She walked the few blocks to her shop, looking around everywhere, a bit disappointed not to see Drew. She scowled at herself for that thought as well. She didn’t want him to be around and she needed to always remember that. She blamed her disappointment on her hormones, since they were going crazy.
She turned her key in the lock and flipped the open sign around. She always took such pride when walking through the front doors because it was all hers. She had worked hard to make her dream come true and took a lot of pride in the small but beautiful shop. Her touch was present in every square inch of the room.
She put her purse away and stepped back to the floral station, to begin making some bouquets for walk in clients. She had a few orders needing to be delivered but other than that, it was a slow day.
The bell over her door rang and she looked up to see Drew striding inside, looking far too good for so early in the morning. She should’ve known he wouldn’t wait long before stalking her again. She was surprised though, by the instant quickening of her heart.
“Good morning, how are you today?” he asked her, as if they were strangers. She looked at him suspiciously, wondering what he was up to.
“I’m fine and yourself?” she asked.
“I’m wonderful. I’m in need of several bouquets,” he responded, before sticking out his hand. “My name is Andrew Titan but my friends all call me Drew. I own several resorts and am in need of a new florist,” he said with a completely straight face.
“What are you up to, Drew?” she asked, far too tired for games.
“I decided we need to start over from scratch, so here I am, being completely honest,” he told her, with a twinkle in his eyes. She found it really hard to resist the man when he was acting so charming. She decided to play along for the moment.
“It’s nice to meet you, Drew. I’d love to help you with some arrangements,” she said and took his still outstretched hand. She wasn’t prepared for the fire that shot down her arm from his simple touch. She tried pulling away but he held on tightly. The man should have a warning label attached to him. He was seriously dangerous to the female libido.
“The pleasure is all mine,” he said in the sexiest voice she’d ever heard.
“What kind of arrangements do you need?” she asked, finally managing to pull her hand free. She had to resist the urge to rub it against her leg.
“I’ll leave that up to you. I have three orders I need sent to prospective investors and I want to send a huge one to my cousin’s wife. She gave birth a while ago and I realized I never sent flowers. That kid is the cutest thing ever and she deserves the biggest arrangement you can possibly make,” he said.
Trinity was surprised by his request. He’d gone all soft eyed talking about the baby. She had never taken him for the kind of guy to love babies, maybe she really didn’t know him all that well, she conceded.
She walked back over to her cooler and started selecting different flowers. Drew followed her around and lifted the buckets for her, transporting them to her work station. She tried to shoo him away but he was determined, so she just let it go.
“I’ve been lifting these buckets just fine on my own,” she said to him, with a little bit of exasperation.
“You need to take care of yourself,” he said, while pointedly looking down at her stomach. She figured it was easier to let him help, verses continuing to argue with the man.
“How long have you had this place?” he asked her.
“I opened a couple of years ago. It was always my dream. I’d like to expand someday and have a larger shop, with gift items and live plants as well,” she told him.
“Do you do well?” he asked.
“I’m doing a lot better than I thought I would. With the baby coming though, I’m going to have to hire some help and that will cut into the profits,” she explained.
“I know it’s really difficult for small businesses to succeed,” he said.
“I’m doing better than some,” she said. She tended to look at the positives of things verses the negatives if at all possible.
“Your work is beautiful. You have a real gift,” he told her, as she worked on the bouquets. They were stunning. She had a real eye for the flowers she used and just the right amount of greens. He was thoroughly impressed.
“Thank you, I really enjoy doing it,” she said. She loved the praise when someone appreciated her work. They continued to chat easily together as she finished with his order. A few customers came and went as he sat down on a stool and continued to visit with her. She was enjoying it far more than she should. She knew she should’ve asked him to leave but it was nice having him there. The time was passing quickly and they were getting along so well. She knew they should at least be friends because of the baby. If she could manage to tamper down on the hunger she felt every time she was around him that may be a possibility.
“I need to close down for a bit and make some deliveries,” she finally told him. She normally did her deliveries at the end of her shift but there was a funeral she had to get her biggest order to.
“Why don’t I do the deliveries for you so you can go ahead and stay open,” he offered. She had been busy and it would be better to leave the shop open but she didn’t want to feel like she’d owe him anything. “I don’t mind really, I have some stops to make anyway,” he finished.
“If you really don’t mind,” she finally caved in. He got the address information, loaded up her orders and took off. She was a bit sad to see him leave. She had to shake it off, refusing to get attached to him being around. The phone rang so she picked it up, grateful for the distraction.
Drew was gone for a few hours and the shop got really busy, occupying her wandering mind. By the time he walked in the door, holding a sack with delicious aromas coming out of it, she realized she was starving. He set the sack on the counter and she practically ripped it open, in her intensity to see what was inside. She pulled out a tray with her favorite pasta dish and could feel the saliva building up in her mouth.
She dove in with real enthusiasm. She didn’t say anything to him until she was about halfway finished with the meal. When she finally looked up, he was staring at her with a huge smile on his face. She was slightly embarrassed at her own behavior.
“Sorry. Sometimes I get so busy I forget to eat and when I see food I go a little crazy,” she said with embarrassment.
“You were like that on the island,” he said as his eyes darkened. Her own body reacted to thoughts of the resort. It had been such a tropical paradise and she hadn’t thought of anything but pleasure. The pleasure of the sun, the water, the food and most especially, the pleasure of her body when he was touching her.
“That was a million years ago Drew and I’m back in the real world now and have real world responsibilities. I do appreciate your help today and the lunch but we are over and you need to accept that,” Trinity said. She was trying to convince herself of that fact as much as she was trying to convince him.
Drew’s expression never changed. He continued to stare at her, with longing in his eyes, which was doing funny things to her stomach. She tried to focus on the food but had lost her appetite. She picked at it some more and finally gave up and shoved it aside. Drew took her hand in his and waited until he had her full attention.
“I’ve decided you’ll be my wife. I’ve never felt about a woman the way I feel about you and you’re carrying my child. We’ll stay together. I understand you’re scared. I understand you’re angry I mislead you but you’ll learn soon you can’t live without me,” he said with complete confidence.
She was left breathless and without any words. It was almost impossible to argue with the man but as she thought about what he said, her temper flared a bit. How dare he demand such things of her? She wasn’t some school girl there to please him.
“Drew sometimes in life you simply have to accept when you can’t have your own way. I’m not a possession you get to choose to keep or cast off. You can go away now,” she said, with some venom in her tone. Drew laughed; she could not believe the man actually laughed.
“You’re so good for me, Trinity. I need people in my life who aren’t afraid to tell me how it is but nonetheless we’ll be together,” he said. “I have a few errands to run this afternoon but I’ll be back before you close,” he told her, then almost as an afterthought, gently kissed her before walking out the door.
Trinity stood for several minutes after he left, with her hand pressed against her still tingling lips. The man had a way of affecting her, unlike anyone before him. She finally shook it off and got back to work. When he came back she’d have to be firm and not let him affect her.
About an hour before closing, the bell on the door rang out, letting her know someone was coming in. She looked up nervously and let out a sigh of relief, followed by a pang of disappointment, when it was a woman and not Drew.
The woman seemed to be around her age and was carrying the most adorable little girl. Just the sight of the baby made her heart skip a beat. She couldn’t wait to hold her own daughter in her arms.
“Hello, how are you this afternoon?” Trinity asked the woman.
“I’m great and how are you?” the woman responded.
“I’m glad it’s closing time soon but other than that I’m wonderful,” Trinity said.
“My name is Jasmine and this little one is Britney,” the woman said, as she held out her free hand.
“It’s great to meet you Jasmine, my name is Trinity, how can I help you?” she asked. She loved customers like Jasmine, who were happy and friendly. She also loved getting to know her customers because they would come back and she could learn exactly what they liked, making sure to do an excellent job.
“I wanted to meet you; I’m married to Derek, who is Drew’s cousin. I call him my brother-in-law because they are more like siblings,” Jasmine said.
“Oh…well…umm…” Trinity stuttered, not knowing what to say.
“I know I shouldn’t have just barged in here on you but when Drew told us he was going to be a father, I had to meet the woman who had finally gotten ahold of him,” she said with humor in her tone.
“We aren’t together though…” Trinity tried to say before she was interrupted again.
“You’re carrying a Titan child, so you’re pretty much together, believe me. You can try and fight it but these guys really care about family. My husband and I had a very rocky start but I love him so much and am so grateful he fought for me because now we have Britney and Jacob and I’m disgustingly happy all the time,” Jasmine said.
The baby was squirming in her arms and Trinity wanted to hold her so badly but didn’t even know this woman and couldn’t ask her to hand over her child. Jasmine saw the look of yearning on Trinity’s face and handed Britney over.
“She’s so precious,” Trinity coo’d at her.
“She’s pretty amazing and incredibly spoiled,” Jasmine said with real fondness.