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Chapter Thirty-One
Thekiss was allDaisyhad dreamed of.Andmore.Rick’slips were firm and warm and exciting.Whenhe reached around to the back of her neck and pulled her in for even more, the situation was in danger of getting out of hand.Aftera long, utterly delicious interlude they broke apart and stared at each other, panting.
‘Oh,’Daisysaid yet again.
‘Ohindeed.’Rickshook his head a little. ‘I’vewanted to do that ever since the first timeIcame into your shop and we had that surreal conversation about red and white flowers andTottenhamHotspur.’
Daisygiggled, her breath out of control.Shetried to calm the situation down. ‘Wecalled youMrSpursfor a while untilMarionwheedled out what your name was.’
Hegrinned ruefully. ‘IfonlyI’dintroduced myself by my full name none of the misunderstandings would have happened.’
‘Thereweren’t any really.’Sheshrugged. ‘IthinkMarionandMia, and me andMumgot carried away with the romance of the story ofWalter’sflowers.’Shepulled a face. ‘WhatcanIsay?There’sonly so much excitement to be had in a small town likeLullburyBay.’Shekissed him again, not able to resist. ‘ButI’mawfully glad you’re not my customer and you’re not calledWalter.’
Rickgrinned and kissed her back. ‘Youwait until we tellDad.He’llbe tickled pink he was the object of so much gossip.It’llmake his day.’
‘Isthere a story behind his choice of flowers?Mia, who’s really into the language of flowers, theLinguaFlora,Ithink she calls it, is convinced there is.’
Ricknodded. ‘Thereis but maybe we can getDadto tell it himself?He’dlove that.There’sa garden party soon up atDolphinViewwhich is the nursing home he’s in.Maybewe can get him to tell it then?’
Daisyloved the wayRickwas bracketing them together. ‘Soundslike a plan andI’dlove to meetWalter,ImeanKeith, at last.Hereally knows his flowers!’
‘Considerit done.’Ricktook her hands again and kissed the palm of one.Helicked her wrist and it turned her insides liquid.
‘Ithink you’d better stop that.Iwon’t be responsible for my actions,’ she said, her voice hitching and her eyes going slightly cross-eyed with lust.
Hegrinned wolfishly. ‘Ican’t help it.’Hegroaned feelingly. ‘Oh,Daisy,I’vewanted to touch you for months.’Helifted her hand to his mouth again. ‘Tokiss you, to caress you.You’vebeen driving me crazy.ButIwasn’t sure how you felt about me.And, of course,IhadMintyto consider;Iwasn’t a free man untilI’dsorted things with her and had an honest conversation.IknewIwas falling for you but couldn’t do anything about it.Iwas wracked with guilt overMinty.’Hescrewed his eyes shut and shook his head. ‘Ifelt awful.’
Daisythought back to what her mother had said about the heart’s capacity to hold many and conflicting emotions and understood. ‘IhopeMinty’sokay.’
‘SodoI.’Ricksucked in a deep breath. ‘I’ddo anything to avoid hurting her.ButIcouldn’t carry on as normal knowingIhad feelings for someone else.Itjust wasn’t fair.Neitherwould it be fair askingMintyto change her life so drastically and come and live inLullburyBay.Notthat she was prepared to.Ithink she understood.We’d,’ he paused and gaveDaisya flickering glance, ‘we’d been rubbing along, hardly seeing one another as it was.We’dalready lapsed into friends territory.Mintyneeds to be free to find someone who can love her on her own terms.Shedeserves that.’
Theysat holding hands, mulling over what had been said.Theonly sound punctuating the silence was the steady ticking of a clock somewhere and a sparrow twittering in the guttering outside.
‘Andthen, once we split andIwas desperate to talk to you,Icouldn’t get near you.EverytimeIbumped into you, or sought you out, you had a man in tow.’Heraised one eyebrow quizzically. ‘You’rea popular woman,Daisy.Whoare all these men?’Helooked stricken for a second. ‘OhGod, you’re not going out with anyone are you?’
Daisyshook her head, basking in his view of her being popular.Again, it was so far from her own self-image as to be laughable. ‘I’mglad you thinkI’vegot men buzzing round me.OnedayI’lltell you the truth about all of that.’Sheput her head on one side, unable to resist flirting. ‘Youcould have rung me.’
‘Yes,Icould have but whatIwanted to say needed to be said in person.Andevery timeI’vecome near you recently, you seemed so angry with me, soIlost all confidence.Itwas eating me up.Thetall guy at your shop.Helooked very protective when that other bloke was giving you some aggro.’
‘That’sJakob.Hesupplies me with flowers from theNetherlands.Andhe’s lovely and yes, he is protective but he’s just a friend.Anold friend and a valued business acquaintance.Hewas helping me deal withNeville.He’san ex-boyfriend.Well,’Daisyadmitted, ‘theex-boyfriend.Wewent out back whenIwas still teaching.Ifound out, too late, he was married.’Shepursed her lips. ‘Itwas,’ she added, haltingly, ‘adifficult time.’
‘Ican imagine.’
Timeto come clean.Shewasn’t proud of this but it had to be said. ‘Sowhen you explained howMintywasn’t interested in your restaurant plans, in my headIheard the phrase, “my girlfriend doesn’t understand me”.It’swhatNevillesaid about his wife whenIdiscovered he was married.It’swhyIwas angry withyou.Ithought you were another player.’
‘Ah.’Theword came out on a long breath.Hesat back. ‘NowIunderstand.’Heshook his head. ‘Ican guaranteeI’mno player.I’mstrictly a one-woman man.It’sjustIhad to end a relationship beforeIcould be honest with you about my feelings.Andthen, onceIwas single,Icouldn’t get anywhere near you!It’sbeen torture.AndIcan see, now, why it’s been awful for you.MypoorDaisy.’
‘Youcan say that again.OnedayI’lltell you all about the blind datesI’vehad to endure this summer in order to try to forget about you.’
‘Youlike me then?’Hislip curled.
Daisyslapped his arm playfully. ‘Don’tlook so smug.YesIlike you.Iwas attracted the very first time you came into the shop and orderedMinty’sflowers.’
‘Whatdid it?Theair of hopeless confusion when surrounded by all those things on stalks that smell?’
‘Ifthat’s my stock you’re talking about, think again.I’vegotWebFloriststatus now, you know.’
‘Haveyou now?’
