving thing, but she hasn’t exactly had the best luck with cops, which is why she’s a little wary around you guys now. That’s why she’s so…well, you know how she is.”

“Mm-hmm.” “Wary” wasn’t the word Brett would have chosen, but for the sake of speed, he wouldn’t argue. “Thanks for taking care of that order for me, I gotta—”

“It’s too bad,” Maya went on. “I bet under different circumstances, you two would make a cute couple.”

“Who?” he sputtered. “
Ellie and me?
Jeez, Maya, she’d rip your tongue out if she knew you were even thinking that.”

“Maybe.” The phone rang, cutting off her quiet laugh. “Thank you for calling The Stalk Market.”

She covered the mouthpiece with her hand and tipped her chin up toward Brett. “She’s pretty amazing once you get past all that lippy crap.”

Before he could answer, she turned away and started scribbling on a notepad, giving Brett his chance to escape.

As soon as he stepped outside, he scanned both sides of the street, hoping for at least a glimpse of the tulip guy, but there was no sign of him. Brett would figure out who he was eventually, but until he did, it was going to drive him crazy.

He headed down to Jayne’s bookstore to return her dishes, and as usual she already had more food waiting for him.

“I’m not completely useless, you know,” he said with a wink. “I can feed myself.”

“Whatever.” A short wave of her hand dismissed everything he’d said. “I’m glad you’re here, because I have an idea.”

“No.”

“But you don’t even know what it is yet.”

“Let me guess.” He lifted a copy of an old Tom Clancy book and scanned the back as he spoke. “It has something to do with setting me up on another blind date.”

“Yes, but—”

“No.” He set the book down and gave her what he hoped might be at least part of a smile. Apparently, it wasn’t. “Thank you, but no.”

“Just listen.” She flipped the Closed sign face out, slid the dead bolt into place, then leaned back against the door. That couldn’t be good. “Nick told me what you said, how you don’t feel like this town is ‘it’ for you, but that’s just because you haven’t met the right person.”

“Jayne.”

“But how are you going to meet that right person if you don’t go out, if you don’t open yourself up to new people?”

“This from the woman who sat around her whole life waiting for Nick to finally get his head out of his ass?”

“That was different.”

When Brett tipped her a look, she rolled her eyes and nodded.

“Okay, it’s not that different, but how is moving back home going to change anything for you? Do you think life will magically be everything you want it to be just because you’re there? No! I get that you’ll be close to your parents, and that’s great, but so what? It’s the twenty-first century, Brett; you talk and Skype with them all the time, and if—God forbid—something should happen to one of them, you could be back there in a matter of hours.”

She wasn’t wrong, but that didn’t mean he was going to change his mind, not even when she crossed her arms like that and tried to stare him down.

“There’s absolutely no reason you can’t be just as happy here as you think you’re going to be by moving back,” she huffed. “And what about us? I suppose parents get first dibs, but we’re your family, too, Brett, and we’re not going to just let you leave without a fight.”

Brett rubbed his palm over his mouth and sighed quietly.

“Besides,” she said, “we agreed that if I could find a reason for you to stay, you would, so—”

“I never agreed to anything.”

“—you need to let me find you a nice girl. I know I haven’t done very well so far, but if you give me a bit of time, I know I can do it.”

“Jayne.”

“Please?”

Ugh. He hated it when she said “please.”

“And I could get Regan and Maya to help, too.” The wheels were already spinning in her head; he could almost see the mental checklist she was forming. “Come on, Brett: worst-case scenario, you lose a couple hours of your life; best case, you save yourself from hauling all that crap in your weight room back across the country again.”

It was a battle he had no hope of winning, and if it made her happy for the next few weeks or months, what could it hurt? He’d survived her first few attempts; he could survive a few more. But he had a few conditions.

“No one who’ll even whisper the word ‘Kardashian’ around me.”

A huge smile spread across Jayne’s face. “Deal.”

“And no one with a record.”

“It’s not like I can run a check on them, Brett—that’s your job.”

“And no one married, on the rebound, or recently separated.”

“Should I be writing this down?”

“Probably.” He cocked his jaw to the side and shook his head slowly. “I’m already regretting this.”

“Oh, come on, it’ll be fun.”

“Yeah?” he snorted. “For who?”

“I can’t do what I need to do if you’re not safe.”

—FBI agent Ryan Hardy,
The Following

Ellie turned off Victoria Street and headed toward her store. It had been almost two weeks since she’d lost her license, and in that short span she’d come to enjoy the walk to work. It gave her a bit of quiet time to notice things she’d driven right by before.

Like the hummingbird nest tucked into the crook of the tree at Library Square, or the fairy garden someone had set up just outside the community garden, or old Pastor Pete, who slept under a layer of cardboard on the bench outside the United Church. So far as Ellie knew, Pastor Pete had never actually been a pastor, but he carried an old Bible and liked to quote his cock-eyed version of scripture whenever he got a chance, so the name stuck.

With no family to speak of, he’d arrived in town a little over a year ago, got off the bus, and just stayed. Until he’d unofficially taken up residence on the church bench, he’d slept in various places all over town, refusing the continued offers of blankets or lodging either inside the church or at the local shelter. He insisted it was God’s will for him to live this way, and since he wasn’t harming anyone or anything, most people pretty much left him to it.

She’d heard that every once in a while the cops showed up and took Pastor Pete away in a patrol car, but she didn’t know where they took him or why. And sure enough, by the next morning, the pastor was right back on the bench.

Since she passed by him every morning now, she made sure to leave a sandwich on his bench, so he’d have something to eat when he woke up.

As she rounded the corner onto Main Street, T-Squared both bobbed their heads in greeting, as always, then continued pulling out the things they left on display outside. A wooden crate filled with shovels, rakes, and hoes, a couple of wheelbarrows, a stack of hard plastic kiddie pools, and a mechanical horse that, shockingly, they could still move around on its tiny rusty wheels and that still only cost a dime to ride.

It must take some serious ninja Tetris skills to squeeze it all back inside every night.

A couple doors down, she stopped to admire the window display at the Buddha’s Belly. Tucked around the books on chakras and crystals were half a dozen baby Buddhas, maybe six inches tall, each in a slightly different position and color and each one cuter than the last.

Gabbie would love that gold Buddha baby, and since Gail was hopping the bus to Gabbie’s this afternoon, if Ellie had time, maybe she’d run back and get it for her. A tiny ripple of guilt coursed through Ellie at the thought of Gail leaving. As much as she loved her mom, and their time so far hadn’t been too bad, it’d still be nice to have the house to herself again, even if only for a week or so.

Oops, she’d better get moving; there was already a customer waiting in front of Pandora’s. She quickened her step, then somehow managed to catch the slice of panic before it ripped from her throat.

Even from almost fifty meters away, she knew it was him. His hair might be longer and he was wearing sunglasses, but she recognized the way he stood, the way he tipped his head when he was trying to sweet-talk her, and the way he pulled in the corner of his bottom lip before he started an apology.

If she had any sense, she would stop walking, pull out her phone, and…and what? Call the cops?

Right, because that had been so helpful the last time.

Instead, she just kept walking toward her store and didn’t stop until he blocked her way.

“Hello, Ellie,” he purred, leaning in as though to kiss her cheek. “You’re looking gorgeous as ever.”

Dodging his kiss, she refused to step back, to give him even the slightest hint that he could get a reaction out of her, especially not the panic that continued to claw its way over every muscle in her body. Without looking, she knew the stores on either side of hers would still be closed. The Thrift Shop was run by volunteers who kept random schedules at best, and The Bee’s Knees, on the other side, never opened before ten. Her best hope for help, if she needed it, would be from someone inside the Cactus Café, across the street, but at nine
A.M.,
the only people in there would be the retired Rotarians having their morning coffee and Sara, who ran the counter.

Not good.

“What are you doing here, Kurt?”

“I’ve missed you, baby.”

“I’m not your baby.”

“Oh, come on,” he said, wrapping his hand gently around her elbow. “You used to like it when I called you that.”

“No, I didn’t.” She pulled out of his grasp and pressed him back a step. “I thought the terms of your probation restricted travel outside of Ontario.”

“Probation’s over, baby—got my wings back.”

“How is that even possible? You were sentenced to five years in jail and two of probation.”

“They let me out early. Model prisoner and all that, so my time’s been served, probation’s done, and I can get back to my life now.”

Ellie fought the scream building in her throat. Why hadn’t anyone told her he was out? Oh, she knew perfectly well why; technically, she wasn’t his victim. If he’d raped her or tried to kill her, they might have advised her so she could be at his hearings, but as far as the court was concerned, there was no proof Kurt had actually done anything to physically harm her.

Forcing her voice to remain even, she looked him square in the eye. “Your life is back in Toronto, so you wasted a lot of time and money coming out here.”

When she tried to move past him, he moved with her.

“You’re my life, baby.”

“Move.”

He didn’t. “I’ve changed, Ellie. You have to believe me.”

“So have I. Now get out of my way.”

“Or what?” There it was: the low, quiet way he spoke that, on the surface, didn’t sound threatening, but it still chilled Ellie to the bone. “You gonna call the cops? Maybe your dad? How’d that work out for you last time?”

There was nothing she could do to stop her face from turning red, but she could control what she said and how she said it, so, like him, she kept her voice low and quiet.

“In case you missed the memo, Kurt, let me spell it out for you. We’re done. Over. Finished.”

“No, we’re not. We belong together.”

“Uh, no, we don’t.” And then, as though to prove her own theory wrong on what she could and couldn’t control, she added, “I’m with somebody else now.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am,” she seethed. “You have no idea what my life’s like anymore. I’m completely different.”

Two buildings up, the door to the post office opened and out stepped Mrs. G, one hand wrapped around her cane, the other wrapped around her home-care worker’s elbow. They turned in the opposite direction, but not before the old girl waved her cane in a brief hello.

“Poor old Edith’s getting slower by the day, isn’t she?” Kurt’s words hung between them as their meaning slowly sank in. “It’s a shame she doesn’t have someone with her all the time; someone as frail as her could easily fall down the stairs. Or worse.”

“If you even think about going near her…”

“Relax,” he murmured, reaching out to finger the ends of her hair. “I’m only here for you, baby. The whole time I was locked up, you never came to see me once, so you forced me to come and see you.”

“And now you’ve seen me, so you can go.”

“Come on, Ellie. We were good together.”

Ugh.
Back before everything blew apart, she’d fallen time and again for that wounded look of his, but not now. Never again.

“I already told you I’m with someone else, so you need to get over any idea you might have of us getting back together. Not gonna happen.”

“What’s his name?”

“None of your business. Now, if you don’t mind, I have to open up.” This time she got around him and unlocked the door. “And just so we’re clear, I reserve the right to refuse service, so if you take one step inside my store, I
will
have you arrested.”

“No need to get hostile.” Kurt’s smile widened. “Just tell me one thing. If you’ve got someone new, where is he? The only time you ever go out is when you meet those other babes for drinks on Tuesday nights. Let’s see: there’s the worrier from the bookstore who’s married to that builder, the hot redhead who’s shacked up with that idiot doctor, and the one from the flower shop over there. What’s her name again? Oh, right, Maya. Works alone, lives alone.”

An icy chill raced up Ellie’s spine and settled at the base of her skull, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her shiver. Instead, she forced herself to blink once, only once, before glaring at him.

“What’s your point?”

“No point. Just curious. You say you’ve got a new guy—only thing, you’re never out with him. Why is that?”

“He’s very busy, and so am I.” Without another word, she jerked the door open, stepped inside, and locked it behind herself. Even though she was already late opening, there was no way she could deal with customers feeling the way she did right then. Forcing herself to take steady, even steps, she headed to the tiny back room, flicked on the light like she did every morning, and then collapsed against the wall.

Her knees shook so hard she didn’t have a hope of making it to the chair near the coffeemaker, so she slid down the wall until she hit the floor. Scrambling for her bag, she dug out her phone and fumbled to dial Maya’s number.

“M-Maya, hey, it’s, uh, it’s me….I’m fine….Are you at your store yet? Good.” She inhaled slowly and forced her breath out just as slow. “Do me a favor: look out the window and tell me if there’s someone standing outside my place….Yes, I’m in the back….Maya,
please,
just look.”

As she listened to Maya’s heels clicking across the floor of the flower shop, Ellie continued to force steady breaths in and out, right up until Maya confirmed that not only was someone out there but that it was the same guy who’d ordered a dozen white tulips from her yesterday.

Promising to explain later, Ellie hung up and closed her eyes. Now what? If what Kurt said was true and his probation was over, he was free to travel anywhere in the country—maybe even out of the country, for all she knew—which meant he wasn’t doing anything wrong by standing on the sidewalk. He hadn’t actually threatened her, and he’d hardly even touched her, yet there was that undercurrent in his tone that suggested he could and would do whatever it took to get her back.

So what? That’s what the police would say if she called them. He’s on public property, he’s not obstructing anyone, and he hasn’t made a direct threat, so there’s nothing they can do. That was a lesson she’d learned the hard way, and she didn’t need to relearn it today.

“Come on, girl,” she grunted. “Get your shit together.”

If he’d been watching her like he’d said, he probably knew her routine at the store. If she didn’t keep to that, he’d know she was shaken, and she wasn’t about to give him even the smallest victory. Easier said than done when she still wasn’t sure her legs would hold her upright.

From her spot on the floor she stretched sideways and managed to reach the long pole they used to handle merchandise on the upper hooks. Using that, she was able to hit the switch for the lights out in the main store and after a few spastic missed shots, she finally hit the power button on the stereo. Good. She usually took a couple of minutes to get the coffee going, but today she used that time to gather her feet under her.

There. With every breath she managed to gain a bit more control of her muscles, until she was finally able to make her way back through the store. She kept the long pole with her, mainly because it was great for balance, but on her way through the racks, she used it to shuffle a few of the dresses hanging up high, just so he didn’t figure out why she was really packing it around.

Outside, Kurt had moved to the city bench attached to one of the big concrete planters on the edge of the sidewalk. With his arm flung across the back of the bench and his left leg crossed over his right, he looked as relaxed and carefree as anyone.

And just like that, the rest of Ellie’s fear morphed into anger. Why should he be able to sit out there without a care while she suddenly felt like a caged animal? Screw that.

Abandoning her pole, she pulled out her phone and called her mom, on the pretext that she just wanted to say goodbye again and double-check Gail’s bus schedule. Apparently, Buck had already called twice and tried (again) to convince Gail to come home, but Gail had refused. She had plans with her daughters, and if he wanted to see her, he’d just have to get himself on a plane.

They both laughed lightly at that, because Buck didn’t fly.
Ever.
The way Gail told it, they were supposed to have flown to Nashville for their honeymoon, but Buck only made it as far as the gate before he froze up and couldn’t go another step. They’d ended up driving to Montreal instead.

The next call was back to Maya, to explain who Kurt was and what was going on.

“Son of a bitch!” Maya cried. “He stood right here at my counter yesterday, wouldn’t leave his name or anything, just ordered those damn tulips and left. I even…Wait a second…Brett was here.”

“What does that have to do with this?”

“Yesterday,” Maya said, her voice getting higher, her words spilling out faster, “while Kurt was here, Brett came in and…yeah…when Kurt left, they sort of gave each other one of those once-over things guys do.”

“Do they know each other?”

“I don’t think so, ’cause Brett asked if I knew him. You should call him.”

“Who?”

“Brett!”

“Yeah, right,” Ellie snorted. “He can’t do anything—that’s why you need to listen to me. I don’t think Kurt’ll do anything to any of you, but please be careful. Make sure your doors are locked, and don’t let him engage you. Just ignore him.”

“I’m not worried about me,” Maya said. “But what about you?”

“I’ll be fine. He’s just trying to intimidate me.” Hopefully, that sounded more convincing to Maya than it did to Ellie.

“How stupid is this guy?” Maya laughed, but it was an angry laugh. “Ellie Palmer doesn’t get intimidated by anyone.”