Not even close.
He’d have to keep an eye on that.
Having fun was one thing, but August didn’t do serious. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in it, but he saw how much it could destroy a person when it ended. Who it could affect. Better to keep things light and short-term.
Good thing Mo seemed to agree with him.
Once he made it outside to the van, he pressed the key fob, unlocking the vehicle and opening the large back doors. The centerpieces were all still sitting in their locked crates, solidly secured so as not to shift or break during transport. Once all the tablecloths had been set, he’d bring the rest in and place them, but for now he unhooked the box holding the large, elaborate bridal centerpiece and hefted it up in his arms.
Damn thing was heavy. Who knew a bunch of orange and white roses could weigh so much? There was also the massive glass vase, which probably accounted for most of the weight. He was glad he could be here to help Gran with things like this, but it just reinforced his thinking that she needed to sell the shop, retire, and come live by him so he could check in on her.
He made his way back inside and to the event hall area where Gran stood by the large bridal party table at the far end of the room. Carefully making his way over, he set the huge vase on the table, adjusting it according to his grandmother’s instructions.
Once he’d gotten it settled just right, a familiar voice drifted across the hall and to his ears. He glanced over his shoulder to see a short blonde with dark orange streaks visible in her intricately braided hair, wearing a long flowy dress in a burnt orange color that perfectly matched the roses in the vase he’d just been adjusting.
Mo.
His heart made a weird rapid thumping at her appearance. He ignored it.
She stood next to a taller woman with dark hair pulled into a low bun, a simple black dress, and glasses perched on her nose. Judging from the way the two women were talking—and how the brunette had a clipboard in hand and was checking things on it—he assumed that was one of her business partners in the wedding planning business she ran. Gran had mentioned this was a Mile High Happiness wedding. And yes, perhaps that had influenced him in his decision to come help out.
But he was here for Gran first and foremost. Seeing Mo in her element was simply a nice bonus, even if being near all this happily ever after stuff she believed in made a commitment-phobic chill crawl up his spine. He had to admit he was curious on how the woman handled her business. She didn’t strike him as the professional type. He imagined the kind of weddings Mo planned to be held in the woods with everyone wearing flower crowns and the officiant asking the trees for their blessing or something. But he supposed they catered to their clients, much like any business.
A group of children suddenly rushed into the room, two girls and a small boy. August was crap at guessing kids’ ages. He didn’t have much experience with children. But he’d guess they were…elementary age? Had to be with the amount of energy they were displaying, running around, screaming as the two girls played some version of keep away from the little boy. The kid hopped and jumped, trying to catch the small pillow the girls kept tossing back and forth.
August assumed they were the flower girls and ring bearer and also siblings. Their antics revealed as much. He didn’t have any brothers or sisters, but his dad’s wife had two kids and his mom’s husband had three. Technically, he had stepbrothers and stepsisters, but unlike his stepsiblings, his parents shared custody 50/50 when he’d been a kid. Hard to develop a sibling bond when you only lived in a house three days at a time.
So he didn’t really have firsthand experience with sibling squabbles, but he recognized the actions. He rubbed at the ache in his chest, pushing down the feelings of loneliness and longing as he stared at the playful siblings. When he’d first gotten step-siblings, he’d thought they would all be best friends, but… Sucking in a sharp breath, he shook his head. Now was not the time to waltz down pathetic memory lane.
“Those children better cut that nonsense out before someone gets hurt.”
No sooner had his grandmother spoken the words than the little boy fell. He cried out, holding his knee and wailing like the thing was broken. August watched in fascination as Mo hurried over, checking on the small child and pulling a coin from behind the boy’s ear, which earned her a big grin from the kid.
“She is quite something,” Gran said. “Isn’t she?”
He glanced at his grandmother from the corner of his eye, knowing exactly what the old woman was up to.
Nice try, Gran. I’m not falling for it.
She sure was, but he gave a noncommittal grunt. “Should I start bringing in the rest of the centerpieces?”
Gran didn’t answer him. Instead, she raised an arm and waved at Mo when the woman looked up and spotted them from across the room. Mo smiled, waving back. She called over the two girls, saying something to them with a soft smile that had them handing the pillow back to the boy and offering him a hug, the way children do when they’re made to apologize. Then she leaned in and whispered something to all three of them that put big smiles on their faces and a bounce in their feet as they all nodded and went running off again.
Wow.
He’d never admit this to his grandmother—because she’d take it for something it wasn’t—but Mo was very impressive. No way would he have been able to handle those rambunctious kids in a way that had them apologizing and running off happy. What had she said to them?
Guess he was about to find out. Mo rose and said something to her partner, who was still checking things off her clipboard, before heading in his direction. The bright smile on her face made his blood heat. It was the same smile she’d gone to sleep with the past few nights she’d spent in his bed. A content, utterly happy expression he almost envied.
A beautiful sight. Mo’s smile.
“Hey, you two,” Mo said once she reached him and Gran. “The flowers look absolutely stunning.”
Gran reached out to hug her. “Thank you, Mo. And may I say you yourself look stunning. I love that dress. Don’t you think she looks beautiful, August?”
He grunted when his grandmother not so subtly elbowed him in the stomach. Rubbing the offended spot, he lifted a shoulder, going for nonchalance when he felt anything but about the way the dress clung to her curves perfectly.
“Yeah, nice dress.”
Mo chuckled. “Please, August. All this flattery will go to my head.”
“I apologize for my grandson.” Gran glared up at him. “I thought I taught him how to compliment a lady better than that.”
A devilish glint lit Mo’s eyes as she replied, “Oh, I’m sure when he puts his mind to it, he can be very complimentary.”
His eyes narrowed. He gave the most infinitesimal shake of his head, warning her not to go there right now. She was skating on thin ice. His grandmother wasn’t a stupid woman; she could read subtext better than most. She always guessed the ending of films twenty minutes in. Made it hard to enjoy going to the movies with her.
If Mo kept hinting at what they’d been doing, Gran would be on his case to put a ring on it. Best to nip this conversation in the bud right now.
Speaking of buds. “I better go get the rest of those centerpieces.” He stepped forward, partially blocking Mo from Gran’s view. “Don’t you have wedding stuff to get to, Moira?”
Undeterred by his obvious dismissal, the vivacious woman smiled up at him. “Why, yes, I do. I have to help the florist arrange the centerpieces.”
“You two go on and do that,” Grandma said, turning back to the box of bouquets August had set down earlier. “I’ll go hand these off to the bridesmaids.”
He started off toward the van, aware of Mo following him by the click clacking sound of her heels. With every step he took, his irritation grew, but he held off saying anything until they were safely outside, away from his grandmother
’s prying ears. Once they reached the van, he turned and speared Mo with a glance.
“Did you have to do that?”
“Do what?” She smiled innocently at him. “Offer to come help you with the flowers? No. Not really. I have other things I could be doing, but I’m nice like that so here I am, offering my help.”
“I mean the double speak around Gran.” He shook his head. “We agreed not to tell her.”
She waved a hand in the air. “Oh, lighten up. She doesn’t know anything.”
Any more of Mo’s subtle hints and she might figure it out.
“Besides, Agatha is going to think what she wants. As long as we don’t confirm anything, she can’t go chasing you around with seating charts and color swatches, so take the stick out of your butt.” She grinned. “Or leave it in. I’m pretty open to new kinks.”
August tried to smother a laugh. How did she do it? How did this woman irritate the hell out of him one moment then turn around and make him laugh the next?
He unlocked the van and opened the back doors. “Just try to tone down the innuendo around Gran, please? She might be in her seventies, but she’s smart. She figures things out quicker than most.”
“I know.” Mo sighed. “I made the mistake of playing Scrabble with her once. She kicked my butt by at least two hundred points.”
“Try playing Clue with her. She guesses the killer, room, and weapon on turn five.”
Mo laughed. “I’ll remember that. And I’ll also chill on the teasing around Agatha, but it’ll be hard. I don’t know if you know this, August, but you’re a very fun person to rile up.”
Glancing left and right to make sure no one was around, he leaned in to whisper in her ear. “And I don’t know if you know this, but when you poke the bear, expect to be devoured.”
She shivered as his lips grazed the shell of her ear ever so subtly, his teeth biting down gently on her lobe. Damn, it was a bad idea to do this here. They couldn’t sneak away for risk of being caught, plus they were both on the clock. Still, she looked so beautiful, and memories of the past few nights were so fresh in his head. Plus, if she was going to tease him, it was only fair he got to torture her right back.
“Is that a warning?” her breathy voice asked.
“It’s a promise, Sunshine.”
“I do like a man who keeps his word.”
Yup. This had definitely been a bad move. Now he was going to have to stand outside by the van for at least ten minutes to calm his body down. Looked like he’d succeeded in torturing them both.
Reaching inside the van, he pulled out one of the boxes filled with the smaller bouquets of flowers, similar in look to the larger one he’d just carried in. These were in acrylic vases, so the boxes were much lighter. He passed one off to Mo and nodded toward the building.
“Go on ahead with that. I’ll be in in a minute.”
“Need a second to cool down?” She smirked, her gaze going to his crotch.
He grabbed another box and held it in front of the erection currently trying to burst its way through his jeans. Mo laughed, shaking her head as she turned and headed to the event hall.
“It’s your own fault, you know. You started it.”
Yeah, yeah. He planned on finishing it, too.
Tonight.
In bed.
Dammit, that kind of thinking was not helping his situation. He needed to distract himself with something else.
“Hey, Mo,” he called out just before she entered the back kitchen door.
She turned, adjusting the box in her arms. “Yeah?”
“What’d you say to those kids?” He’d been wondering how she managed to reprimand them and make them all as happy as kids on Christmas in a single moment.
Pink lips curled as she graced him with the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen.
“I told Jamal just because he was smaller than his sisters didn’t mean he wasn’t as important, and I told Makayla and Alyssa that if they kept tormenting their brother, they couldn’t get mad when he put worms in their bed. Then I told them all if they were good for the entire wedding, I’d slip them an extra piece of cake.”
So they were siblings. Wait, “Why would he put worms in their bed?”
Mo assumed a guise of innocence. “I have no idea. I can’t imagine anyone passing down the trick she used to get back at her brothers to a sweet little boy.”
He chuckled. “You know, Mo, sometimes I think you’re just a little bit evil.”
She gave him a curtsy. “I’ll take that as a compliment. Besides, us babies of the family have to stick together. It’s the youngest sibling code. You’d know that if you had any siblings.”
“I have step-siblings.” What? Why had he said that? It just slipped out. Judging by the shocked expression on her face, it’d surprised Mo, too. He normally didn’t share a ton about himself with people and certainly nothing about his childhood, but with Mo…she had a way of pulling things from him before he even realized he was sharing.
He wasn’t sure he liked it.
Turning to face the open van, he stacked the box in his hands on top of another. “We better get these things inside. Time’s wasting.”
And he was sharing far too much with a woman who affected him like no one else had. This was very dangerous territory, and if he wasn’t careful, August was afraid Mo might try to work her way into his heart.
Too bad he’d locked that up years ago.
And thrown away the key.
Chapter Fifteen
“Something smells delicious!”
Mo stepped into the apartment and inhaled deeply. Her stomach gurgled in anticipation of the heavenly scent wafting up her nose. Whatever August was cooking, she wanted two helpings. Today had been a long day of running back and forth between different vendors to check the status of things for an upcoming wedding. She could have just called, but noooooo, the groom wanted visual confirmation and insisted they check in personally with the venue and caterer.
People never thought about the grooms being obsessed over wedding details, but Mo was here to tell everyone that sometimes the grooms were worse than the brides. And don’t even get her started on momzillas. Those were the absolute worst.
“Hey, dinner’s almost ready,” August called from the kitchen.
Mo hung up her purse on the wall hook and headed into the kitchen area. She’d really come to enjoy this sight the past few weeks: coming home to see August standing in the kitchen making dinner. Since they started sleeping together a week ago, he’d been making enough dinner for two, branching away from his strict diet of chicken and veggies. He still cooked far too healthy for her tastes—would it kill the guy to use some cheese every now and then?—but a meal she didn’t have to make herself was a win in Mo’s book, so she tried not to complain.
She came up beside him, leaning against the kitchen counter as he bent to take something out of the oven. “What are we having?”
“Pizza,” he said, rising with a stone-baking dish in his oven mitt–covered hand.
She didn’t even know she owned a stone-baking dish. Must be his. Normally she just threw a frozen pizza directly on the rack. It’s what the box said to do, and who was she to argue with clearly printed instructions?
Only the pizza August just pulled from the oven didn’t look like a frozen box pizza. It looked hand made. Knowing August, it probably was. Which meant as delicious as it smelled, he probably snuck a bunch of healthy crap in there.
Her theory was confirmed as she got a good look at the thing. There were sliced tomatoes, kind of weird, but okay. Marinara was pureed tomato, so she could get down with some slices on her pizza. Then there were some green leaves on there…less okay. Why was there salad on a pizza? Salad was the side dish you ignored while you filled up on pizza. There were also big white circles of…something on there. What were those?
Where was the cheese?
“Why is the crust so white?” The weirdest thing of all. What did he make this thing out of?
“It’s cauliflower.”
He said that like it was a normal everyday thing. Like people actually ate pizza with cauliflower crust all the time.
“Cauliflower?”
“Yes.”
“Cauliflower? Like the vegetable people cover in ranch just to make edible?”
August scowled. “It’s high in fiber and vitamin B. Plus it has a ton of antioxidants. It’s healthy.”
She wrinkled her nose. “It’s a vegetable.”
He pointed his mitt-covered hand at her. “You need to eat more vegetables, Mo.”
She ate plenty of vegetables. Sunday morning brunch she had a Bloody Mary with an olive, pickle, and celery stalk in it. That was three vegetables right there. Four if you counted the tomato juice in the drink.
And she did.
“Cauliflower needs to stop pretending to be other food and be happy with what it is. A vessel for cheese.” She glanced at the sad excuse for a pizza again. “Which I see is clearly lacking on this thing you call a pizza. And I think it’s gone bad anyway. Why is it green? Where’s the marinara?”
He sighed, taking off the oven mitt so he could point to the food as he explained. “It’s a cauliflower crust pizza with a pesto base, topped with basil, tomato, and mozzarella.”
“Shouldn’t the mozzarella be shredded?”
“No. It’s fresh.” He grabbed the pizza cutter from the drawer and started to slice. “Now go sit down because you’re going to eat this, and I promise you’re going to like it.”
She doubted it, but since he cooked, she’d do as he asked. Mo pulled out one of the chairs and sat at the small kitchen table, watching as August plated two pieces of pizza for them each. He brought the plates to the table and set one in front of her, taking the chair across from her for himself. She glanced down at the “pizza” with a grimace. How could something that smelled so appetizing look so unappetizing?
The Roommate Problem Page 13