Page 79 of Dandelion Sighs

Romance her. Hadn’t that been what I was doing? I’d gotten her out of the office. I cooked for her, and we’d gone to the brewery.

Romance. Her.

I’d been missing the romance. Damn. Had I been out of the game that long?

Yes. But Sheridan wasn’t a game.

Sheridan

Office living was getting really damn old. Everyone who worked at the resort knew I was overnighting in my office and stealing showers from empty rooms or between guests. I had cleaned more bathrooms in the last week than I had in my entire life. I should be ashamed to be the boss who did that, but both Maria and Paola had pulled me aside. Each of them had asked what they could do to help, renewing my determination each time.

No one wanted REG to take root in Bishop’s Bay. They didn’t trust that more money for the same job would come with more loyalty or flexibility.

I could not fail my staff.

I didn’t see any guests in the hallway, but that wasn’t unusual this time of day on the weekend, so I rushed three doors down to my office, clutching my toiletry bag. Damp hair hung on my shoulders. It was easier to explain that than to get caught with a towel on my head.

When I got into my office, I closed the door behind me. I had folded up my cot and stacked the bedding on a chair. That corner looked more like storage rather than a place where I was living. In one of the drawers of my desk, I had a mirror, my facial moisturizer, and my hair supplies. As I was rounding the desk, I stopped. A gorgeous bouquet of lilies was sitting on the desk. A little carved wooden figure of a flower sat next to it.

I looked around like I was going to find someone sitting in the other corner of my small office. Of course, I was alone. I plucked the little card out.

Can’t get you out of my head. ~J

A smile stretched my mouth wide. He got me flowers?

I bent to smell them, and my eyelids drifted shut. Divine.

Flowers. Why?

I sat, and it took me twice as long to comb out and braid my hair than it would’ve. I could not take my eyes off the bouquet, and I kept stopping to smell it. When had I last gotten flowers?

I had just put my brush and hair ties away when there was a knock on the door. “Come in.”

Jasper opened it, but he didn’t enter, only leaned against the frame. Could he just do that every day? Give me a double shot of hot man to take in before I opened my spreadsheets and inventory forms…

“Got a question for ya,” he drawled.

I danced my fingers over the soft lily petals. “I’ve got a question.”

He grinned. “The answer is always yes.”

The devastation of that smile was stronger when I knew what he looked like naked and what he felt like moving inside me. “Thank you.”

“My turn. Will you go out with me tomorrow night?”

There was another wedding at the resort, but it was even smaller than the last one and would be over by three in the afternoon. The bride and groom had an early flight Sunday morning, but I was grateful that they filled the resort for a few days. “Sure. Why not?”

“I’m not asking for a dinner partner. I’m asking you out on a date.”

I sat back, stunned. Elation rose inside me, but I stomped it down. “A date?”

“Yep.”

“A date?” I asked again. “And the flowers?”

“Something I should’ve done earlier.”

“But we’re not dating.”