The Sweetest Secret

by Jacquie Underdown

  Ellie fluttered her fingers over her phone sitting in the front pouch of her apron and considered calling Sam. But what would she say? Um, hi, I had this major revelation last time I was speaking to you, and I take back all the bad stuff I said about you. Oh, and, I think you and I should see where this chemistry takes us .

  But how would she explain this shift in her thinking and apologise for how she behaved in the past without rummaging through her own baggage?

  Just forget about him, Ellie. It will only complicate your life here.

  Janine pulled up in the driveway—a well-timed distraction. Ellie headed inside and collected the posters she had made up for the cross-promotion she would be doing with Love and Cupcakes. She had delayed adding the cupcake deals to her website until her store was back in shape.

  While Janine was here to handle any phone calls or walk-ins, Ellie headed next door for five minutes to talk with Amy and discuss more deeply how they were going to smoothly manage the package deal.

  Ellie had some ideas on how they’ll coordinate it, but she wanted to hear what Amy had to say. This needed to be a smooth operation for both of them if it were to be successful.

  The air was icy in comparison to the warmth inside her shop, as Ellie stepped out onto the sidewalk and headed up to Love and Cupcakes. She pulled her jacket tighter around her middle and her teeth chattered a little.

  Each step was carefully taken on the slick layer of frost and snow coating the path. At this time of year, the alpine scent was more pronounced, filling the air with the clean, herbaceous scent.

  As Ellie walked through the front door, a burst of sweetness filled her nostrils. This shop was delicious in every way.

  A young couple lingered at the front counter talking to Amy. Ellie hung back, not pressuring Amy to finish the conversation because of her.

  ‘I drove here all the way from Castle Hill because I’d heard about the reputation your Cupid cupcakes have. I’ve been looking for love for four years and kept hooking up with men who weren’t interested in commitment. So I bought a six-pack and I ate them all myself.’

  The blonde girl with a beanie on her head looked at her partner and smiled, then giggled. ‘But it worked. I met Dave just two days later. Completely out of the blue. And we’ve been inseparable ever since.’

  Ellie’s heart warmed to see the way Dave had his arm slung lovingly around his girlfriend’s waist. And the look in his crinkled, dazed gaze. Every action showed his adoration.

  The blonde’s smile was broad and genuine, and she tilted her head to the side wanting to be as close to Dave as possible. You couldn’t fake that.

  The warmth in Ellie’s chest branched outwards, tingled through her limbs. She wanted that kind of relationship for herself.

  With Sam.

  A deep band pulled in her belly, flooding her body with a hot tightness—a yearning, unlike anything she had experienced before. A yearning so deep and complete, it stole a little of her breath, made her head light.

  ‘Everything okay, Ellie?’

  The sound of Amy’s voice broke through Ellie’s introspection. She lifted her head, realising the happy couple was leaving, and she was standing at the back of the shop like a stunned mullet.

  She cleared her voice, smiled. ‘Fine.’

  Amy narrowed her eyes. A cheeky smile spread over her lips. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were deep in thought about a guy.’

  Ellie giggled, knowing too well her cheeks were flushed with colour. ‘Of course not. I was just thinking about … about …’

  ‘Sam?’ Amy suggested, one brow arched.

  Ellie sighed, but she was still grinning. ‘Okay. Fine. Yes. I was thinking about Sam.’ She strode closer to the counter. ‘How could I not? I mean, seriously, have you seen him?’

  Amy rolled her head back and laughed. ‘Yes. I’m well acquainted with all the Mathews brothers. One very sexy brother in particular who certainly got the better of me.’

  ‘Of course.’

  Amy tilted her head to the side, studying Ellie more closely. ‘Something’s different with you. I could go as far to say that you’re a little smitten, yes?’

  Ellie didn’t want to admit that Amy’s observation was correct, especially when the possibility of even starting something with Sam was at an all-time low. ‘Either way I’m too late.’

  Amy frowned. ‘How so?’

  ‘Sam’s made it pretty clear, now that we no longer have a business arrangement, that he doesn’t want anything to do with me on a personal level.’

  Amy nodded slowly, her forehead crinkled. ‘I wouldn’t be so sure. Just give him a little time. He’s working through some stuff.’ There was a genuine edge of compassion in her voice that ran deep inside Ellie. A thin coil of compassion twanged in her heart for Sam, for whatever was troubling him was big.

  She too readily forgot that everyone had their own stories lurking behind their social façades. ‘I can understand that.’

  Amy smiled. ‘We all can.’

  ‘Anyway, I don’t want to hold you up for too much longer. I’ve got the posters here for our cross-promotion.’ Ellie held the posters up for Amy to see. ‘I just wanted to discuss how we are going to coordinate this.’

  ‘Come through. We’ll talk out the back.’

  Ellie followed Amy through to the back room and took a seat on the long bench.

  It sparkled back here. Amy was obviously incredibly clean and serious about her business, which was fantastic. She was exactly the type of person Ellie wanted to do business with.

  In between serving customers that came in and out, Amy made tea for Ellie then went through how they were going to communicate the cupcake orders so that Amy had enough time to ensure there was plentiful stock prepared.

  They also discussed how the profits would be distributed. Amy agreed that she would invoice Ellie for orders at the end of each week.

  ‘All sorted,’ Ellie said standing. She couldn’t leave Janine alone for too long in case there were walk-ins that needed a bunch of flowers on the spot.

  Although, Janine knew to call her on her mobile if that were the case.

  ‘I’m really excited about this. I think it’s a fantastic idea,’ Amy said.

  ‘Me too.’

  ‘Oh, I’ve got an invitation for you. For mine and Tom’s engagement.’ Amy went into the back room and came out with an envelope in her hand. ‘It’s next weekend. Sorry, it’s late notice, but we only just decided that we were going to have a party.’

  Ellie took the envelope from Amy’s fingers. ‘That’s no trouble. I should be able to make it.’

  ‘Excellent.’

  The front doorbell tingled with the entrance of more customers.

  ‘I’ll let you go,’ Ellie said. ‘I better get back. I’ll talk to you soon.’

  ‘Sure thing. Thanks for dropping in.’

  Ellie left Amy to attend to the half dozen customers that had just walked in.

  The cool air hit her as soon as she stepped outside. A loud roar of an engine frightened her as a car revved outside of In Bloom. Then a black Holden ute sped away.

  Amy could swear it was Gareth.

  Her heart thudded like a bass because the screwed up expression on Gareth’s face hinted that he wasn’t happy. She hurried.

  Janine’s head jerked up when she came through the front door.

  ‘What did he want?’ Ellie asked.

  Janine’s bottom lip was trembling; she was almost on the verge of tears. ‘He was upset because his girlfriend had broken up with him. He asked for his money back because he said your flowers had obviously not worked.’

  Ellie sighed. ‘You’re serious?’

  Janine nodded emphatically.

  ‘What did you say?’

  ‘I said that I wasn’t sure that was possible. The flowers weren’t sold with guarantees.’

  Ellie shook her head. ‘What a moron. So what did he do when you said that?’

  ‘He banged his hand really
hard on the desk, then shouted that this business should be shut down for incompetence, or some such thing, then he stormed out.’

  ‘I can’t believe he would react like that. I’m so sorry for leaving you to deal with that.’

  Janine breathed in a shuddery breath. ‘That’s okay. It’s not your fault.’

  Tingles spread then, from the top of Ellie’s head down to her fingertips. Was it Gareth that vandalised the store?

  ‘Oh no,’ she said.

  ‘What?’ Janine asked.

  ‘What if it was Gareth who destroyed the shop?’

  ‘You think so?’

  Ellie shrugged. ‘It could be.’

  ‘You better call the police,’ Janine suggested.

  ‘Yeah. I think I will.’ But firstly, she would call Sam and see if he thought it was worth chasing up. ‘You go next door and grab yourself a drink and a cupcake. Take a little a break, okay? Calm those nerves down.’

  Janine nodded.

  Ellie rummaged through her purse for the company credit card, handed it to Janine.

  She waited for Janine to leave before calling Sam.

  ‘Sam speaking,’ came Sam’s voice on the other end of the line. The deep, husky timbre worked through her like tender fingertips, caressing all the right places.

  ‘Hi, Sam. It’s Ellie. I’m not calling at a bad time, am I?’ There was background noise—loud electrical tools, faint music, and men’s voices.

  ‘Um … I’m working, but it’s fine if we keep it quick.’

  She sighed, feeling the prick of tears behind her eyes. Unsure if it was because of the definite hint that he was trying to blow her off or because Gareth had just been in her store, intimidating her employee, and he may have been the one who destroyed her shop. She drew a deep breath in to calm herself before she spoke.

  ‘Ellie? Is everything okay?’ Sam said when the moment of silence stretched out for too long.

  ‘No. It’s not.’

  ‘Do you need me to come over there? Are you safe?’

  ‘I … I’m not sure. I was over next door with Amy and while I was away, Gareth came into the store.’

  ‘The customer who swung you around the room?’

  She swallowed, trying to steady her voice. ‘Yeah. He wasn’t happy. Janine spoke to him. She said he had broken up with his girlfriend, and he was blaming me for it.’

  ‘He fucking what?’ roared Sam. Not anger at her, she knew that. But more so directed at Gareth.

  ‘He wanted a refund. I’m just wondering if he could be the vandal.’

  ‘Hmmm. Could be. But what has that got to do with my glasshouse?’

  ‘I don’t know. Maybe because you were here that day when he came in. Maybe he knew you.’

  ‘Perhaps. It feels like too loose of a connection. But I’m going to give Roger a call just to be on the safe side. Get him to check him out. Either way, it might frighten Gareth into backing off.’

  ‘True. I sure as hell don’t want him coming back into the store.’

  ‘Just hang on a tick, Ellie.’ The sounds on the other end of the line became muffled, as though Sam had put his palm over the phone. ‘Do either of you know a local called Gareth?’ asked Sam, Ellie presumed to his brothers.

  The rest of the conversation was too muffled to hear. Then the background noise was clear again and Sam’s voice came back on the line. ‘I’m going to come over. We can talk to Roger together.’

  She didn’t want to disrupt his work day, but, deep down, she was frightened. ‘You don’t mind?’

  ‘Not at all. I’ll see you in twenty minutes.’

  She sighed with relief. ‘Thank you so much.’

  To busy herself before Sam arrived, Ellie started on her next lot of deliveries and dealt with a couple of walk-ins. But as she created her arrangements, her intuition felt stifled.

  Gareth had made her doubt herself.

  Deep down, she knew she had nothing to do with Gareth and his girlfriend breaking up. And on first impressions, she remembered feeling as though he had something to be deeply apologetic for. So, who’s to say that he hadn’t done something to apologise for again. But, the doubts were there, nonetheless.

  Roger arrived at the same time Sam did. Ellie sent Janine off on her next round of deliveries. She was so young and didn’t need to be frightened by all this. Ellie wanted to provide a safe and comfortable working environment for her. And she certainly didn’t want to lose her; her help was invaluable.

  Sam came to stand in front of her, hands moving to her face tenderly, but before he touched her, he hesitated, then let his hands fall away. Her breath hitched. A flicker of angst settled in his features, then it was gone, hidden behind that stoic mask.

  All her breath exited her lungs in a long gush; how much her body was still tingling in anticipation of that touch, tenderness, comfort.

  They spoke with Roger, telling him the details of what happened. He had come to the same conclusion as Sam, the connection between the glasshouse and the florist shop was too loose where Gareth was concerned.

  But he was going to check it out anyway. At the least, give Gareth a talking to about his ridiculous, unfounded demands. Knowing that eased the hot fear shooting through her limbs.

  Roger left.

  Ellie stood with Sam alone in her shop.

  She peered up into his face—he hadn’t shaved, and a thick smattering of dark stubble covered his strong jaw. It made his irises appear a more luscious brown, his skin more tanned.

  Since her revelation, she had freed herself up and opened the doors to Sam as a possibility. It sharpened her senses, and she was seeing him anew, without the constraints, and she was very much liking what she saw.

  His height, accompanied by those broad shoulders and thick arms, were commanding. Ridiculously sexy.

  She found herself lost for words, which was very much unlike her. All she could think about were his lips, that mouth, and how it would feel to actually kiss him.

  ‘Sam?’ she said, not knowing where she was going with her words.

  He looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

  ‘I …’ she trailed off, not strong enough to ask if he wanted to see where this chemistry between them could lead.

  A small smile flickered on his lips.

  ‘Do you …?’ She shook her head. No. It could wait. She would give him time. Just like Amy had suggested. ‘Never mind.’

  He narrowed his eyes as he tilted his head to the side. ‘What were you going to say?’

  She shook her head again. ‘Nothing. Thank you for coming over. I really appreciate it.’

  ‘It’s no problem. Like I said, I can’t help but feel responsible for all this.’

  Her heart sunk then because she had hoped that he had come to the shop today for reasons other than a sense of obligation.

  She managed a tight smile. ‘Right. Of course. Like I said, I don’t blame you. I think I should be fine now if you want to head off. I feel better knowing Roger will talk to Gareth.’

  He frowned. ‘Right. Of course. If you’re sure?’

  ‘I’m sure,’ she said, too quickly.

  ‘Okay. I’ll go. Give me a call if you need me again. About anything.’

  She crossed her arms over her chest. ‘Sure.’

  She watched him leave, though she didn’t want him to, not one bit. She wanted him to come back to her and touch her face like he had intended earlier. Then take her in his big, strong arms and comfort her, like he had done before. She wanted him to kiss her like they nearly had those few weeks ago.

  But it wasn’t the right place, and it wasn’t the right time.

  Chapter 14

  ‘All right, what do you need me to do?’ Sam asked of Tom. They were standing on the enormous pergola out the back of Tom’s house. Tonight was the engagement party, and Sam was here to help set-up.

  The morning was cold and puffs of breath hung in the air when they spoke. Tom didn’t answer immediately. Sam pulled his jacket tighter around
him and followed Tom’s gaze.

  From here, even after living on this property his entire life, the view of the vineyards rendered Sam speechless. He peered at Tom from the corner of his eye—seemed Tom felt the same.

  The rows upon rows of vines were like dark, gnarled limbs thrusting up from the powder-coated ground. Morning mist had rolled in, a shadowy ground cover, filling the slopes and arches at the base of the vines.

  The sky rushed in with brushstrokes of bright orange, pink and yellow meeting the deep-blue mountains in the distance that rose from the ground, hugging the expansive property.

  ‘We’re bloody lucky, mate, aren’t we?’ Tom asked, still not turning his gaze from the splendour.

  ‘Yep.’

  Tom chuckled. ‘Took me a while to realise that. But here I am about to marry the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. And look at this,’ he said gesturing at the view. ‘I live in paradise.’

  Sam slapped his back. ‘Can’t agree more. You’re a lucky man.’ He stretched out his arms, easing himself of the anxious energy that filled him. He had one half of the dream sorted—this vineyard—he just hadn’t managed to work the rest out.

  But, he had time to set things right.

  ‘What’s up?’ Tom asked.

  Sam straightened up, shook his head. ‘Nothing.’

  ‘You were deep in thought.’

  ‘I was? No. Just checking out the view.’

  Tom sighed. ‘I’m sorry about Tamara, mate.’

  He shook his head again. ‘No drama.’

  ‘I know. I’m still sorry. But, you know, maybe it’s a bit of closure.’

  Sam blew out a long breath. Suicide, closure? No way. ‘Kinda opened up old wounds to tell you the truth.’

  ‘Maybe it’s time to go see a professional about all this?’

  Sam narrowed his eyes. ‘Serious?’

  ‘Yeah. I am. You’ve had two panic attacks in the space of a month—’

  ‘You know how I feel about shrinks.’ He didn’t trust them. He couldn’t bear the thought of being analysed. Not after Tamara and the way she constantly searched through every word, body movement or expression for something deeper—something that wasn’t truly there.