by K. J. Emrick
"Don't be silly, Chris. This is what the guy gets paid for, right?" She smiled and took her sister's hand. "And if that isn't enough, I promise to bat my eyelashes at him and make him do anything I ask."
"Don't you dare!" Christina laughed, shocked at her sister's brazenness. "This guy is here to do a job for us. He is not your summer romance."
"That remains to be seen, doesn't it?"
Christina rolled her eyes, but Rysen saw the smile she tried to hide. She had been trying to set her sister's mind at ease, at least a little, and it looked like it had worked. Things would be better now. Chris would see that soon enough.
In the front pocket of her jeans Rysen's cell phone buzzed. She took it out and checked the display. She was surprised when she saw who it was. "Hi Beatrice. What's up?"
"Hey," Beatrice greeted her warmly. "I was wondering if you could meet me for lunch? You and Christina? I have a huge wedding order and the people want a dozen or more bottles of champagne included. I was hoping we could talk details."
"Uh, this might not be a good day," Rysen told her. "We've got a guy coming over to the shop…"
"Who is it?" Christina asked.
"Beatrice, hold on just a minute. Okay?" Cupping her hand over her phone she whispered to Christina. "It's Beatrice Leary. She has a customer ordering flowers, but they want to buy some wine as well. I was just about to tell her about the guy coming over."
"Shh!" her sister hissed. "I don’t want anyone to know. The way rumors fly around this town? I don't want to hurt my business. Besides, if whoever is doing this to me lives here…"
She didn't need to finish that sentence. Rysen completely understood. If whoever was doing this to her sister found out about the security consultant, they would just disappear for a while until the heat was off. They might never find out who was doing this. "I just didn't want you to have to meet the guy alone," she said.
"Ry, I'm a big girl. I've been doing this on my own for a long time now. I think I can handle this."
Still, Rysen hesitated. "You're sure?"
"Yes. I'm sure. If Beatrice is offering to throw some money our way by buying our wine for her clients, let's not turn that down. Right now we need every dollar we can get."
"Well," Rysen had to agree, "it would mean a sizeable sale for your shop."
"Exactly! Now go make us some money."
She smiled and put the phone back to her ear. "Okay, Beatrice. I'll come right over. Um. Chris can't make it but I can make all the arrangements. Okay?"
"Great," Beatrice said. "Is…is everything going all right at the shop? Chris isn't in any trouble, is she?"
"No," Rysen told her quickly. "We're just busy here. See you in a few minutes."
They said their goodbyes and Rysen hung up. Giving her sister a quick hug and promising to come back as soon as she could, she headed out the door.
She almost ran into the man standing there.
He was reaching out for the handle as she pulled the door open, and her momentum combined with his made her stumble right up into his chest. He was strong. She felt the lines of his pectorals and his tight abs as she pushed herself back to get her balance. She had to look up to meet his eyes, and she could feel the way her cheeks flushed red when her gaze met his. Crystal blue eyes the color of a summer sky held a hint of mischief and amusement that Rysen had fallen into his arms like that. The chiseled lines of his face were striking. Dark hair hung in a stylish, rakish way across his forehead.
Hot, was the first word that came to Rysen's mind.
"Uh, sorry," she mumbled. "I didn't see you there."
"No worries," he said to her, with a subtle accent that might have been British.
Unable to keep herself from blushing, she stepped around him and quickly walked away up the sidewalk. A little fresh air would do her good.
The sun was shining. The warm breeze lifted her hair away from her neck, smelling of the ocean that was only a few miles away as the seagull flew. She lifted her face up to the sky and smiled. Sometimes the Universe brought you to good places, she thought to herself. She’d had no plans to stay in Cambria for very long but she was starting to enjoy this little vacation she was taking from her real life.
Then she reminded herself she didn't have a job of her own or a place of her own or a man in her life or any prospect at a career…
Rysen took a deep breath of the warm, scented air in front of Beatrice's flower shop, and told herself to stop. Stop worrying over what she couldn't control. Focus on the moment, on the very real problems her sister was facing, and worry about tomorrow when it came.
Into the flower shop she went, making the little bell above the door ring, and calling out for Beatrice.
"Who are you?" an annoyed man's voice challenged her. "Beatrice ain't here. Come back after lunch."
Rysen snapped her eyes around. Standing behind the counter was a tall, thin man with broad shoulders and sandy brown hair, the kind she liked to run her fingers through…
Her mind skipped a beat. He'd grown up, and the dress slacks with the white polo shirt were a big change from the ripped jeans and graphic tee's he used to wear, but there was no mistaking that face. She hadn't seen him in, well, forever, but no girl ever forgot the boy she gave her first kiss to.
"Josh," she said. Not a question. Not even a greeting, really. Just a word that summed up a thousand twisted feelings inside her core.
"Yup, that's me." He narrowed his pale brown eyes at her, thinking, until finally she saw him recognize her. "Oh. Hey, Rysen. I heard you were back in town. It's good to see you."
She shifted her weight and stared at him. It's good to see you? That was all she got from him? "I didn't know you were still in town," she said, moving closer, hoping to at least get a smile from him.
"I left for a little while but ended up coming back. No place like home, am I right?"
Sure, she thought to herself. Where all the people love you and hold fond memories of the times you spent together. Everyone, apparently, except Josh here. "Do you work here?"
He shrugged. "Twice a week. Beatrice doesn't really need the help but I enjoy working with my hands. Gives me something to do when I'm not on call at the hospital over in Thornsburg."
"You're a…doctor?"
"Hard to believe, right? Well, not a doctor. A physician's assistant. We're something less than doctors, something more than nurses. At least that's how I explain it to my patients."
Rysen wasn't sure how long she stared at Josh. Talk about the one who got away. Good looking, in a boy-next-door kind of way, always good to her, and now he was a doctor? Hell. She might have stayed in town if she knew he would turn out like this.
No. No, she had to admit to herself, she was in such a hurry to get out of Cambria that she would have broken it off with Brad Pitt. That was how desperate she'd been to get away. Look what that got her.
"Did you want something?" Josh asked her.
She shook herself, biting her lip, hoping she wasn't blushing again. "Uh, yes. I was supposed to meet Beatrice for lunch. You said she wasn't here?"
He smiled sheepishly, but at least it was a smile. "Nah, she's in the back greenhouse cutting some fresh flowers. I just tell that to people during her lunch break so she doesn't get interrupted. I'll get her for you."
Stepping into the back to open a door, he leaned in and called out, "Hey, baby? There's someone here for you."
Rysen's heart stopped. Of course. Josh and Beatrice were dating. She'd never gotten around to catching up with Beatrice before now or she probably would have known that before it got dumped on her like this.
Just to hammer the message home, Beatrice came out from the back, holding long stemmed flowers in her gloved hand, and leaned up on her toes to kiss Josh quickly on his lips. "Thanks, Josh. You remember Rysen, don't you?"
"Sure, sure," he said. "Didn't recognize her right away."
They had come back up to the counter, and now Beatrice put the flowers and her gloves down, giving Josh a
weird look. "Dear God, Josh, you two used to be an item."
He cast Rysen an uncomfortable look. "Come on, Beatrice. Me and Rysen dated for like, two minutes back in school."
"Oh, don't worry you big lug," she said, slipping her arm around his waist and batting her eyelashes. "I won't hold it against you. Rysen's a great girl. I always thought you two would end up together. She always had the best luck. Her and Christina both."
Rysen wanted to hate them both, but she couldn’t. Because Beatrice was right. She and Josh should have ended up together, and they would have—maybe—if Rysen hadn't thrown caution to the wind to chase a stupid dream in San Francisco.
No. The dream had been worth chasing. Just because it had fallen apart didn't mean—
"Rysen?" It was Beatrice who pulled her out of her thoughts this time. "Are you ready to get going to lunch?"
"Yes. Sure." She kept her eyes carefully off of Josh. "I want to get back to my sister's shop as soon as we're done, too, so where should we go?"
That didn't sound too brusque. She hoped.
Lunch was a pleasant conversation over plates of pasta at an Italian bistro at the other end of Main Street. Rysen remembered it as a bookstore, but apparently it wasn't the only business in town to change hands and then change everything else. The food was really good and it didn't take too long for Rysen to forget how upset she had been to see Beatrice in Josh's arms. They were happy together, from everything Beatrice told her. They'd met at her shop right after he had come back to town. He'd helped her through the pain of her mother's death. He liked flowers, and liked working with his hands.
Everything else had just fallen into place.
Tearing apart hot, soft breadsticks and dipping them in garlic butter, they talked over prices and a delivery schedule for the wine from Christina's shop, and then the hour was over too soon. They made a promise to meet again next week and this time, Rysen suggested, Beatrice should bring Josh with her.
Main Street was a lot longer than she remembered it ever being but she still wanted to walk in the bright sunshine and gentle breeze and stretch her legs. The town was starting to feel like home again to be sure. Everything was changed, and she wasn't sure any more where she fit in. Yup. Just like home used to be before she moved away to start her life over.
Back at Christina's shop she stopped just inside the door. No one was here. No customers. No Christina. Maybe the security consultation had gone so well that her sister had decided to leave the store completely unattended and just let the customers pay for their own wine on the honor system.
"Christina?" she called out, knowing that no matter how good the consultation had gone her sister would never trust sunburnt tourists to pay full price for a bottle of wine. Maybe she was still consulting with whoever this mysterious stranger was, with his amazing advice to sell them on how to keep the shop safe. "Hey, where are you?"
"Down here!" she heard her sister shout from down in the cellar.
Rysen started for the worn stone steps that led down to the musty, dry space where they stored the wine at a cool and mostly constant temperature. Her sister was there, writing inventory on a clipboard with that same apron on over her clothes. "Hey, sis," she said. "How was lunch? Did you get the details on the order?"
"Yes, I did. Where's this security consultant? Did he even show up?"
Christina's smile brightened. "He sure did. Wait until you hear everything we're going to do. Big changes are coming, sis. Big changes."
Oh good, Rysen thought. More changes. Still, she couldn't help but catch her sister's enthusiasm. Smiling and sitting and talking like little girls, like they used to, she and her sister made plans to save the shop.
Chapter 4
The little guest bed was definitely not the most comfortable thing in the world. After a week at her sister's house she had the sheets rumpled in just the right way, but there was no room to move around in the single bed, and Rysen had always been one to move around in her sleep. It was one of the things Kevin had complained about most, actually. How stupid did a guy have to be to complain when a girl ended up laying across him halfway through the night?
Whatever. She sat up now in bed and stretched and reminded herself that part of her life was done. If she wanted to find a guy that enjoyed her body next to his, she couldn't spend all day in bed.
In the bathroom she looked herself over in the mirror. Puffy eyes. Messy hair. Blah. She'd scare a zombie away with that complexion. To the shower she went. She stripped down naked and let the spray from the shower beat against her shoulders and loosen the knots. Working in her sister's shop was hard work, lifting crates and carrying the dwindling bottle supply up the stairs. She wasn't used to that. The company she'd been working at—the same one that fired her—had been a place to think and design, not do manual labor. She was enjoying the physical labor and her body was getting a workout at the same time.
Today was when Christina's next shipment was due. Which meant more lifting and moving and stocking shelves. If this security consultant was worth the money Christina had pulled together to pay him there should be no problem and delivery would be smooth sailing.
Rysen really, really hoped he was, because she didn't want to have her sister's shop fail. She could see how much it meant to Christina. Rysen would hate to think that her bad luck had followed her just to rub off on her sister.
When she went downstairs, Christina was making them both coffee, dancing around the kitchen and humming.
Rysen was a little annoyed that her sister was in such a good mood when all she wanted to do was crawl back into bed. Thoughts of Kevin had once again ruined her morning. Not to mention seeing Josh in Beatrice's arms. Maybe that was why she was having trouble sleeping. She made herself a promise right then that she wouldn't think about men again. Ever.
Yeah. Right.
"Good morning, Ry," her sister sang, pouring out the dark coffee into matching ceramic cups.
“What are you in such a good mood for? Did I miss something?”
"Wow, grouch," Christina joked with her. "Here, take your cup. You need this."
Rysen took the coffee with a grumble, but it did smell good, and the first sip made her feel more like herself. "Fine. Thank you. So tell me what the reason is for your good mood, already. We have a lot of work to do today at the shop, don't we?"
“Yes! Exactly! I get more wine today, the shop is going to be fine and I won't have to worry anymore. Brandon is at the shop now, and he's going to keep an eye on everything until we get there."
"Uh, Brandon?"
"The security guy. Oh, he's so smart Rysen. You won't believe the things he came up with, the plan he has for making sure I don't have to go through this anymore. Come on, get ready, we can go meet him."
Christina drove them to the shop after a breakfast of a few pieces of toast with peanut butter, a meal the sisters had shared often when they were young and their dad had been busy, leaving the girls to fend for themselves. It was a little memory of a childhood that hadn't been great, but it made Rysen smile.
The shop was still locked up with the "CLOSED" sign in the window, most of the lights inside still off. Christina parked out front this time, turning off the engine, staring out the windshield over the steering wheel at the dark windows of her business.
"Huh," she said.
"Where's your security guy?" Rysen asked.
Worry started to etch lines in Christina's brow. "Maybe he's inside waiting for us. That's it. He's guarding our shipment inside. Come on."
Rysen followed her through the door. When Christina flicked on the ceiling lights, they revealed the same bare shelves. Where they had expected boxes and crates to be stacked up in the middle of the showroom there was only empty floor. Everything was the same as they had left it yesterday.
Except for the guy leaning back against the counter with his arms folded and his piercing eyes staring them both down.
"Thought it'd be you," he said in that same subtle accent, which seemed mor
e Australian to Rysen now than British. "Wanted to be sure."
"What are you doing here?" Rysen demanded. "You can't be in my sister's store!"
"Ry, calm down," Christina told her, pulling her back by her elbow. "This is Brandon Dennicort, our security consultant."
Rysen blinked. The guy she had literally run into, the guy with all the muscles and the face of a male model…he was the security consultant?
She felt her cheeks heating up again.
"Brandon," Christina asked, "where's the shipment? Did you put it downstairs already or something?"
He looked at her, his face grim, and slowly nodded his head. "Nothing came. Wanted to ask you if I got the time wrong. Guessing I didn't."
Rysen's heart sank. Christina had been depending on that delivery coming into the store today. The few bottles of wine they got every other day from local wine makers weren't holding them. A couple of tourists had already come and then walked out again when they saw how little inventory they had.
"Chris…" Rysen started to say.
“I need to make a phone call," Christina said quickly, excusing herself to the back office, closing the door with a firm little snick.
Which left Rysen and—what was his name? Brandon?—alone in an awkward silence. She took the time to look him over again. When she'd been joking about needing eye candy here at the shop she didn't realize her sister would take it to heart. Or maybe this was just the luck of the draw. Either way, Brandon was way hot, and he was still staring at her, and his lip curled in this little smile that made her wonder what he was thinking.
Was it this morning she had sworn off thinking about guys? Right. Um. Right. Especially with her sister's employees.
"I guess you can, you know, go," she said to him, suddenly all tongue tied. "Unless you're waiting for a check? Do we like, pay you by the day or something?"
"Your sis has me paid up for a week," Brandon explained, his eyes still focused on Rysen. "She'll get what she's paid for."