“Oof, you’re squeezing me to death, woman,” she hugged her back tightly for one minute then pulled away, squeezing her hand, “I promise everything will be okay.”
“Yes, it will, or I’ll kill him! Now, you’ll let me know if you need anything?”
“Yes, Mom,” Maya rolled her eyes and smiled at Nita.
She knew she wouldn’t be bothering her friend no matter what occurred between her and Tonic. Nita had her own life and family now.
So did Jill, she thought rather suddenly. Her stepmother was happy with her new husband, who just happened to be Nita’s father. Maya was all that was left. She was alone in the world. Literally.
The good news was she wouldn’t be alone for very much longer. Maya bit her lip nervously and looked outside. Cars drove by carefully and people, her neighbors, honked and waved at friends and passersby.
Maya loved Barvale for so many things. Its tightknit community, its close proximity to the shore, the small shops, and the annual events like the Holiday Lights Parade and the Spring Flower Festival.
Barvale was just one of those places you read about. Lovely colonial homes, elegant churches, local farms, delicious eateries, and large parks. But her favorite was the way everyone seemed to know and care about one another.
She saw teenagers walking in groups despite the cold, on their way to snag a cup of cocoa before sitting in the park until they had to go home. Maya smiled and watched an older couple as they helped one another amble over to a large, tan sedan that sat in the parking lot of the Barvale Diner which was located one block east of her shop.
Winter wasn’t her favorite season, but she didn’t mind it. The snow was pretty when it fell, and even now in the aftermath, she liked the frosted look of the trees and buildings. Many were still decorated with wreaths, bows, and thousands of twinkle lights.
Those decorations would all stay up for the week following New Year’s Eve, which was just a few days away, she thought idly. The old cuckoo clock Jill had insisted on buying one year chimed as the hour struck and Maya jumped.
“Geez,” she muttered to herself and went to stop the thing from going off again.
She had an hour left till closing and just one more arrangement to wrap up. She grabbed the list of all of the orders that would need to be ready for delivery the next day. Once she had the final item wrapped, she counted them over, made sure the paperwork was correct, and that they were placed in the refrigerator in the back room for the driver.
She outsourced their delivery service to a member of one of the Barvale Clan’s oldest families, Travis Ford. He’d started his own business a couple of years ago and Maya liked him very much.
He was a nice young man and ambitious too with eighteen trucks now making deliveries for various florists across New Jersey. He once said he loved delivering flowers because seeing people happy made him happy.
After Maya had hired him, Jill had the brilliant idea to put a door between the storefront and the pickup room. They were then able to give Travis his own key and access code for the security pad so that he could enter the storeroom without needing either Maya or Jill to be present.
It made pickups easier and deliveries quicker. All of which meant happy customers, and in turn, more business.
After Maya had finished double checking that the deliveries were ready for Travis on the next day, she closed the large refrigerator in the back and locked the connecting door to the front. Then she cleaned out the register and put the receipts in the safe. Tomorrow was deposit day.
Before she knew it, the bell over the front door rang to announce someone had entered and Maya stilled at the sound. She scented him before she saw him and closed her eyes to savor the fragrance. That fresh rosemary mint scent that seemed to accompany Tonic wherever he went was like the best kind of cologne, she sighed internally.
It made her nerves dance on edge and her inner animal rumble with pleasure. Whenever he was near, she felt her she-Bear more keenly. For the first time, she wondered if that wasn’t directly related to the inkling she had that he was in fact, her true and fated mate.
If only she could hear his Polar Bear clearly, she thought. Maybe then she could learn whether or not he had that very same inkling.
“Maya,” Tonic’s voice was deep and gruff, and it raised the hair on the back of her neck as she turned to greet him with a smile.
“Hello,” she said, but his glittering mismatched eyes looked hard and unwelcoming.
“Is that your stuff,” he grunted and pointed to the suitcase and storage box she’d put together earlier to bring to his place.
“Yes,” she nodded.
“I’ll take it to the truck. Didn’t you pack anything else?”
“Um, no, I had to work,” she mumbled in reply.
Tonic just nodded and lifted her things as if they weighed nothing at all. While he did that, Maya went to the desk and started to shut down the business laptop. It was taking longer than usual and she was just about ready to throw the thing when he came back.
“What’s going on there?” he said from over her shoulder and she shivered at his unexpected nearness.
“I don’t know. It’s been running funny all day,” she shrugged.
“Do you mind?” he indicated the keyboard and she stepped back to allow him access.
“Have at it,” she grumbled and went to get her coat and scarf.
After a few strokes on the keyboard, Tonic had the computer cooperating nicely, and she couldn’t help herself, she stuck her tongue out at his back. She had almost forgotten he was whiz at all things computer.
“I saw that,” he said in an even voice and she heard rather than saw his smirk.
“I did nothing,” she replied haughtily and walked outside in front of him, nearly stumbling when he swatted her bottom.
Maya turned around in shock to see Tonic grinning wickedly at her. Where did that come from? She wondered.
He hardly ever played around and certainly not with her. She stood and waited for him to unlock the car, nearly jumping out of her skin when his moist lips touched her earlobe.
“Bad girls get spanked,” he whispered, his lips connecting with her ear in a sort of kiss as he leaned over her to open the passenger door.
Maya’s mouth went dry. Tonic had always been cold and distant with her, so this bit of naughty playfulness made her wonder if she was hallucinating. Was he actually teasing her? She supposed he wanted to lighten the mood, after all this was it.
As in the big it. The elephant in the room. The horizontal mambo. The down and dirty. Her mouth went dry. Oh shit. This was really happening.
Hello elephant, she thought as her mind immediately began to picture a huge flashing neon sign that spelled out sex. But it was more like, SEX SEX SEX. Blinking on and off inside her head.
Okay, stop that, she scolded herself. Tonic had spent the afternoon at the bank, as he’d promised, and had made all the necessary arrangements to keep Flowers By Jill operating securely.
He’d also set his own attorneys and at least one private detective to build her case against Peter Crawford. Now, he was picking her up and taking her home.
Well, to his home. Or would it be theirs now? She had no idea and didn’t want to break the spell by asking. After all, she’d already displaced his brother Bolder, and she knew Tonic hadn’t slept a wink in Locke’s old room last night.