Gah! But he’s the sexiest man alive when he does that!
Evan caught her look, and she felt a blush heat her cheeks as the bulge at his groin appeared to swell just a bit. He had the gall to wink at her.
“Yes. For two years now.” Normally Wes was so open and friendly, but his tone was definitely communicating “get your own woman.” Rosemary thought maybe it was time to have a private talk and find out what was going on with him.
With his usual good nature, Irving said, “Sorry, Rosemary. If I’d known…” He looked at the men then back at her. “I’d have gotten to Divine sooner. Maybe I coulda beat them to you.”
Wes stepped away from the door, and Rosemary held up a hand to stop her Neanderthal from making a point with Irving’s head. “Now that’s not helping this situation. Irving, you were probably still in diapers when they fell in love with me and me with them.”
Irving grinned at both men. “Sorry, guys, but you can’t fault a guy for tryin’. I mean, look at her,” he said, gesturing at her with both hands.
Wes’s tone bordered on harsh. “We see her.”
“All right. No hard feelings, Rosemary.”
“Of course not. Now go get to work. I’ll let you out in a few minutes.”
Irving sauntered off as though he didn’t have a death wish after all, and Rosemary scoffed and rolled her eyes as she continued on to the office. Linda was just gathering her purse, so Rosemary escorted her, Merle, and Irving to the door and locked up after them.
“Let me take one razoo through the dressing rooms,” Rosemary said and smiled when Wes and Evan followed her as she made a quick check of the fitting rooms in the apparel department.
She sighed when she found a large untidy pile of clothing that someone had tried on and then discarded in the large women’s dressing room. Thinking it must’ve been overlooked, Rosemary set to straightening and folding or hanging each item.
“Guys, you know that what Irving said about me doesn’t mean a thing to me, right? I think he just wants to get ahead and he’s just super…friendly.”
“Super manslut is more like it,” Wes grumbled as he shook out a pair of blue jeans for her. She could tell he was still ticked.
Suddenly feeling tired, Rosemary plopped down on the wooden bench in the corner. “I don’t even know why he acts that way. I didn’t encourage it and I’ve only worked with him a few times.”
Wes came to her and kneeled at her feet. “I don’t think that you encouraged it, baby. But I know why he does it.”
Evan nodded as he put a shirt back on a hanger. “It’s obvious.”
Rubbing her forehead tiredly, Rosemary said, “Enlighten me.”
Wes brushed a long, curly lock of black hair from her shoulder. “It’s because you’re beautiful. You’re smart and funny. What man could resist that?”
The sincerity in his eyes buoyed her spirits somewhat, and she giggled. “Yeah, right. Are you just angling for a blow job?” Wes laughed as she shoved lightly at his shoulder but then put her arms around him and hugged him. “Wes, I’m grateful that you didn’t rip his arms off and beat him with them.” It really wasn’t like Wes to be that territorial of her. She usually saw behavior like that from Evan first.
Evan chuckled. “Yeah, you kinda beat me to the punch, so to speak, bro.”
Wes shrugged and slid onto the bench next to her. “I guess I was just threatened. He’s younger, kind of ‘up and coming’ so to speak, and you’ve been spending a lot of hours here at the store with all the personnel issues.”
The store had gone through several changes with longtime employees leaving or retiring and new people filling those roles. Whenever that happened, Rosemary always felt that the store deserved extra attention to make sure things were getting done right. The amount of time she was working at the store was going to be changing soon though. She didn’t need Wes to tell her that she wasn’t spending as much time at home or on their business, Garner Custom Furniture, as she used to. But there were only so many hours in the day.
Rosemary had an inkling that something else was going on. “Is that all?”
Wes took her hand. “Are we asking too much of you? The two of us? Are you having a hard time…being with us?”
Rosemary couldn’t help it when her jaw dropped. “Why would you think that?”
“It’s been a couple of years. I was worried that the shine had worn off of our relationship, that you were tired of keeping up with us. When your hours at the store gradually increased again I began to think maybe…”