The Best Man's Baby(18)

“So, what was it you were asking me about, Claire?” Jake asked, his voice intentionally low. He needed to get his mind off her mouth and onto the present challenge, or Claire would be marrying him off to Eunice Jacobs if he didn’t pay close enough attention.

“Oh, Jake darling, it’s so sweet of you to offer to buy me a corsage,” Eunice said. His eyes darted to Claire, who was back to smiling. “But I think Mr. Walters would not like that one bit,” Mrs. Jacobs said, wagging her index finger at him. Jake plastered a grin on his face for her benefit. He had no idea the two were dating. He hoped William Walters didn’t make it a habit of discussing business with Mrs. Jacobs.

Mrs. Jacobs was waiting for a reply from him, he realized, her smile not budging an inch. “Well, old William’s a lucky man, Mrs. Jacobs,” he said, forcing himself to stay calm.

She giggled.

Claire rolled her eyes.

“Well, at least let me pick up the tab for your flower order, Mrs. Jacobs.”

“No, no, dear—”

“Oh, come now, Mrs. Jacobs, Jake is quite used to buying ladies flowers. In fact, he has a running tab here with us,” Claire said.

Jake bit back a laugh. She had nerve, and attitude.

“Really, whatever it is, put it on my tab,” he said, smiling at the elderly woman. He wandered around while Mrs. Jacobs chattered about needing flowers for a bridge party. He walked into the back room. His jaw dropped when he walked into the bustling open area. There were at least ten employees scurrying around and more flowers than he’d ever seen in any one place. The back delivery doors were wide open and white vans with the Claire’s Flowers logo in pink were all lined up and being loaded. People buzzed around him, working efficiently and quietly. It had the atmosphere of a well-run assembly line, but with more energy.

He turned at the sound of quick footsteps. Claire was in the doorway frowning at him.

“Please leave.”

“Did Mrs. Jacobs get everything she needed?” he asked, not bothering to contain his grin. Claire crossed her arms, obviously trying to contain hers, because he could see her lips twitching. “You’ve got quite the business.”

“What did you think, Manning, I sold roses all day to Mrs. Jacobs and went to church on Sundays?”

Jake shifted his eyes away from hers guiltily. Uh, yeah, that’s exactly what he thought.

She sniffed and lifted her chin. She picked up a clipboard on one of the stainless-steel counters and proceeded to immerse herself in whatever was on there.

He cleared his throat, walking up to her. “No, I just didn’t think you ran such a big company.”

“Well, I do. I’ve got six different churches to drive to and six different reception venues, so I don’t have time to talk right now.” She tucked a wayward strand of her silky hair into her ponytail and began moving around the room. He knew when he was being dismissed, but she wasn’t going to get rid of him that easily. He followed her as she picked up a different clipboard and walked around counting and touching flowers. He received a few curious glances, but he’d never been the kind of guy to really care if he made a scene or not.

“Can I help?”

“No.” She walked around him, asked an employee something about where some rose petals were, and then continued to ignore him. He followed her.

He stood behind her and whispered in her ear. “I’m not leaving.”

She sighed and turned around to look at him. They were standing a few inches apart, and for what had to be the hundredth time in two days he wondered how he’d never noticed her eyes. Big and bright, but with a soul that hinted at such emotion and fire, it filled him with the need to see how deep it went.

“What are you doing here?”

“Helping.”

“You have never been back here in all the years I’ve been in business.”

“Things are different now. We’re having a baby.”

“Shhhh!” He bit back another grin as she turned her head around wildly to make sure no one had heard.

“Listen, you’re not getting rid of me. I’m here to help. Then when you’re finished, I’m going to take you out for dinner.”

He saw her cheeks flush, then she shook her head. “I have a long day ahead of me. No time for any distractions.”

“Perfect, so afterward you’ll need some time to relax. I’ll take you out to your favorite restaurant.”

“You don’t even know what that is.”

“Then you can tell me.” It was simple, really. He didn’t understand why that would upset her.

“You should know what it is. In the Claire Holbrook world, the father of my child should know my favorite restaurant,” she whispered.