Laying a Foundation: Bonus volume: Includes series prequel, The Groundbreaking (The Love Under Construction Series) (17 page)

Tony tried to compose himself. “So, back to my original question,” he tried again, feeling more than a little disconcerted. “Do women these days want sex on the first date? I know things have changed since I was younger. And I’ve been out of circulation for a long time.”

“Boss, it really depends on the woman. I’d say to not assume that’s the case and wait and see. Based on what you know of her, what’s your impression?”

“She doesn’t seem to me like the type.” If his plan worked and he got her to go out with him, he didn’t want to screw things up by going too fast.

“Then go with your gut. You know her better than we do.”
Actually, I don’t know her at all,
Tony thought.
But I want to get to know her.
It would be so easy to sabotage this with sheer stupidity.

All he knew was that, the more time went by, the more he wanted her. He made it a point to speak to her every time he saw her at the gym. A couple of times he’d even stood and talked to her for a minute or two. Sometimes she’d ask him a question about one of the weight machines or a lift she’d seen him do. Once, she’d even asked how Annabeth and Katie were. He was sure she wasn’t flirting, just being warm and friendly. Or was she flirting? He couldn’t tell.

So, this was it. It was time to fish or cut bait. He had to find out if she was interested in him or not. And apparently, according to Clayton and Cal, if she wasn’t, maybe he had options. But he really didn’t want options; he wanted her.

Secretary’s Day was two weeks in the rearview mirror, and there were no holidays coming up, only a boring Thursday to get through. Nikki sighed as she put up the fresh cut roses that had come in that morning. The last time Randy had sent her roses, they’d still been on the counter when the police officers came by to tell her . . .

Enough of that. She wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye. Tony still spoke to her at the gym, but he was only being polite. He wasn’t really interested. There was not one thing exciting about her to attract a man, especially a man like Tony Walters. Besides, if he wanted to ask her out, he already would’ve. Guys like him weren’t bashful.

She carried the huge watering can from display to display, filling reservoirs and watering live plants. The bell on the door jingled, and she walked to the counter, set the can down, and turned to greet the customer.

It was Tony. Something in her chest tightened, and she smiled at him before looking back at her feet. Then she looked up at him again and he broke a huge smile at her – beautiful! “Hey, stranger! How are you!” she sing-songed, then thought,
Shit, that sounded so lame
. She was embarrassing herself.

“Hey yourself! I’m good. You?”

“Good. What can I help you with today?”

“I want to send something to someone special. I thought maybe you could help me.” Tony fidgeted and hoped she wouldn’t notice. This was getting real, and he was getting very, very nervous.

“What did you have in mind?” Nikki took out an order book.
Someone special.
So he had a girlfriend; she hoped he couldn’t see her disappointment. He was leaning on the counter, closer than he’d ever been to her. She felt her nipples hardening as she took in his scent – he smelled so good, a warm, dark, earthy fragrance like her incense. A glance down the front of her blouse gave her a view that made her blush. Damn – there they were again. Maybe he wasn’t paying any attention.

“Oh, I don’t know. What do you like?” he asked, looking around.

“I like roses. Pink roses.”

“Pink roses it is,” he told her decisively. “What about a vase?”

“For long-stem roses you’ll need a taller vase than the one you sent to Annabeth. What about this one?” She pulled down a tall, slender, clear glass vase.

“That’ll do nicely. And some greenery. And a big pink bow.”

“A big bow. Anything else?” she asked, writing as quickly as she could. At least while she was writing, she could pull her arms in a little to cover her nipples, which were getting harder and more noticeable by the minute.

“Nope, I think that’ll do it.” Tony watched her finish writing the order and noticed the peaks under her thin sweater. He felt his cock growing and tried to stifle the sensation, but that didn’t work too well.

“So, where is this going?”

“Um, what’s the address here?” he asked.

“Here?” She knew she must’ve misunderstood him. “The shop?”

“Yeah, here. What’s the address here?” he asked again.

“It’s . . . 4229 Frankfort Avenue,” she answered haltingly.

“Send them to 4229 Frankfort Avenue,” he announced, trying to sound nonchalant.

She was confused, but she wrote down the address. “Here? Okay. And to whom should they be addressed?”

“They should go to Nikki Wilkes at The Passionate Pansy, 4229 Frankfort Avenue.” His voice was clear and strong. Nikki felt her knees weakening and her mouth going dry. She started her mantra:
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.
“Oh, and I’m going to need a card, huh?” he added, trying to keep a straight face. He went to the end of the counter and took a small card from the rack. “Can I borrow your pen?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Nikki handed him the pen, her cheeks blazing. She could feel herself getting wet and hot, and her nipples were so hard they throbbed. As she watched, he wrote something on the card and slipped it into its tiny envelope. Handing it to her, he added, “I know you’ll make sure this goes with the flowers.” He smiled again and handed her his credit card.

She filled out the rest of the order ticket, her hand shaking almost uncontrollably the whole time. Once he’d signed the receipt, she handed him his copy and gave him a weak, “We’ll make sure this gets taken care of right away.”

“Oh, yeah, I know, if she’s not happy with them, I’ll let you know and you’ll make it right!” All of a sudden he felt like the smartest man on earth – he’d pulled it off! “Guess I’ll have to be sure to ask how she liked them, huh?” Nikki looked so shocked that he couldn’t help but smile. “See you at the gym!” he called behind him, waving over his shoulder.

Once he was out of sight, Nikki realized she hadn’t been breathing. She gulped in air and her knees buckled, sending her to the floor. Her butt hit it with a “thud” and she sat there in shock.

“What the hell?” Carol cried as she bustled out from the workroom and helped Nikki to her feet. Of course, she’d been trying to listen at the door. “What happened?”

“Look!” Nikki cried out, thrusting the order in Carol’s face.

Carol squinted at the writing, and her mouth fell open. “Sweet mother of god, honey, that man wants you!” She squealed and hugged Nikki. “Oh, my god, he’s soooo hot!” The way she was laughing and dancing around, anyone watching would’ve thought he was sending the flowers to her. All the while, Nikki stood in stony silence, almost unable to believe or understand what had just happened. “I’m filling this order right now!” Carol laughed, running to the back.

In five minutes, she was back with a dozen huge pink roses in the glass vase, sporting an enormous bow. A card pick held the tiny card.

“Open the card! Read it! What does it say?” Carol squealed, clapping and bouncing up and down.

Nikki pulled the miniature envelope off the pick and, with trembling fingers, opened it and pulled the card out, with Carol looking over her shoulder in curiosity. He’d written a short message and she read it aloud.

I would very much like to take you to dinner tomorrow night.

You have my number in the order book from my earlier orders.

If you want to go, please call or text me and tell me yes.

We’ll go from there,

Tony

“Well?” Carol asked emphatically, hands on hips.

Nikki pulled the order book from under the counter and, flipping back a couple of weeks, found the receipt for the Secretary’s Day flowers. She wrote Tony’s number on the back of the card and tucked it into her bra, close to her throbbing nipples.

Nikki had to decide – was it a go or a no? She had to admit, it could be a scary thing when your dreams looked like they were about to come true.

Tony sat in the truck, feeling a bit lightheaded, and tried to stick the key into the ignition. Had her nipples really stiffened while he was standing there? He leaned his head onto the steering wheel. Minutes ticked by, and no ringing or text tone. She just wasn’t interested; Clayton and Cal were wrong.

He drove back to Walters Construction. The coffee pot was on, and he poured himself a cup and retreated to the safety of his office. His coffee got cold, and he didn’t notice. People came and went; he felt like he was walking through deep, deep water, barely moving, while the rest of the world spun around him. He sat in his desk chair, turned around backward and staring at the wall, all afternoon. Cheryl asked him something, but he couldn’t think of an answer.

“Are you okay?” she tried again, concern saturating her voice.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he lied, turning back to the wall.

He’d messed up. And now it would be too awkward to even talk to her at the gym. He shouldn’t have even hoped – his time had passed.

His phone started sounding off as usual at that time of day. He looked at it, refusing to believe anything would be there from her.

Annabeth, wanting to know if he wanted to have dinner with them.

Annabeth again – Brussels sprouts or green beans?

Clayton, asking if he was planning to come to the jobsite on Saturday to meet with the crane crew.

Brittany, reminding him of Clayton’s birthday the following week.

And a text from a number he didn’t recognize.

His hands started to shake and he felt like he was choking. This was it – now or never. The screen popped up, and he felt something in his chest break wide open, like all the air in the world was rushing in. One simple word changed his world.

Yes.

I
t was in the gym parking lot – the big, silver Walters Construction pickup truck. One glance around told her he was already at one of the weight machines. Within a few minutes, Nikki had climbed onto the treadmill next to Kelly’s. She smiled and nodded to Kelly, who smiled and nodded back as always.

Head down and headphones on, she walked at her usual vigorous pace. When she glanced up again, Tony was standing right in front of her, grinning. He put his hand up to his head, thumb and pinkie splayed, and mouthed,
I’ll call you later, okay?
She smiled wide and nodded, and watched him amble toward the locker room.

A hand on her shoulder brought her back into the moment, and she turned to see Kelly staring at her, her mouth moving, an odd expression on her face. Nikki popped her earbud out. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I said, what the hell was that all about?” Kelly asked, wide-eyed.

“I’ll explain later.” Nikki was barely able to contain what would’ve certainly been a cheesy grin.

When she was finished, Nikki found Kelly sitting on the locker room bench with a bottle of water, waiting for her, almost glaring at her. “What?” she asked, sitting down beside the brunette.

“What the hell . . . did he say he’d call you later?” Kelly scowled.

“He, um, he asked me out.”

“Are you kidding me? I’ve been trying to get that man to notice me, and he asked you out? What the . . . ?”

“Hey, hang on for just one damn minute!” Now it was Nikki’s turn to be righteously indignant. “I know I’m not as young or firm or well-endowed as some of you, but, hell, I’m not exactly chopped liver either. I work hard to at least look presentable. Some men might even find me somewhat attractive.” She felt her eyes burning.
Don’t cry!,
she told herself. “I was married to a man who told me every day how beautiful I was. I miss that. I’m not under any delusions, but I’d like to think I have
something
to offer.”

Kelly looked sheepish after Nikki’s outburst. “I’m sorry. I didn’t really mean it the way it came out. You’re a very nice-looking woman. But I’ve spent a lot of money and time trying to get men like Tony Walters to notice me. He’s like a goal that women want to reach, and I thought I might actually have a shot, and then you come along and, well, you’re not flashy, you don’t stand out in a crowd, and wham! He asks you out? You’ve gotta understand, that hurts.”