In Full Bloom [Second Chances 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Michelle Roth

  Taryn smirked and said, “You should probably shower. It looks like you’ve got it in your hair, too. That being said, your odds are slim.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Princess,” he said as they exited the store. He locked the front door and rolled down the shutters.

  “I’m a realist,” she said, shrugging. “Best of luck.”

  They walked up the stairs toward their apartments together and bid each other farewell in the hallway.

  Peeling out of her work clothes immediately, she hopped into the shower. Today she wasn’t so bone-deep exhausted, but her strange sleep schedule was demanding that she close her eyes soon. She refused to give in. Tomorrow was a normal work day and she didn’t want to wake up at two in the morning for it.

  * * * *

  Taryn and Cora rounded the corner and headed to her apartment. Taryn felt a small thrill seeing the door to the store open again. She was excited to see what progress he’d made. Yesterday when she’d come home, the store had been locked up and he’d been nowhere in sight. She had to admit, she’d been a little disappointed.

  Cora said, “Oh! Is the shop open again? Did he change the blue? Tell me he changed the blue.”

  Laughing, Taryn said, “I’m not sure. He said he was changing the paint color, but I don’t know for sure. We can stop in and see.”

  Cora eyed her slyly and said, “Clearly this isn’t the first time you’ve stopped in.”

  Taryn narrowed her eyes and said, “I’ve got a vested interest in the success of the shop. I live above it.”

  “And you want to bang the owner,” Cora quietly murmured.

  “Seriously, Cora. Cut it out. He’s my landlord,” Taryn said, frustration clear in her voice.

  Cora held up her hands and said, “Fine. Fine. Okay. Does that mean I can have him?”

  Taryn shot her a venomous look but said nothing.

  “I think I made my point. I’ll lay off you, but at least be honest with yourself about it, Tare. You’re clearly interested.”

  “Fucking psych major,” Taryn muttered.

  Her annoyance was forgotten when she popped her head in the front door and saw the painting under way. There were two shirtless male bodies, one of which she immediately recognized as Evan’s. He was rolling paint on the wall. The other, equally ripped guy, was messing with a paint sprayer.

  Cora finally spoke up, saying, “Ooh. This is much better than the blue,” as she focused on the warm ivory wall.

  Evan gave a small start and then turned around. The other man turned around and managed to simultaneously fire the paint gun at Evan’s leg, covering it.

  Evan stood stock still for a minute, shock written on his face. “Fuck, Jamie, really?”

  Taryn watched, biting her lip as the other man tried to keep a straight face. “Sorry, Ev. That was totally an accident.”

  She watched Evan’s eyes narrow for a moment before he turned his attention to them. “Hey ladies,” he said, giving them both a grin.

  “Hey,” Taryn said, “I like the paint.”

  “It’s coming together,” he agreed. “Oh. This dumb ass is my brother Jamie. Jamie, this is Taryn, my tenant, and her sister Cora.”

  After they exchanged greetings, she and Evan went over the changes he’d made to the shop. He showed her the built-in glass shelves he’d added behind the tarps, and the remodel of the office.

  When they walked back into the front area, she was feeling a little guilty just ditching her sister, but when she found her, Cora seemed to be engrossed in conversation with Jamie. She heard the giggle and realized that Cora was flirting with him.

  Evan smirked and gestured toward his brother and her sister. She grinned in response.

  He said, “Hey, listen. We need to finish painting the walls tonight so I can start moving the coolers back in. We were thinking pizza and beer later tonight at my place. You and your sister should come over, too.”

  There must have been a lull in the other conversation because Cora said, “I’ll take a pass on the beer, but we were planning on ordering a pizza anyway. Right?”

  Taryn nodded agreeably, even though they had explicitly discussed going out for burgers. She added, “A definite no on any sort of alcohol for a long time, but pizza sounds good.”

  Jamie grinned, and in that moment, she saw the startling resemblance. Looking directly at Cora, he said, “I’m sensing a story.”

  Cora laughed and said, “We’ll let you get back to painting. Just stop by when you’re done.”

  Reaching for the roller, Evan said, “Later Princess, Cora.”

  Taryn saw Cora’s eyebrows raise at the nickname, but thankfully, she didn’t say anything until they were halfway up the stairs.

  “Princess? Do you call him Evvy-Pooh?” Cora said, snickering.

  Taryn laughed and said, “Oh god. I would love to see the look on his face if I did. I’ve managed to restrain myself so far.”

  Cora snorted and said, “Just barely.”

  Taryn rolled her eyes and said, “Okay, Ms. We Were Getting Pizza.”

  Cora flushed slightly and said, “He’s cute.”

  “The way he was staring, I think we could have talked him into any kind of food you wanted.”

  Taryn opened the door to her apartment and walked through. Cora said, “Wow. New couch and table! I like them. I’m impressed. When did this happen?”

  Grinning, Taryn said, “Saturday. When you left, I got bored. I realized I had a job now and didn’t need to keep my shitty furniture anymore, so I went out and bought it.”

  “Nice! And you got them delivered incredibly early in the morning. Am I right?” Cora asked.

  Clearing her throat, she said, “I might have.”

  Changing topics, Cora said, “So clearly things have escalated a little bit between you guys. You’ve got a nickname.”

  “When I went into the hallway to yell at him Saturday morning the tiara was tangled in my hair still. I didn’t even realize but he pointed it out. He says it to annoy me,” Taryn said.

  “I’m a little torn here. I don’t really want to encourage you to have sex with your landlord, because there are some obvious issues there. At the same time, I can’t remember the last time I saw you even remotely interested in a guy.”

  Taryn gave a deep sigh. Deciding to put it all out there, she said, “I don’t want the potential complications. He’s sexy though. The more I talk to him, the less that I remember the complications. I wish he’d just be an irredeemable dick already so I could just dismiss him.”

  Her voice a little sad, Cora asked, “Is that what happens? You just wait for people to let you down?”

  “Enough with the psych major stuff. Can we please change the subject? Nothing is going to come from picking this stuff apart, anyway.”

  Shrugging, she said, “Job. Let’s talk about work.”

  Taryn couldn’t help but grin. The last few days had been so exciting. She rattled on about the baby elephant and work for the next twenty minutes. To her credit, Cora didn’t even look remotely bored.

  Finally, stopping herself because she was just babbling, she asked, “What’s going on in Cora’s universe? How’s school? Your parents?”

  “My mom’s sixtieth birthday is on Saturday. They’re doing a big thing at the country club for her. You should come with me,” Cora said, hesitantly.

  Cora was almost constantly trying to include her in her family life. To be fair, her parents did their fair share of the inviting, too. They were persistent, even though Taryn almost always refused. This wasn’t really a holiday, per se. Maybe she would go.

  Tilting her head, she asked, “What time?”

  Cora perked up and said, “From six to ten. It’s a dinner and dancing thing. You can be my date.”

  Snorting, Taryn said, “I can do that. Just so long as you don’t expect me to put out just cause you bought me dinner.”

  “It’s a free steak dinner, baby. But you’re right. Let’s just let the evening go where
it may,” Cora said, laughing and shooting her with finger guns.

  “Fine. I’ll go with you. Weirdo. I’m assuming semi-formal dress?”

  “That white and red striped dress you have is good,” Cora said.

  “That makes my wardrobe choice easy then. And what kind of gift? I don’t really know what she’s into.”

  “Uhm, you really can’t go wrong with smelly candles or cookbooks. If you get her a cookbook, try to make it obscure. She’s got shelves lined with them,” Cora suggested. “She’s been experimenting with Indian lately.”

  “Thanks. I’ll go grab something from the mall, then.”

  “Good. I can pick you up and 4:30 p.m. And we can swing by the bookstore on the way if that makes it easier?” Cora asked.

  “Yes! You read my mind. Also, I wanted to ask…this is kind of embarrassing. I’m probably going to be getting a car within the next couple months. I don’t know how to drive.” Taryn said.

  Seeming to realize how dumb Taryn felt having to ask, Cora just said, “Sure. My car is a stick, so you can learn the hard way. That way if you get an automatic, it will be easy.”

  Breathing a sigh of relief, Taryn said, “Thank you. Now that I’m not a broke college kid, I figured it was time to learn.”

  Cora opened her mouth to respond and there was a knock on the door. Taryn realized she was still in work clothes and said, “Grab the door. I’m going to go change really quick.”

  Scurrying back into the bedroom, Taryn grabbed a T-shirt and jeans from her closet. She heard muffled voices through the door and assumed that Cora continued to talk to them through the open door while she changed. Shucking the khaki polo and brown shorts, she changed and ran a brush through her hair.

  Stepping out, she saw that Cora had closed the door and leaned against it, a half smile on her face.

  Looking at Taryn now, Cora said, “Those men have some excellent genetics.”

  Taryn nodded her head in agreement and said, “They really do. They seem to enjoy being shirtless, too. I don’t know how I’m going to be able to hold out against the constant eye candy.”

  Sliding her feet into canvas flats, she looked at Cora and asked, “Ready?”

  Chapter 4

  When Evan heard the knock on his door, he got up off the couch to answer the door. His brother walked out of the bathroom and said, “Oh good, they’re here. Let’s order. I’m dying.”

  Evan opened the door and saw them both standing there. Stepping back, he said, “Come on in. I was just about to order.”

  Looking at Taryn, he asked, “Is there a good place around here?”

  “Gianetti’s is really good,” she said. “Usually quick, too.”

  “Gianetti’s it is,” he said, searching on his phone. “So what does everyone want on their pizza?”

  At once he heard all three of them speak, “Pepperoni. Cheese. Everything.”

  Laughing, he said, “Clearly we need to discuss.”

  Taryn said, “I still say everything is the only way to go. I could be persuaded to change my vote to pepperoni if it makes it easier though.”

  Jamie gave a fist pump and then looked at Cora expectantly. She said, “Fine, fine. I’ll pick them off.”

  “I wanted everything, too. Lemme grab two. One with everything, one with half pepperoni and half cheese. That way everyone wins,” he said.

  Everyone nodded in agreement. He quickly called in the order as they sat down. When he turned around, he saw that his brother and Cora had settled on the couch and Taryn had curled up on the love seat.

  “Would any of you like a drink? Water, tea, beer, soda?” he asked.

  When everyone had answered, he moved to the kitchen. Grabbing one bottle of water, one coke, and two beers, he turned around and almost bumped into Taryn. She asked, “Do you need any help?” as she reached out to take the coke and beer from his hands.

  He watched her walk back into the living room and hand the drinks off. He followed with his beer and her water in hand. Sitting on the love seat, he passed it to her once she sat down.

  She angled herself toward him and asked, “Are you really entirely unpacked? I totally expected to see some boxes.”

  Taking a swig, he set the bottle down on the end table next to him and said, “I finished up early Sunday morning, actually. Just woke up early for some reason.”

  Clearing her throat, she said, “Funny. The same thing happened to me on Saturday.”

  “So, I’m assuming you got a new couch, right? I hope it wasn’t on my account,” he said, grinning.

  She immediately rolled her eyes and said, “Don’t flatter yourself, Evan. You saw that beast. It was time. The coffee table was worse. Replaced it, too.”

  “I find that difficult to believe. That sofa was a really vibrant shade of blue,” he said, lips twitching.

  “Call it ugly, but it was free,” she said with a shrug.

  “So what did you settle on?” he asked.

  “Judging by your furniture, you’ll probably think this one is even worse. Purple microfiber with some delightful black, white and gray-accent pillows.”

  “Purple?” he asked, mildly horrified. “I’m sure it’s great.”

  Taryn laughed and said, “I like bold colors.”

  “Of course. Who doesn’t?” he asked, gesturing around his apartment that was almost entirely decorated in earth tones.

  Snickering, she took another sip of water and then asked, “Did you finish the greenhouse?”

  “I did. I ended up moving my orchids into it on Sunday. They seem a lot happier now that they have the humidity back. They were staying on my sister’s back porch for a little bit.”

  Cocking her head to the side, she asked, “How many brothers and sisters do you have? You’ve mentioned two, and I met a third.”

  “There are six of us in total,” he said. When he saw her eyes widen, he added, “Typical Irish Catholic family.”

  “Wow,” she said.

  “I take it Cora’s your only sibling?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” she said. “Hey. Did you make it to dinner on time the other night?”

  “Not a chance,” he said, laughing. “Luckily they were both running late, too, so we all got there at the same time. I got to meet my niece Molly for the first time, too.”

  Picking up his phone, he showed her a few pictures.

  When he scrolled to the one where Molly had his finger gripped in her little fist, he saw her eyes soften. She said, “She’s a cutie.”

  Nodding, he said, “Yeah. She is. I’m just glad I’m going to be around more now.”

  At her curious look, he said, “I’ve been living in Seattle since I was twenty-four so I missed out on seeing all three of my sister’s kids go through the baby phase.”

  “Oh,” she said. “I didn’t realize you had moved from out of the area. I guess I just assumed you were from Los Angeles.”

  “I lived in Ventura when I was kid, but left after college. Finally I decided that if after fourteen years, Seattle didn’t feel like home, then it never would,” he said.

  Shrugging, Taryn said, “I don’t know that Los Angeles feels like home, but Cora’s here. That helps.”

  “Are you from here originally?” he asked, curious.

  “Yep,” she said. “Born in Reseda.”

  He watched Taryn’s eyes gravitate toward the bookshelves. “Ever think about going electronic?” she asked him curiously.

  “Each time I lugged a box of books up the stairs, but it would be so expensive to buy the electronic versions of everything I’ve got here. I have a lot of DIY stuff here, too, so it’s easier to have a paper copy,” he said.

  She stood up and walked toward the books. Turning her head, she scanned the titles and immediately asked, “Did you group these by subject?”

  Nodding, he gestured to the four bookshelves and said, “It makes it easier to find them. I’ve got a lot of books. There’s another shelf in my office and one in the bedroom.”

  “
Yeah,” she said. “There’s no way I could lug all these around.”

  “I didn’t do so well, either. That was actually what I almost knocked you down the stairs with,” he said sheepishly.

  Jamie must have keyed in on part of what he said because he looked up from his conversation with Cora and said, “You almost knocked her down the stairs?”

  Before he could respond, Taryn said, “Yeah. He threw a box of books at me. What a jerk, right?”

  “I still maintain that they fell down the stairs,” he argued, enjoying the smile that stretched across her face.

  As she opened her mouth to respond, there was a knock at the door.

  “Thank god. I’m starved,” Cora said.

  Ten minutes later they were seated around the pub table in his dining room. There was a slight lull in conversation while they were eating until Jamie asked, “Earlier when Evan said something about beer, you both looked a little green. What’s the story there?”

  He watched as his brother lightly nudged Cora in the arm. She gave a long, exhausted sigh and told the story, though she was clearly embarrassed.

  Jamie laughed and said, “If your clothes didn’t come off in public, then you weren’t that drunk.”

  He proceeded to tell the story of the night he graduated from college. He went out and got wasted, then woke up in Tijuana. At the end of the story, he looked at Evan and said, “Whatever you do, don’t tell Mom. She’d kick my ass. I told her that I ended up crashing at a friend’s house.”

  Laughing, he said, “Your secret’s safe with me, kid. You couldn’t exactly tell her that you slept naked in a barn next to a donkey, could you?”

  “Not my finest hour,” he said, laughing.

  Over the next two hours, they sat in his living room and continued to swap stories until Cora finally started to yawn.

  She said, “Oh Jesus. It’s after ten. I have an early class tomorrow. I need to head home.”

  Jamie stood up and said, “I’ve gotta work early, too. I’ll walk you out.”

  When Taryn stood up, she immediately started collecting cans and bottles. Evan immediately stopped her and said, “No, Princess. I’ve got it.”