Page 6

“Are you following me?” she asked Tate as he stood aside to allow her to enter her shop.

“I wanted to talk to you. You hightailed it out of the diner before I had a chance to say anything.”

Kelly dumped her purse and the paper bag with her donuts on the counter. She kept her grip on her coffee, swallowing more of the brew. “Shouldn’t you be at the farm or something? I mean, going to the diner is not exactly on your way to work when you live out there.”

Clamping her lips shut to stem the flow of words seemed like a good idea. The chances of her saying something she’d regret were high. For some reason, her filter was more off the job than it was on that morning. Could be because of the big night she’d had with Macy and Charlotte.

But there was no response from Tate. Had he walked out? Looking up, she found him staring at her, his lips compressed in a thin line. The brim of his Stetson hung low on his face, hiding his eyes from her. If she had to hazard a guess, she would bet he was sending daggers her way.

“Kelly, I don’t know what I’ve done to offend you, but do you think you can put that aside? We have to work together on this Founders’ Day event. It’s not going to be fun if you’re going to constantly be sniping at me.”

She owed the guy an apology. He’d been nothing but nice to her and she was being snarky. Something that wasn’t really in her nature. “I’m sorry, Tate. You’re right—that was uncalled for. I could blame it on a headache and the lack of caffeine in my system. But I won’t. I was rude. I acknowledge that and promise to do better.”

The only indication he accepted her apology was a quick nod before he looked about the shop. Perhaps he wanted to talk about another flower arrangement. Whatever he wanted, she would arrange with a smile on her face and no accusations in her heart.

“You said you wanted to talk to me at the diner. Is it about the event, or did you want to talk about another flower arrangement?” Inwardly, she patted herself on her back for the professional and polite way she’d spoken to him.

“No. No flower arrangement, today. But…” He lifted the brim of his hat, and her breath caught in her throat. His blue eyes sparkled like the Caribbean Sea, and she caught a hint of mischief in their depths. “I will be back on Thursday for another arrangement.”

And just like that, any good humor she had in her disappeared. Two arrangements in one week? He hadn’t done that before. “Right, fabulous. I’ll try and work out something special for you then.”

Tate took a step toward her, his mouth opening before closing again, as if he were about to explain something but then decided against it. “I—uh—wanted to t-talk about the Founders’ Day event at the f-farm. I want to invite you out so you can have a look around. I h-have an idea of where I think it should be held.”

What was up with the stutter now? Did she make him nervous? Kelly bit back a giggle at the preposterous thought. No way would she make him nervous. It was ridiculous to even contemplate it. But the talk of the town’s festival had ramped up her creative juices, and she still itched to get the ideas from earlier out of her mind.

“Sounds great. I’ve already got some great ideas. What I’ll do is sketch them out and bring them with me.” She hustled over to the counter to her appointment book. It ended up being double the work, but she kept a computer schedule as well as a paper one. At the end of each day, she updated both. Technology could be fickle, so having a backup plan was always a good idea. It also meant that when she was out back doing administration work and Mom was dealing with customers, she could also see what was on the schedule. Kelly grabbed the book and ran her finger down the sheet.

“Okay…” She turned and gasped as she bumped into Tate’s hard chest.

He’d come up behind and she hadn’t heard him. His hands gripped her arms to keep her steady. The skin beneath his fingers warmed, and a tantalizing tingle splintered through her.

Kelly breathed deeply and his scent filled her, a combination of peaches, sunshine, and pine. It was like nothing she’d ever smelled before. Her gaze connected with his, and everything she was about to say and do faded to the back of her mind. Time slowed. She could make out darker specks of blue in his eyes, and the light dusting of freckles across his nose. His lips were plump and rosy pink, and if she went up on tiptoe, she would be able to find out if they were as soft as they looked. Would he taste like peaches?

The thought pulled her up short, bringing everything back into focus. And as if the spell had been broken around him, Tate released his hold and stepped back, giving her space to breathe.

What had she been about to do?

Right, look at the appointment book so she could go out to the farm. Yes, focus on business, not on wishing that she could go actually kiss Tate Prentice.

“Umm, so today is Tuesday…will Thursday morning work for you?”

“I can’t. I mean, I’ll be coming in to see you, as I said, but I’ve got a prior commitment I can’t get out of. Can you do Friday afternoon?”

Yeah, she wasn’t going to ask about that prior appointment at all. Friday afternoons were usually one of her busiest times as she prepared arrangements for the shop on Saturday, and if they had a wedding, she usually worked all day Friday on the bouquets, table settings, etcetera. As luck would have it though, she didn’t have a wedding this weekend, and if she got Mom to come in all day instead of only half day…

“I can do that. Would two p.m. be a good time?”

“Can you make it around four instead? By then, most of the hard work should be done for the day and I’ll be able to give you my full attention.”

“Yep, that will probably work better for me too.” Having Tate’s full attention on her sounded exciting and, like earlier, he managed to have most of this conversation without stuttering over any of his words.

Maybe she did make him nervous. Kelly wasn’t sure she liked that idea much. She’d always considered herself to be a very approachable, relaxed, friendly person. So for Tate to stumble over his words confounded her.

“Great, I’ll see you then. Have a good day.” He turned and strode toward the store’s exit.

“Bye,” she mumbled as she admired his back view.

He really did fill out his jeans well. As he reached the door, he glanced over her shoulder, and heat filled her face at being caught admiring his ass. He tipped his hat toward her in the age-old tradition of cowboys. What made it even more heart-melting was the smile he sent her way. His lips stretched wide, and his eyes crinkled in the corners. It was the first genuine smile Tate had given her, and it had the power to weaken her knees and soften the walls she’d erected around her heart.