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He doesn’t notice my disgust and grabs me, kissing me hard as he squeezes my hips. My body stiffens with the sudden assault. I can taste the faintest hint of whiskey under the mint of his gum, which explains the public display of affection that he normally avoids.
“Want to do it in the back room,” he asks, like he’s being charming.
“No, and even if I did, Sam and Kai are working today. We are prepping for a wedding.”
“Oh…how about out back?”
I step out of his arms and lift a brow.
“I already said no. Did you really just ask if I want to have a quickie in the dirty alley?”
“It’s not that bad,” he says, licking his lip.
“You’re a detective, isn’t that considered indecent exposure? There are rats, and what if someone has a camera? No, Rob, it’s not going to happen.”
“Then let’s go upstairs to your apartment. All I’m asking for is five minutes.”
Annoyance and anger roll through me. I shake my head.
“Fine, be a prude,” he grumbles. “Sue me for wanting to spend a few minutes out of my busy workday with you.”
I cross my arms and take a deep breath. He’s easily irritable and unpredictable when he drinks. An elderly woman opens the door, and I give her a small smile.
“This is not a good time, Rob,” I say. “I’m working.”
“Whatever.”
He turns to leave, but stops and glares over his shoulder at me.
“I have to work late,” he says, voice clipped. “So you can forget about us going out tonight.”
And then just like that, he opens the door and walks out.
Ass. I stand there, staring after him, not sure what to do. When Rob is sober, he’s a decent guy who can be incredibly sweet. But when he’s like this…I don’t like him at all.
“Can I get some help over here?”
The woman’s irritated tone jerks me out of my thoughts.
Plastering a smile on my face, I turn to my customer.
Well, at least my morning started pleasantly.
“Yes, of course, my apologies. How can I help you?”
I try to focus, but I’m totally distracted by the Mitchell brothers and for two very different reasons.
By the time the day is done, I’m annoyed with the world. I have four funerals on the schedule, and they all want the arrangements delivered on the same day at the same time. I need the work, so I can’t say no, but now I need to become a magician to divide myself into four.
A man called earlier and ordered two sets of long-stem red roses. I thought it was adorable until he had me write, ‘You’re the most beautiful woman in the world’ on each card with two different names and addresses on opposite sides of the city.
Seriously?
And then there is the bride who suddenly wants to add white calla lilies to each bouquet. Half the arrangements are done, but now she’s decided she does like her mother—after insisting they hate one another—and that is her mother’s favorite flower.
What is it about weddings that makes people crazy?
“See ya later,” Sam calls out, and I lift my head from the paperwork I’m going over.
