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He slaps me on the shoulder as he moves past me, leaving me staring ahead.
I brush it off, walking back into the tasting room and behind the bar. Picking my discarded towel off the bar top, I throw it over my shoulder and move to check I have everything where it should be.
What does he mean ‘be careful?’ Be careful of what? I might not have been the settle down kind of guy, but I’m not a complete asshole.
The door opens and I welcome our first customers of the day. A couple of construction workers that have been upgrading the local highway come in, looking for lunch. The construction has been a pain for anyone trying to get between towns, but it’s been great business for us with all the workers in town.
I spend the next hour chatting them up and getting them their food and drinks, along with a steady stream of people looking to enjoy their lunch on a sunny afternoon.
I’m facing the back of the bar, grabbing more bottles of our Hoppycock Ale when the door opens and I feel someone standing at the counter. “Just a second. I’ll be right with you.”
The person doesn’t say anything as I bend to grab a couple bottles before standing and turning to find Rachel’s eyes shooting up from where my ass just was, a beautiful pink tinting her cheeks as her eyes reach mine.
“Well, hi,” I say, giving her a bright smile. I know she was checking me out, and now she’s looking at the dimple on my left cheek. The one that always makes women lean in just a little closer to me.
“Um, hi.” She’s holding a box with white flowers sticking out of the top, shifting from foot to foot slightly.
Her long, dark blonde hair is down over her shoulders, framing her face. Her bright green eyes widen as I take her in. She’s wearing some sort of sweater dress in a colour that matches her eyes, belted at the waist with black leggings. Fuck me, she looks adorable.
“Let me drop these off and I’ll give you a hand.”
“No, it’s okay.”
“I’m assuming you have a lot more of those in your car?” I nod at the box in her hands. She nods. “Then give me a second and I’ll help you. You can go ahead into the event room if you want to put those down.”
I don’t wait for her to answer as I make my way to the table of three in a booth in the corner. I give them their beer, talking with them for a moment before I catch up with Rachel as she heads out to grab more.
“You don’t have to help, Mitch. You’re busy,” she says, opening the back of a white van that has the logo for ‘Rustic Charm Flowers’ on it, both of which have seen better days.
“I’m never too busy to help you, Rachel.” I give her a wink, which makes her blush return.
Fuck, she’s cute.
I reach in and grab more boxes filled with the same type of flowers she had before. The van is packed with more boxes than I can count. “Are all of these coming in?”
“Yeah,” she whispers, pulling out another box.
“And you were going to do all of this yourself?” I grab another box, making sure I’m not going to tip them over before I start walking.
“Um, yeah?”
I shake my head as we make our way back to the bar. We walk in silence as we place the flowers down in the event room.
“Hang on, I have a better idea.” I go to the storage room and grab a platform truck and motion for her to follow me out the back door.
She holds the door open for me while I wheel the cart out. “Has Zach never told you we have one of these? Or that you can park in front of this door.”
“Um, no, but I haven’t really asked either. I usually just try to get in and out as fast as I can without bothering anyone.”
I shake my head again. And he’s the one telling me to be careful with her.
“Well, you’re more than welcome to use this anytime you have to make a delivery. Just drive around back and one of us can let you in. We usually have it propped open for the vendors if Skylar has an event going.”
We get to her van and load most of the flowers onto the cart. I motion for her to pull it while I carry the few remaining boxes.
“Thank you,” she says as we round the building.
“For what?” I play dumb, mostly just because I love the sound of her angelic voice. She’s so soft-spoken I feel like I need to work to hear her, which isn’t something I’m used to. I don’t have to work for women to pay attention to me.
