Since I Fell For You(45)
Though both Christie and Calvin still looked worried, thankfully they took Suzanne’s and Roman’s reassurances at face value, at least for the time being. “The flowers just came in for the gazebo,” Christie said. “The florist guaranteed that they’ll look good for the next thirty-six hours, so I was trying to figure out if I could sneak away tonight at some point to begin decorating the gazebo.”
“I took a flower-arranging course a few years ago,” Suzanne said.
Calvin looked shocked. “How could we have been friends all these years and I never knew that you were a closet flower devotee?”
Laughing, she shot back, “It’s a good thing your job is running the town, because that way it’s okay when you think you know everything. Which, to be fair, you usually do. So I’m extra excited that I’ve managed to surprise you with my secret flower arranging skills.”
Yet again, Roman was struck by the fact that while Suzanne and Calvin were obviously longtime friends, neither of them seemed to want more. Roman didn’t understand why Calvin hadn’t made a move on Suzanne, but he couldn’t deny that he was glad the other man was happy with just being friends.
“Anyway,” she continued, “I read somewhere that creative work like flower arranging can help you tap into solutions for analytical problems. It actually does help me when I’m having problems with my code.”
“Great, then I know Smith and Valentina will be in good hands,” Christie said with a smile.
“Any hands but mine would be good ones when it comes to flowers,” Calvin noted. “Thanks for taking this off our to-do list, guys. Speaking of,” he said with a nod down to the tablet in his hand, “I’ve got to have a word with the bartending staff about focusing on their jobs instead of spending all their time flirting with the guests.” He shook his head at Suzanne. “You Sullivans are a distracting bunch.”
“Why do I have a feeling Alec is causing half the problems with your female wait staff?” Suzanne asked.
Christie, who looked to be a very nice, mild-mannered woman, practically growled at the sound of Alec’s name. “I love your brother, I really do. But at times like this, when I’m trying to get things done, I’m tempted to lock him up in the cellar until everything is over.”
“Knowing him, he’d probably have a woman stashed in there, just in case,” Suzanne commiserated, making all of them laugh.
Christie reached under a stainless-steel countertop and pulled out a couple of large lanterns. “We’re keeping the outdoor lighting off while we make the finishing touches so that everyone will ooh and aah tomorrow. Which means you’re going to need to take these out with you to see what you’re doing. The buckets of flowers we’re using for the gazebo are along that wall. The florist did a quick sketch of how they could be arranged.” She scrolled down the screen on her tablet. “Darn it, where is that picture?”
“Don’t worry, Christie.” Suzanne was already heading for the buckets of flowers. “We’ll do you proud.”
After Suzanne and Roman loaded up with several buckets of flowers, the two of them were on their way outside when Christie called out again, “Great dress, by the way, Suz. If I were ten inches taller with mile-long legs, I’d ask where you got it.”
Suzanne blushed the way she had all night when people complimented her. “One of my cousins sent it to me, but you can borrow it anytime.”
Yet again, he could see that she not only had no idea how beautiful she was, but it also seemed that the way she was dressing lately was way out of the norm. Almost as if she were dressing to attract a lover.
Surely she couldn’t be trying to catch his eye, could she? Because she damn well didn’t need sequins or skin-tight dresses to do that. All it had taken was one look. One smile. One day spent listening to her be both brilliant and kind in meeting after meeting.
No, it didn’t make any sense that she would want to make him take a second look when all she’d wanted from the start was for him to leave.
Then again…maybe that was what made the whole approach so brilliant. Because if he couldn’t stop looking at her, it wasn’t too big a leap for his lack of control to extend to kissing her. And if that happened, he’d have no choice but to—
“Have you ever worked with flowers before?”
Her question yanked him out of the questions spinning around inside his head. “I’ve got a black thumb, so I’m going to need you to tell me exactly what to do.”
“You’re asking me what to do? Music to my ears.”