by Charlie
“Let me help,” the man offered flashing a smile her way. He grabbed some paper towels from the shelf behind her, his arm brushing against hers as he reached across. The faintly spicy scent of his cologne drifted past and Stephanie’s mind registered it as pleasantly inviting.
“No! That’s all right. I can do it.” Even as she protested, he was blotting up the coffee. Stephanie set the stack of cards and envelopes down in a safe location and moved the almost empty coffee cup out of harm’s way.
“It’s no problem. It’s my fault anyway for startling you.” He efficiently wiped up the mess, dropped the wet paper towels in the garbage, and picked up the bagel off of the floor. “Yours?” he asked with raised brows. His blue eyes met hers and she felt an unexpected jolt of recognition. Confused, she immediately looked away. If she didn’t know better, she’d say that she had met him before; something about his eyes seemed strangely familiar.
“Uh, yeah. It was my lunch, but I think it’s passed its prime now.” She took the bagel from him and deposited it in the garbage, carefully avoiding his gaze.
“Your lunch? At two-thirty?”
“It’s been a busy day.” She offered by way of an explanation shrugging and looking slightly to the left of his shoulder rather than directly at him. Something about this man made her nervous… Or was it excitement? She wasn’t sure what to call it, but the feeling was unfamiliar. Pasting on her professional facade, she addressed him. “How may I help you?”
“I was wondering how much you charge for a dozen daisies.”
“Daisies? Not roses?” She darted a glance at him and found that he was staring at her, a faint trace of amusement evident on his lips.
“That’s right. She’s partial to daisies.”
“So am I.” Stephanie smiled and reached for the order pad. “Gerber daisies or—“
“Just plain white Shastas.” He answered before she could even finish the question.
“With a vase or without?”
“I’m sure she has lots of vases already.”
Stephanie nodded, busily writing down the particulars. “Delivered or would you be picking them up?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Oh… Well when would you want them by?”
“I’m not sure of that either.”
She looked up at him and raised her eyebrows.
He grinned sheepishly. “I haven’t asked her out yet, so I don’t know if it will be today or tomorrow.”
Stephanie set the pen down and tried to hide her exasperation. It had been a busy day. Her lunch—such as it was—was now in the garbage. She didn’t feel like playing games. “Well when you find out, let me know and I’ll give you a price. There’s a five percent discount on pre-orders of more than two days.”
“Good to know.” He nodded. “So, will you go out to dinner with me?”
“I beg your pardon?” His sudden change of topic had her staring at him in confusion.
“Will you go out to dinner with me? I need to know so I can order the daisies.” He gave her a wide friendly smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling slightly.
“You want to go out to dinner? With me?” Even though she knew she was repeating his question and probably sounded like an idiot, she wanted clarification. Strange men didn’t just come walking up to her and asking her out every day.
“I caused you to ruin your lunch. It’s the least I can do.” He leaned casually against the counter, watching her reaction and patiently waiting for her answer.
“Oh, no… That’s not necessary… It was mostly my fault.” She knew she was stumbling over her words. Okay, it was a sympathy date; she could understand that. He felt sorry for her and slightly responsible for her lost lunch. She’d reassure him. He’d feel he’d done his duty and be on his way taking with him the strange feeling that was coming to life inside her. “The coffee was cold and the bagel was a bit stale anyway.”
“I’d still like to make it up to you.”
“But it was only a bagel!” His insistence was making her feel almost panicky. Men didn’t go out of their way to make a date with her! She’d given him an out. Why wasn’t he taking it?
“Well, would it make you feel better if I took you out for a coffee and a bagel then? You know the old saying: An eye for an eye, a bagel for a bagel.”
Despite herself she laughed and found herself actually looking at him, her earlier wariness temporarily pushed aside. “It would make more sense. But I really can’t—“
“Of course you can, Stephanie!” Paula suddenly appeared from the backroom, where no doubt she’d been observing the whole incident. “I’ll watch the store. You go and eat.”
“But—“ Stephanie sputtered in protest.
Paula smiled at the man. “Just a minute.” She yanked Stephanie a few feet over by the display of stuffed animals and balloons that could be purchased to go with floral arrangements. “Stephanie, I know you tend to be cautious and I know why. I respect your feelings. But this is just a bagel in a public restaurant, with lots of other people around. There’s no need to worry. Besides that, he’s gorgeous!”
“But—“
“No more buts. If you don’t eat, you get grumpy and I don’t want a grumpy boss. Now go!” She took Stephanie by the shoulders and pushed her towards the door. “She’s ready.” Paula called to the man who was watching the interaction between the two of them with obvious interest. Out of the corner of her eye, Stephanie noticed the dark haired man winking at her friend. She opened her mouth to protest, but found herself being gently propelled out the door and down the sidewalk.
“What was that all about?” She looked at her companion suspiciously.
“What was what about?”
“Paula winked at you!”
“Really? Maybe she had something in her eye.” He opened the door to the donut shop that was just three doors down from Fields of Flowers. Stephanie entered and allowed herself to be led up to the counter.
“Hey Steph! The usual? Medium coffee, two creams, two sugars, and a toasted cinnamon raisin bagel with butter?” Mandy Smyth was working behind the counter today. She was in high school and lived across the street and two doors down.
Stephanie nodded. The gentleman beside her added, “And I’ll have a large, black.”
“Sure.” Mandy’s eyes darted from Stephanie to the man beside her and smiled before filling their order. Stephanie groaned inwardly. Mandy was a nice kid, but she loved to gossip. Now everyone would know she was having coffee with someone. Well, there was nothing she could do about it. Resigned to her fate, she listened as the young server chatted away while preparing their order. “Did you hear about the robbery on our street last night? It was three doors down from your place. Police say the guy broke in while Mr. and Mrs. Thompson were sleeping. He took their jewellery, that new laptop his kids bought him for his birthday and all the money that Mrs. Thompson keeps in the cookie jar.”
“Oh, that’s awful! Were they hurt?” Stephanie frowned in concern. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson were a sweet elderly couple in their early seventies. She’d been over there a few times helping Mr. Thompson learn the intricacies of the World Wide Web and his webcam. Their oldest son had moved to Australia and they were trying to keep in touch using the internet. Poor Mr. Thompson would be devastated to have lost his new toy.
“Not that I know of, but police said it was weird how the thief knew right where to look for some of the stuff, like he’d been casing the joint or something. Sort of scary isn’t it, right close to home and all?”
Stephanie nodded in agreement, thinking of the car she’d seen parked down the road just the other night. Perhaps she should tell the police about it, though she didn’t know the type of car or even the model… Hmm… Possibly it wasn’t a very great lead after all. Well, she’d think about it and meanwhile, double check the locks on the house. If the thief had ‘cased the joint’ he might be looking at the other houses in the neighbourhood as well. Recalling how she’d felt that someone was watch
ing her, she wondered if her house was on the list of places to rob. Not that she had anything worth stealing, but still, the idea of someone wandering though her home…
Her train of thought was interrupted by Mandy placing a tray of food in front of her. The dark haired man had listened quietly to their exchange, but hadn’t interrupted to ask any questions. Stephanie had almost forgotten he was there. He paid for the food and carried their tray while Stephanie made her way to a table in the corner. She sat down and took a sip of her coffee, closing her eyes and savouring the feel of the warm liquid caffeine sliding down her throat. “Thanks. This is very kind of you.”
“Kind? Possibly.” He shrugged. “I actually see it as self-serving since I get what I wanted which was to spend some time with you.”
Stephanie felt heat flooding her cheeks and she ducked her head, taking a bite of her bagel. She could feel his eyes on her and after swallowing she spoke. “I’m Stephanie Fields, by the way.”
“I know.”
“You do?”
“Name tag.” He smiled and nodded towards her lapel. “It’s very nice by the way.”
She glanced down and felt a bit silly. “Thanks—I’m rather fond of it. You don’t have one though, a nametag that is.”
“No I don’t.” He smiled again and she found herself staring at his eyes. They seemed to be full of amusement as if he was enjoying some secret joke. She felt herself becoming annoyed with him and her irritation filtered into her tone of voice.
“Care to share?”
“I’m Jacob Sinclair, Jake to my friends.” He grinned as if pleased with himself for having gotten under her skin. She took his extended hand and he held on to hers a second longer than socially acceptable before letting go.
Stephanie put her hand in her lap and wiggled her fingers. They felt strange; tingling where they had touched him. She looked at him speculatively. A wide easy smile made him seem approachable—non-threatening—and for some reason her usual wariness seemed to be rapidly melting away. He had a lean, muscular build with wide shoulders and he must be around six feet tall, since she’d had to look up at him in the store. His hair was dark and thick, an errant lock falling over his forehead. It was a trifle too long at the back and brushed his collar. Altogether, it was a very pleasing appearance—vaguely familiar, though she couldn’t place him. It was that darn déjà vu feeling again, she mused. Sometimes she was sure her brain was wired wrong!
Silence had fallen between them and she realized that she’d been studying him intently. Once again his bright blue eyes were looking at her and sparkling with some inner delight. Flustered at having been caught staring, she tried to turn the tables on him.
“So Jacob Sinclair, tell me. Why did you just happen to stop in today and ask about daisies?”
“Please, call me Jake.” He took a sip of coffee and glanced at her over the rim. “Do you believe in fate? Destiny?”
“No.” She answered bluntly.
“You should. Fate, destiny—whatever you want to call it—it does happen.”
She said nothing and just stared at him.
Finally he shrugged and ducked his head sheepishly. “All right. You have me. I saw you leaving the store the other day and stopped in to ask your assistant about you.”
“Oh really? I think I’ll have to have a little chat with her when I get back.”
“Don’t be angry. She didn’t give me anything specific, just that you’d be in today, that you liked daisies and that, to the best of her knowledge, you weren’t seeing anyone. No name, no address or phone number.”
“Well… I guess I’ll only give her a small tongue lashing then.”
Jacob smiled at her. “I’m really glad you agreed to come. I feel like our meeting was just meant to be.”
Chapter 5
He’d spent a half hour with her, but all too soon she’d gone back to work. At least she’d agreed to see him again and for that he was thankful. Of course, there really was no doubt—she was meant to be his, but nevertheless, he’d been worried – it was the age old fear that plagued every man asking a woman for a date. Some things never change, he mused.
Tomorrow night, it was arranged that he’d meet her after work and they’d go to dinner together. It was so typical of her, the way she’d refused to give him her address or phone number. Not that he needed them; they were all ready committed to his memory. Instead of complaining over her reticence, he’d commended her on being so cautious. In fact, he’d even given her his references so that she could check up on him, if she wished. He wasn’t worried. After all this time, he was an expert at creating an identity. There were no gaps in his background. Everything would check out and she would accept him as Jacob Sinclair, a financial advisor who had invested wisely and was now considering starting a business in Weston.
Weston was a nice place if you liked a quiet life. The population was around 30,000. Not too small, yet not quite a city. It boasted several up-scale restaurants and stores as well as a plethora of fast food chains and mom and pop diners. There were two shopping malls, a theatre, and a six screen cinema. People were friendly, but not too nosey. Yes, all in all, it fit the bill. A good place to settle for awhile until circumstances forced a change. Once Stephanie was gone… He pushed the thought from his mind. The inevitable would happen all too soon just as it always did and then he’d have to move on, start over again…
But, until then, he would enjoy himself while rediscovering her. She thought she was shy and preferred a quiet predictable life, but he knew differently. He’d enjoyed pushing her buttons today and watching the irritation grow inside her while she tried to remain calm and polite. There was a spitfire inside her just waiting to be set free. Circumstances in her earlier life had temporarily corralled it, but under his tutelage the spark would come to life. He hoped it wouldn’t take too long to gain her trust and get her to open up. Once she believed that his intentions were honourable, things should proceed along nicely, just as he had planned.
He paced across the apartment, unsure of what to do. After weeks of research and tailing her day and night, he’d finally moved beyond that stage and first contact had been made. All he needed to do was wait until six thirty tomorrow night. It was only twenty two hours. Surely he could find something to fill his time. The blandly furnished apartment offered little to distract him. A few books lined the shelves behind the couch, but none were to his taste.
Dropping down into the beige recliner he turned on the television and flipped through the channels. Movies, a sitcom, a baseball game… He finally settled on the news. A report was just coming on about the unusual number of robberies that had occurred over the past few months. As the newscaster read the specifics of the various break-ins, his mind drifted to the conversation Stephanie had had with the waitress at the donut shop.
Last night there had been a robbery just doors away from Stephanie. It had been the brown house, with the sliding French doors in the back. After all of his time watching her, he was an expert on the area, it occupants and their habits. He knew who lived where, when they were out, even the type of life style they had. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson were an elderly couple who were both hard of hearing and wouldn’t notice a bomb going off while they slept. They’d been perfect targets for theft.
Next to the Thompsons, was Mr. Hardy, a fifty-something bachelor with a large dog that barked. Not a good candidate for break and enter at all. The Coulters who lived beside Stephanie really needed to install better doors and windows. They appeared to be originals and no doubt only a little bit of effort would have them sliding open with ease.
Stephanie’s house had good locks and her windows were secure except for the fact that she slept with her bedroom window open. In a way it was understandable. Her air conditioner had broken three weeks ago and she was trying to cool the room down for sleeping. But open windows at night were just inviting trouble.
Turning off the TV, Jake walked out onto the balcony and gripped the railing firmly while staring in
the direction of Stephanie’s house. He wouldn’t go to her neighbourhood tonight. With the break-in, police would be patrolling the area more frequently. It would be too dangerous to watch her tonight. Someone would see him and question why he was sitting in his car, staring at the house.
He rolled his head and shrugged his shoulders, trying to ease the tension that filled his body. Staring up at the darkening night sky, he watched the stars slowly appear, little pin pricks of light against the velvet dome. It was hard to imagine that they were in fact great seething balls of fire, each supporting their own solar system thousands of light years away.