Page 7 of Approved (The Dapper Duck #1)

Chapter seven

TYLER

Jamie kept an eye on the door and helped me get the vases loaded for deliveries.

She had been quiet since we talked in the parking lot, which was suspicious.

Jamie was a lot of things, but quiet wasn’t one of them.

I waited her out because I knew it was coming.

She broke the silence as we put the last delivery in the truck.

“So, how did you find yourself having ten types of pie in a diner across town from your house?”

I couldn’t stop the smile.

“I met a friend.”

She practically jumped up and down, then yelled.

“You had a date!!”

“It most certainly wasn’t a date. I made that very clear when we met.”

She rolled her eyes, “Okay, Tyler, it wasn’t a date. Was this not a date with the very handsome bar owner?”

“It was. He invited me for pie, and I accepted.” I sighed, “It was really good, Jamie. I think I like him.”

“Someone actually wore down those walls? You might let someone in?” She smiled.

The woman knew me too well, but she wasn’t wrong.

He had chipped little holes in my armor.

“It’s possible. I’ll talk to you more about it when I get back. I need to do these deliveries.” While I delivered flowers, I had plenty of time to think about West and how I felt about him.

Of course, there were quite a few things I wouldn’t mind doing with him as well.

My lust for him was quite prevalent.

It was the other parts that made me nervous.

It was lunch time when I returned to Flower Power, my butt dragged and the pie I had this morning was long gone.

Jamie helped a customer as I walked in.

The smile she gave me was something between happy and deadly.

She used her head to point toward the table where we put together bouquets.

A rather large gift basket sat there, and since it wasn’t opened, I assumed it was for me.

Even before I grabbed the card, I knew who it was from.

Thanks for the non-date.

I enjoyed it very much.

—West

God, he was sweet, and it was now obvious even to me that he was interested in me.

Even though I continued not to commit to going out, he continued steadfastly, which made him more attractive.

In the basket were a handful of gift cards for Hash House, a pie pan, pie filling, a cookbook, and other items necessary to make pies.

There was a linen envelope tucked in front of the cookbook.

It was monogrammed with W.

P.

, which had to be for West Parker.

A monogrammed piece of stationery meant he didn’t just order something; he had put this basket together and wrote a note.

We should make pies together sometime and give Irene a run for her money.

Doing anything with West would be fun, and our cooking together appealed to me.

There were other little things in the basket: fruit, chocolates, and a gift card for a very expensive restaurant in town with a note attached.

Take Jamie out for dinner on me.

She is a good friend, I can tell.

Jamie stood beside me and looked at everything I had pulled out of the basket.

“Did you see this?” I handed her the note and gift card.

“We are going to a fancy dinner. I like West more and more every day.” She emphasized the word fancy.

“It was nice for him to think of you, too.” A warm spot bloomed in my chest, and unable to control myself, I started to grin stupidly.

I knew Jamie wouldn’t let me get away with it, but I didn’t care.

Without thinking, I grabbed my phone and started to text West, then I came up with a much better idea.

Business had continued to pick up over the last few weeks, and I couldn’t understand why, but it meant the afternoon went by quickly.

When the Valentine's Day deliveries were at risk, I hadn’t been kidding about their importance to my bottom line. With all the new business, I felt like we might finally make some headway. As we locked up, Jamie looked over to me. “Tell West how excited I am for our fancy dinner.”

It made me smile again because he included my best friend in his gift. “I’ll be sure to tell him if I talk to him. You know if for some reason we talk.” That wasn’t convincing at all, and I knew it.

She started to laugh hard. “If.” She came up for air. “You said if. Come on, Tyler, I’ve known you for years, you will talk to him tonight, probably a lot.”

She had me, so I chose not to address it. “See you tomorrow, Jamie.”

“Have a good night, Ty. He’s a good guy. He deserves a chance.” At this point, I agreed with her; he had kept himself relevant, but wasn’t pushy. That warmth was in my stomach again; it felt different this time.

“What do you think, Earl?” I asked my companion as we drove home. He flapped his wings while he cocked his head at me, it felt like he agreed with Jamie. At home, I showered, took care of my kids, and put on a black dress shirt. I was ridiculously nervous, but didn’t back out, so I put on some nice jeans and a bright blue tie.

I wanted to make a good impression on West because I had decided to go to his bar and thank him for the gift basket. After I stalled as much as I possibly could, I stepped out into the early spring evening, around 8:00 p.m., and I decided to take an Uber, because I figured a few drinks might calm my nerves.

When I got to the front of the bar, a line was waiting outside. As I got closer, I heard the doorman tell a couple it would be at least ninety minutes. I hadn’t thought about it being the middle of the Friday evening rush, and I turned around to head back home when I heard the estimated time.

“Wait, Tyler Brooks.” I turned around. Had he just called my name? “Yeah. Mr. Brooks. You can come in.”

I walked back to the door. “How do you know who I am?”

He was a huge man, with biceps as big as my neck, but he smiled gently at me. “You’re important to West, which means I know who you are. I’m Angus.” He held out his hand to shake. “Head on in and have a nice evening.”

I couldn’t help but feel important. Angus returned to the line where people were told they had to wait. When I entered, it was crowded but still felt calm and intimate. Around the room were half a dozen live floral arrangements, which I recognized as my designs. I hadn’t realized the order was for The Dapper Duck, though. Warmth traveled through my chest and limbs, knowing he supported my business; it was something he did, but it was never mentioned.

Once inside the bar, a gorgeous person approached me like they had known me forever. “So you are Mr. Tyler Brooks,” they held out their hand. “I’m Spark. West is my boss, and I keep the man on track. He’ll be out shortly because he wanted to freshen up after hearing you were here. It was super cute.” They nudged me conspiratorially.

I took the proffered hand and shook it. Spark was one of the prettiest people I had ever seen, with colored hair and flawless skin. They radiated a warmth that made you feel immediately at ease. “He knew I was here?”

They smiled. “Oh, yes. We were all on high alert in case you decided to join us. I can’t tell you how excited he was when Angus said you arrived.”

His entire staff was involved in my coming to the bar. “I’m.” There wasn’t a word to explain how my heart danced in my chest. “Surprised.” That was all I managed to squeak out.

“So are we. West has never been like this before, going out in the middle of a shift and leaving a name with Angus. That’s all new and we love it for him. Why don’t you come with me, sweetie? I’ll show you your seat.”

Spark offered me their arm, and I knew we could easily become friends. I followed them to the main bar with my hand on their arm. “The bar looks full, I can find a seat somewhere, I’m sure.”

“Oh, we are going to be great friends,” they patted my hand. “You have a seat at the main bar waiting for you.”

“What do you mean?”

Spark walked me to the main bar, and there was an open barstool. In front of it was a plastic holder that said:

RESERVED FOR TYLER brOOKS

Spark patted my hand. “It’s safe to say he is fond of you. Why don’t you take a seat? West will be out in a moment, I am sure.”

I looked around the bar, which was beautiful, classy, and clean. A few movie stars were tucked into corners, and nobody paid them any attention. It was obvious they liked coming here. It was a perfect place to have a few drinks and talk. When I looked up again, West walked toward me with a ridiculous grin.

“You’re here.” I wasn’t an expert, but it was clear that he was nervous. It amazed me that my being here made this confident man feel anything, but the fact that he was nervous was adorable.

“I am. Were you expecting me?”

“Not exactly.” I raised my eyebrow.

“You had a seat reserved for me.”

He laughed a little, and he blushed. “Yeah. Well. It’s been reserved for a few weeks. I hoped you would come back one day, and I wanted you to have a place to sit.”

Holy shit. He had a seat at the main bar blocked off for a few weeks now. “Oh wow.” I knew I should feel overwhelmed by his gesture, but instead, I just felt more affection for the man. He was undoubtedly trying to woo me, and it was working.

“What can I get you to drink? We can make anything on here or whatever you might dream up.”

He handed me a cocktail menu that had a list of fancy drinks. An ad was printed on the menu in thick gold font.

25% OFF YOUR BILL WITH A FLOWER POWER RECEIPT

“What’s this?” I put the menu down and pointed to the writing.

He looked up and blushed. “If they buy something at your shop, they get a discount here.”

“You’re serious? Why would you do that?” He blinked and looked at me like I was missing something obvious. That was a significant discount, but he didn’t seem phased by that at all.

“I am most certainly serious as for your other question. I like you, Tyler, and you mentioned you struggled a little financially. I hoped this would help.” When he looked at me, I was afraid he was going to pass out since he seemed to be holding his breath.

“Oh.” I put my hand on his arm, hoping that would allow him to relax. I leaned in and whispered, “Breathe.”

I wasn’t sure what to say, but I appreciated the business. What he did was nice, really nice. It had become evident that West liked doing things for me, and it made him happy.

"It looks like I should thank you for two things. The gift basket today was wonderful.” I watched as his face transformed into a pleased smile. “Jamie also wanted me to tell you how much she appreciated being included and is looking forward to a fancy dinner.” I made sure to elongate the word fancy for her benefit.

“You are most welcome. I can tell how much she means to you, which means she is important to me too.” Who is this guy? Nobody is this kind and thoughtful. I began to think there was no way I could hold his interest for any amount of time. Wouldn’t he grow bored with me? I boldly told the voice in my head to shut up.

“It appears I need to thank you for this, too.” I pointed to the menu again. “It has helped business for sure. I appreciate that more than you know. Sometimes it's hard to make rent and pay my vendors. Thanks to your ad, our business has picked up, and I feel like I can take a deep breath.” West was getting them to my shop, and it was my job to get them to return. It was a team effort that seemed to be working.

West beamed at me. “Anything for you, Tyler. Now, what can I get you to drink?”

“Surprise me.” West turned around and I couldn’t help but admire how good those pants made his ass look. He set down a pink drink.

“Should taste of berries and cream. Sweet like you.” He leaned his forearms on the bar as his staff worked around him. I had all of his attention.

I took a sip, and the flavor immediately intensified and made my toes tingle. I was going to tell myself it was the alcohol that did that and not the look West gave me. “That’s very good. Am I keeping you from work? I wanted to thank you in person for the gift, not pull you from your job.”

“I’m perfectly happy to be right here with you. Would you like to get a table so we can sit and talk?”

Before I answered, I really thought about it. “That would be nice.”

West turned and said something to Spark, then came around the bar. “I’ll carry this for you, we have a table available.”

We spent hours at that little table talking about everything and nothing. I had one more drink, but didn’t want to get drunk, so I changed to water after that. When I looked at my watch, I was shocked to find it was nearly one in the morning. For the first time in a long time, I hated that I was tired and needed to leave. “I think I need to head home.” I punctuated my sentence with a yawn. “Thank you for the lovely evening, West.”

He smiled but looked a little sad. “I understand. Let me drive you home.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I would like to make sure you are home safe.” He stood up and offered me his arm.

I reached for the handle when we pulled up in front of my house. “Wait.” He ran to my side of the car and opened the door. “Let me walk you to your door.”

When we stood at my door, he looked almost shy. “May I hug you?”

He was so polite. “Yes. I’d like that.” He pulled me close and gave me a sweet, warm hug. I stepped back about five inches and looked at him. We both knew what was about to happen. He leaned forward but waited until I closed the gap. I took the initiative and brought my mouth to his. As soon as we made contact, sparks went off inside my body. His lips were warm and soft, and he didn’t push to deepen the kiss. It would have been considered chaste, but to me, it lit up everything inside of me.

When we pulled apart, he smiled. “Thank you, Tyler. Any more thoughts about going out with me? What do you think?”

“Maybe I will go out with you.” I grinned at him.

“That’s an upgrade as far as I am concerned. I’ll take it.” He kissed my cheek and returned to his car, standing at his open door until I had gone inside. A moment later, I heard him pull away. As I greeted Earl and Larry, I felt many very nice emotions, and I didn’t hate it.

I leaned against the door, surprised my body felt warm from such a simple kiss, my cock showed a lot more interest than you would expect from such little physical contact. I wondered if he was really this sweet or if maybe there was something about him he hid. Either way, I had to fight against my instinct to shut this down. After so many weeks of West being a friend, I thought maybe it was worth the risk to try.