Sweet on You

by Katana Collins

“I know,” Lex said, cutting him off. “It’s not your fault. I used to have a sticky note on that socket, but I remembered it fell off a while ago and stupidly, I never replaced it.” Lex sighed and rubbed a hand down his eyes before lifting his gaze to meet mine. It wasn’t an accusatory stare, but I still felt so guilty. “I should have mentioned it to you before I left, Ronnie. I feel terrible.”

  I huffed a laugh. “You feel terrible? I feel terrible. Lex… I set your freaking bakery on fire! I wouldn’t be surprised if you never wanted to see me again.”

  His expression softened. “Don’t be ridiculous. The whole drive here, yours was the only face I wanted to see.”

  My stomach jumped at that, and a surge of goosebumps cascaded down my arms. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him and I searched his face, staring as he wet his lips.

  “You given any more thought to buying the building?” Nate said, interrupting our moment.

  Lex sucked in a sharp breath. “I’ve been thinking about it. I’m leaning toward yes, but there’s still a lot to figure out. I’m waiting on your friend to crunch some numbers for me.”

  Nate nodded. “I understand. You’ve got a few more weeks until I absolutely need an answer. I’d just hate to see you have to move Latte Da if the new owner doesn’t renew your lease.”

  Lex’s gaze darted to mine before meeting Nate’s again. “Nothing’s decided yet. But I’ll let you know,” Lex said and shook Nate’s hand before he left.

  I went from feeling absolute elation, to a hollow sinking abyss in my gut. “You might have to move?”

  Lex rubbed a finger across his brow and inhaled deeply before letting it out with a long, hiss. “I-I don’t know, to be honest. There’s so much happening right now. I had been thinking I would probably have to move when Nate told me he was selling this place if the new owners didn’t want to rent it. But then he offered me the option to buy...” he sighed, trailing off.

  “But, now that you’ve found your daughter here…” I asked quietly. His gaze jerked to mine and silence slid between us like a thick custard. I gave him a little smile. “Tony let it slip.”

  Lex blew out a breath. “Dammit, Tony.” He held out his palm. “I was going to tell you, I swear—”

  “Lex, it’s okay. I understand.” There was really nothing else to say. It was okay. It was his freaking daughter.

  “It’s why… why I’ve been so weird with you. I knew I had a daughter. I knew she was somewhere in the New England area and Maple Grove was my only clue. I liked you so much, but I couldn’t start something that could become serious if I didn’t know where I would end up once I found her. I didn’t know how complicated my life was going to get. And it simply wasn’t fair to you. It’s why I turned you down last month when you asked me out. And… even though she’s close-ish. She’s still an hour away. I don’t know if I should move closer to her grandparents. Or if an hour isn’t that big a deal. I just… I—”

  “You don’t know yet,” I repeated. “I really do understand. You have a kid. I mean, that’s… wow. That’s huge.” It felt wrong to be talking about us when he had so many more important things going on. It felt selfish. “You met her today, right?”

  His grin widened, his turquoise eyes growing glossy. “I did.”

  There was another pause. “Well? Is she beautiful?” What was I saying? Of course she was beautiful. She was Lex’s daughter. “What’s her name? What’s she like?” I tried again.

  His smile relaxed and he fell into one of the café chairs. “Her name is Olivia. And she’s adorable. And funny. And, I mean, I don’t have a large barometer for what 15-month-olds are like, but she seems really smart to me.” His grin widened and he glanced down at the table, running his fingertip along the dark vein in the white marble.

  I lowered into the seat across from him. “What?”

  He chuckled. “It’s stupid.”

  I lifted my eyebrows. “I can assure you whatever makes you grin like that cannot be stupid. No way.”

  He sighed. “She blew me a kiss as I was leaving and I put it here.” He pointed to his breast pocket. “Her kiss. I put it in my pocket to save for later. Which seems like one of those silly things you do to make kids laugh, you know? But right now? I feel like I truly can reach in and feel that love—that kiss—if I wanted to. It was more for me than her.”

  I reached over the table and draped my hand over his, giving it a squeeze. “Lex,” I whispered. “Why don’t we take things with us really slowly? And I promise you, I will not get in the way of you and your daughter. If you need to move to be closer to her—I understand. But… I want to at least try with us. Don’t you?” I dragged in a breath through my parted lips, my heart beating wildly in my chest. It took a lot for me to admit that, but it was the truth.

  His gaze slowly lifted to mine and he stared into my eyes for the longest minute of my life. “More than anything.”

  I swallowed hard, doing everything in my power to keep my pulse from racing. “Okay, then.” I nodded, but honestly? I didn’t know where to go from here. We said we’d take it slowly. What did that mean? Did it mean a date? We’d sort of already had that. But not really, because our happy hour last night got disrupted. Did it mean we would wait a few dates to sleep together? A few weeks? A few months? Oh, God, don’t let it be a few months before I get to see Lex naked.

  “What are you doing tonight?” he asked. My lungs pinched, I inhaled so hard and fast.

  “Tonight?” I repeated.

  “Yes.” The corners of his pouty lips tugged toward his eyes. “For dinner. I can’t exactly open the bakery back up today. And the smoke probably won’t clear until tomorrow. So as I see it, I have a rare day off. All I have is an NA meeting at five, but I should be free by seven.”

  “I-I don’t have any plans tonight. Except. Well… Penny.” I pointed above us to his apartment upstairs. He followed my gesture.

  “Ah, yes. The dog who can’t be alone.” Lex thought for a moment. “They’ve been fine up there, though, right? Penny hasn’t chewed or anything?”

  I had checked on him a few times and he’d mostly just been sleeping. “He’s been fine… from what I can tell at least. I mean, I didn’t go inspecting your bedrooms and bathrooms and stuff.”

  “Bedroom. Bathroom. Singular, unfortunately.”

  It was a one-bedroom up there? For himself, that was fine. But what happened when he started bringing his daughter over? What happened when she stayed for the night? I forced myself to keep my mouth shut. I had helped Cam when Maddie was younger. We all had when his wife Hannah was sick and then after she died. But I didn’t know what it was like to raise a child. I’m sure lots of people made one-bedroom apartments work.

  “What if I bring Frost over to your place and then she can keep him company while we go out?”

  “He does seem to love that cat of yours.”

  Lex scoffed at my statement. “Well of course he does. She’s an amazing cat.”

  I laughed. “She is, she is.”

  “So, tonight?”

  I licked my lips slowly. “It’s a date.”

  16

  Lex

  I pulled my car into the parking lot in front of The Bloom Room, our little Maple Grove florist.

  Meow, Frost protested as I put my Fiat in park and climbed out. “Oh, shush. I’ll be back in a second.”

  Meow.

  “I know,” I said with a sigh. “I’m not sure she’s a flower girl, either. But I can’t show up empty handed, and in the last few days, I’ve already given her a pie, granola bars, and croissants. I think I’ve baked enough for her. What does that leave me with?”

  Silence. My damn cat. Now she chooses to be silent?

  I shut my door and walked into the shop, perusing the aisles slowly. With each flower, I paused, waiting for inspiration to strike. Only, it never did. Roses felt too formal. Tulips reminded me of Mother’s Day. Carnations were too boring.

  “Hey Lex!” I jumped and spun around to find Faye, the flo
rist and shop owner, standing there behind me. She was about my age, give or take a couple of years, and we had met at a local networking meet-up for local business owners when I first opened Latte Da. “Can I help you find something?”

  I scrubbed my hands down my face, feeling more than a little out of my element. “I need a bouquet, but… I don’t know the first thing about them.”

  “Hmm. Okay. Well, let’s ignore the flowers for a second. Who are you getting them for?”

  “Uh… a-a friend.” I was completely caught off guard by her question.

  She arched an eyebrow, biting the inside of her cheek to hide her smirk. “Okay. A friend.”

  I sighed heavily and dropped my hands to my side. “Fine. A date. A first date.”

  “Okay, then. That’s more like it. Is she from Maple Grove?”

  I nodded, inwardly pleading that Faye wasn’t going to grill me to find out who it was. I didn’t know Ronnie exceptionally well, but if I had to guess, she struck me as a very private person. “Born and raised, as far as I know.”

  Faye chewed her bottom lip in thought, narrowing her eyes at me. “I’ve got it.”

  I eyed her skeptically. “You do?”

  “Yes. A bouquet with purple lilacs and Tudor roses.” She fanned her hands out in front of me.

  “Isn’t that a little cliché? Roses? And don’t they clash… purple and red?”

  “Not just roses. Tudor roses. The symbol for England. And Purple lilacs—the state flower of New Hampshire. A symbol of both you and her.”

  I thought about it for a moment. It was a little cheesy, but cute. I was pretty sure Ronnie wouldn’t know a Tudor rose from a regular rose either, but it was a nice gesture… a romantic one… and that was what counted, right?

  “And purple and red can look rather beautiful together when done right. Besides, a Tudor rose is mostly white with red tips. Trust me.”

  I grinned at her, and before I could nod and agree, Faye had already taken off through the store, grabbing various flowers and greenery, snipping stems and placing each flower carefully next to another. It was like a work of art once she had finished—a beautiful, organic sculpture.

  “Wow,” I said, handing her my credit card. “That’s stunning.”

  She grinned and shrugged. “I know.”

  I laughed.

  She slid my card through the reader and pointed to a simple rectangle vase on the counter. “I’m giving you this, too,” she said. “She may already have a vase, but if not, then you have thought of everything.”

  I leaned over, signing my name with a stylus. “You’ve thought of everything.”

  She laughed. “It’s my job to think of everything so you don’t have to.”

  I reached to scoop up the flowers, and she reached out, stopping me. “Careful… there are thorns on the roses.” I gingerly picked them up and grabbed the vase, too.

  “Good call,” I said, saluting her with the vase. “Would have sucked if I’d shown up bloody for our first date.”

  “Have a good night, Lex,” Faye said and waved as I headed to the door. “Tell Ronnie I say hey.”

  I froze, not bothering to turn around. I knew she was silently snickering behind me.

  I stood in front of Ronnie’s front door, cradling the flowers in one arm. In the other hand, I held Frost’s leash. She sat at my feet, eyes wide, looking into the bushes, like she saw something delicious she wanted to chase. “Don’t even think about it,” I warned my cat. She yawned and sat, lifting a leg to clean herself.

  “Lovely,” I muttered as I lifted a hand and rapped my knuckles against the door. Ronnie answered almost immediately—so quickly, in fact, I wondered if she had been waiting by the window. My eyes swept her body, finally landing on her bright blue eyes. She looked stunning. She was in jeans and a silvery top that showed her shoulders, even though it had bell-like sleeves. Her hair was down, the dark curls coiling around each other and falling just below her shoulders. And her skin held the lovely tint of a flush—almost like she had just finished a run and the blood was rushing to her face.

  “Hey,” she smiled, but there was hesitancy behind it. I don’t know why she was so hesitant with me. She always had been. I could see her walls as clear as if they were a literal castle around her, blocking her from romance from the day I met her. But somehow, she and I always seemed to connect—despite these walls. Maybe it was one of the reasons I was so drawn to her. Because London had been such the opposite. Quick to jump in bed. Quick to say I love you. Quick to move in… well, mostly because she was living at the hostile. But that was beside the point. There was something about Ronnie’s reticence that I found alluring. Sexy, even.

  But I also knew there was something lurking beneath that arm’s length she kept between us. A reason that I could see bobbing below the water’s surface beyond what she had told me at drinks last night. Whatever it was, I wanted to know. I wanted to know everything about her.

  Her gaze dipped to the flowers in my hand, her brows lifting. “Are those for me? Or did you bring them for Penny?”

  “They are certainly not for Penny,” I said and handed them over to Ronnie. “Careful, there are thorns.”

  She leaned in, smiling and pressed her noses to the petals. “Lilacs?” she asked, turning to go into the house.

  I followed her inside, tugging gently on Frost’s leash, and nodded. “And roses. Tudor roses, to be exact.”

  She paused, looking over her shoulder. “Tudor roses… as in the Tudor period of England?”

  I nodded. “You know your European history,” I said.

  “More like I know my Jonathan Rhys Meyers,” she said, smiling. “I loved that TV show.”

  “Ah, that explains it.” I shut the door behind me and noticed that Penny was up on his hind legs, front paws pressed into a gate that separated him from the front door.

  “Hey buddy,” I said, walking over as Ronnie gracefully stepped over the gate into the kitchen. He completely ignored her, tail wagging, hopping up and down, alternating saying hi to me and saying hi to Frost.

  I ran my hand over his head, brushing my thumb between his eyes.

  Frost nimbly jumped over the partition into the kitchen as I dropped her leash and stepped over the gate myself.

  “The purple lilacs are apparently the state flower—”

  “Of New Hampshire,” she finished for me. “That’s right. I completely forgot.” She smiled, glancing down at the flowers once more. “That’s really sweet, Lex.”

  I smiled, but also winced. “I hate to admit that it wasn’t my idea. Faye did a little prying and came up with the bouquet.”

  Ronnie laughed and set them down on the counter. “Even still. They’re beautiful. Thank you.”

  She opened up some cupboards and eventually pulled out a large plastic blue cup. “Hmm. I don’t have any vases… as you can imagine, I don’t get sent flowers all too often.”

  I tugged my messenger bag open, which also held some of Frost’s food and necessities, and pulled out the narrow rectangle vase Faye had given me. “I’ve got you covered there, too.”

  I handed her the vase and Ronnie put a hand to her hip, narrowing her eyes at me. “You implying I don’t get enough flowers to justify a vase, too?” Despite her accusing tone, her grin suggested a playfulness.

  I put up my hands. “Blame Faye.”

  “Oh, I will.” Ronnie winked and filled the vase with water before unwrapping the bouquet and placing the flowers inside.

  “Wow,” she said, stepping back and admiring. “They are stunning.”

  As she stepped back, she didn’t see just how close to me she was and she bumped into my chest. I lifted my hands to her elbows, catching her gently.

  I felt her muscles stiffen for a fraction of a second before she relaxed into my hands. Instead of pulling away, she leaned her head back on my chest, her eyelids lightly closing.

  “Who knew New Hampshire and England would look so good together, huh?”

  She blink
ed, her mouth forming an ‘o’ before her bare lips tilted into another smile. “Who knew, indeed.”

  She turned, still in my arms, her shoulder brushing against me with the soft movement, and placed her palms on my chest as she looked up at me.

  “I want to kiss you,” I said.

  She inhaled a sharp breath, nodding.

  It wasn’t like we hadn’t kissed before. We had. But, those felt like stolen moments. Fleeting. This was different. It wasn’t forbidden or riddled with any sort of lie. And frankly, this date with Ronnie was the first date I’ve had since I sobered up. I haven’t been with a woman while not high in years. Once I got clean, my focus was on moving to Maple Grove, opening my business, and finding Olivia. It simply left no room in my schedule for dating or casual sex.

  I bent slowly, nervously licking my lips. I planned on something soft. Something tender. But as I bent to meet Ronnie’s lips, she lifted onto her toes, and her mouth connected hard with mine.

  I gasped as she kissed me. She tasted like peppermint and something lightly sweet, like vanilla.

  It only took that moment for me to realize I didn’t want slow and gentle. I wanted Ronnie in all her raw passion. I scooped my fingers into her thick curls and pulled her hard against my mouth, her lips parting against the sweep of my tongue.

  I devoured her moan and as she pulled back for air, I lifted her onto the counter and kissed my way down her neck, nibbling the soft, tender skin there as she tilted her head to give me further access.

  She grabbed my face between her hands, pulling my gaze back to her eyes and we stayed there locked in a stare for a long, heated moment. Her lips were puffy and wet from my bruising kisses. Her hair was wilder than before, thanks to my roaming hands. Her cheeks, a flushed pink that matched the hue of her mouth.

  After holding eye contact, she kissed me again, nibbling on my bottom lip before I finally pulled away, bracing my weight on the counter between her legs. “We… we should go,” I said, lifting my eyes to hers once more.

  She tilted her head in question. “Oh… okay—”