Flowers on Main. Sherryl Woods

ever recognizes my voice, she’s going to start asking a whole bunch of questions I don’t want to answer. You don’t pay me enough to run interference between you and Bree.”

      “I’m paying you enough to get your daughter through college, which is more than anyone else would,” he retorted. “She starts next year, if I recall correctly. How’s that tuition money adding up? Can you afford to walk out on me?”

      She gave him a sour look. “Sometimes it is very hard for me to understand why Mom always liked you best. You are not a nice man.”

      “But I am a very good brother,” he teased. Because of that, she knew he would never, ever fire her, despite his constant threats. And she wouldn’t quit for the same reason. Connie’s ex-husband paid decent alimony and child support, but Jake considered it his responsibility to see that she and Jenny had whatever else they needed.

      “You’re an annoyance,” she retorted.

      “But you love me, anyway,” he said. His expression sobered. “Please, keep Bree away from me. Consider it your personal mission.”

      “Assistants aren’t allowed personal missions,” she retorted.

      “But sisters are.”

      “Jake, you’re the one who made the rule about not taking on any new wholesale customers unless you personally approve it. You said we only have so much stock available and you don’t want to get overextended and wind up disappointing a good customer. Do I not have that right?”

      His expression brightened. “That’s it. Call her back and tell her we’ve talked. You can explain that unfortunately, due to huge demand, we’re not taking on anyone else right now.”

      “But the florist in Myrtle Creek just closed,” she reminded him. “Jensen’s was one of our bigger accounts. If Bree’s done her homework, she’s going to know that.”

      “What makes you think she’s done her homework?” he asked wearily. “Last time I checked, she was writing plays, not running any kind of business.”

      “And last time I checked, she was the smartest woman you’ve ever known. She’s certainly smart enough to ask around about the best suppliers in the region. I’ll bet that’s exactly how she got our name. Ted Jensen probably recommended us when he decided to retire after his heart attack.”

      Okay, that was possible, but not insurmountable. “If she brings that up, tell her we’d only kept supplying Ted because he’d been a customer for years.”

      Connie rolled her eyes. “That ought to go over well. How on earth will it look if we refuse to supply a new business right here in Chesapeake Shores, a business owned by an O’Brien, no less? You’ll never hear the end of it. The chamber of commerce will be all over you. And if you think there was talk when you and Bree broke up, it’ll be nothing compared to the speculation that would stir up.”

      They were still debating the point when the door to the outer office snapped open and Bree strode through and straight into his office. She was wearing shorts that made her legs look endless and a halter top that made his mouth water. Strands of curly auburn hair had sprung free of the knot on her head and with the sunlight behind her, it looked as if she was on fire. The color was high in her cheeks, as well. She was not a happy woman. Jake braced himself to deal with all that heat and sexiness and walk away unscathed.

      “If the mountain won’t come …” Her voice trailed off as she spotted his sister.

      “Connie, hi,” she said. Unmistakable relief spread across her face as something else apparently registered. “Oh my gosh, you’re the one I’ve been talking to on the phone all this time. I’m so sorry. I should have recognized your voice. Why didn’t you say something?”

      Connie grinned. “Frankly, I was just as glad you didn’t. I really didn’t want to get caught between you and this hardhead over here. Now you two can battle this out between yourselves. I’m going home to cook dinner.” She gave her brother a smug look. “Shall I make a plate of humble pie for you? Or will you be making other plans for dinner?” She glanced pointedly at Bree when she said it.

      “I already have dinner plans,” he retorted. As of two minutes ago, he planned to drink it.

       6 _____

      “You’ve been avoiding me,” Bree accused, sitting across from Jake, her shorts hiking up. She hadn’t worn such a revealing outfit deliberately, but judging from the rapt gaze on Jake’s face, she was glad she had. At this point she was willing to take advantage of any edge she had. Maybe that didn’t speak well of her as a woman, but she was desperate. After a week, it had become clear that Jake was even less anxious to deal with her than she was with him. Both of them had to find a way to suck it up and figure out a way to conduct business.

      “Have not,” he muttered. “I’ve been busy.”

      “Well, you don’t appear to be busy right this second,” she said cheerfully. “So let’s make this deal now and I’ll get out of your hair. Unless you drive the delivery truck, you’ll never have to deal directly with me again.”

      His jaw hardened. “There’s not going to be any deal, Bree. Not between us.”

      She leveled a look directly into his eyes. “This is business, Jake. I’m not asking you to go out with me or to trust me or to have any kind of personal contact beyond whatever it takes to get this agreement on paper. It’s simple. I’m opening a flower shop. You sell flowers. It’s pretty cut-and-dried.”

      “Nothing with us was ever simple or cut-and-dried,” he said, walking slowly around his desk to perch on the edge. Their knees were almost touching, hers bare, his clad in faded denim. “It’s bound to get complicated faster than the ink will dry on our agreement.”

      She swallowed hard, but managed to keep her voice steady. “How so?”

      He leaned forward, oh so slowly, until her pulse fluttered wildly at the nearness of his mouth. It hovered over hers. Their breath intermingled. Suddenly she wanted his lips on hers with an urgency that took her by surprise. Memories of a hundred other kisses—deep, tantalizing, soul-stirring kisses—swarmed in her head and left her dizzy. What had made her think for a single second that this kind of sizzle could be doused by simple determination?

      As if he sensed her turmoil, he drew back, his expression smug. “See what I mean?”

      Oh yeah, this definitely had complication written all over it. But she couldn’t let that stand in her way. She wouldn’t. Flowers on Main was going to be her fresh start. She’d do whatever it took to make it a success.

      Jake had obviously made a success of his business. She’d been astonished by the size of the nursery, a little awed by everything she’d heard when she’d asked around about the best flower supplier in the region. Seeing it today with its greenhouse, outdoor displays of flats and flats of colorful plants, rows of flowering shrubs and trees, had been an eye-opener. This wasn’t the tiny Shores Nursery of old. Jake had expanded it beyond her wildest expectations. Given what he’d accomplished, surely he could understand why her new business mattered just as much to her.

      “I need these flowers, Jake,” she said simply.

      “Get them from someone else. There are other growers.”

      “Everyone says you’re the best. And you’re the closest.”

      “I’m also unavailable.”

      “Are you speaking personally now, or professionally?”

      He frowned at her flip attempt at humor. “Both, just to keep the record straight.”

      “That kiss that almost happened said otherwise.”

      “It didn’t happen, did it?”

      “All that proves is that you’ve got great willpower. I’m duly impressed. In fact, a man