She smiled broadly. “Of course. That’s it. You’re one of the CNAs. I’m sorry. I don’t see you that often.”
“I usually work the day shift.” His piercing stare moved down to her bust and she quickly crossed her arms over her chest.
“What can I do for you?”
“Uh… I came in here to get some flowers for my wife.”
“How nice. What’s the occasion?”
“Her birthday. She told me that I never give her flowers, so I thought I’d surprise her.”
“She’ll love it. What’s her favorite flower?”
“I don’t know. What do you like?”
“I’m all over the place. I love roses, lilies, sunflowers, orchids, and tulips. I could keep going. I can make you a beautiful arrangement. What’s your wife’s favorite color?”
“Red? Maybe blue. I’m not sure.”
“Okay. What’s your price range? I can fix up something real nice for you, and I guarantee your wife’s going to love it.”
Kingsley darted his eyes around, then shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’ll come back.” He rushed out the door.
That was strange. They have so many wackos working at Cherry Vale. I can’t wait until Aunt Patty gets out of there.Hailey went back to the front desk and pulled out a book of arrangements. She’d promised to send over some samples to the couple she’d met with the day before.
“What did that guy want? He was sort of creepy,” Ellie said.
“He’s thinking about getting his wife some flowers for her birthday. He works at the rehab center where my aunt is.”
“Oh. How’s Patty?”
“Doing better every day. Her doctor said that if she keeps it up, she’ll be able to come home in a month or so. I can’t wait.”
“Are you going to stay on when she gets back on track?”
“I’m not sure. It’ll depend on what my aunt wants to do.”
Hailey resumed what she was doing, not stopping until she heard Ellie say, “Damn, he’s hot.”
Lori, another employee, replied, “I’m waiting on this one.”
Hailey looked up and grinned when she saw Goldie.Damn, heishot. And he’s all mine.A slight tug at her heart reminded her that she didn’t really know where she stood with Goldie. They were having a good time and enjoyed being with each other, but he never talked about them in the future, only the present. She tried so hard to be cool with that and not let herself get caught up in her feelings for him, but the more time they spent together, the stronger her emotional attachment to him grew.
The one thing they never spoke about was Ryan. Of course, they mentioned him when reminiscing about the past, but he was the elephant in the room, and neither of them wanted to face it.
“Hey.” He leaned over and kissed her deeply.
She pulled back a bit as all eyes were on her. Ellie’s shocked expression was classic, and Lori’s frown surprised Hailey. Several people in the shop turned away, pretending to be interested in plants and ribbons they hadn’t even been looking at before Goldie appeared. And Goldie just didn’t give a damn about what people thought. He was unfiltered, confident, and lived in the moment, and those were the things that made him irresistible—besides his drop-dead-gorgeous body and face.
“I came by to take you for a ride. It’s too nice outside to waste it cooped up.”
“Don’t you have to work?”
“Nope. And you’re taking off too. You work too damn much.”
Hailey waved her hand over a bunch of notebooks in front of her. “But I have all this work to do.”
“You taking one day off isn’t gonna close down the business. You can pick it up tomorrow. Let’s go.”
