Clearly, she really hadn’t needed my help. I put my phone down on her counter and leaned my hip against it. “I’m Cyrus, by the way.”
She smiled and it transformed her entire face, animating her and softening her in a way that made me wish I had offered to help her again, even if it would have meant risking her wrath. It had to have been some previously dormant protective instinct that made the caveman within me want to roar as I rolled boulders out of her way.
“Luna,” she said. “Luna Willet.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Luna Willet.” I gave her a smile of my own as I ignored my suddenly fucked-up instincts, watching as she looked down at my phone with interest instead. “So, do you think you’re going to be able to help me out?”
“Of course. Everything we need for mock-up arrangements will be in the delivery tomorrow.” She frowned. “I hope it will be anyway.”
Fuck. I’d really hoped to get this done today, but it wasn’t her fault she didn’t have what I needed. “Okay, I’ll just have to come back tomorrow then.”
Curiosity darkened her eyes as she lifted them to mine. “Sure, but it’s usually the bride I deal with when it comes to weddings. Will you be bringing your future wife with you tomorrow so we can iron everything out and finalize your order while you’re here?”
My brows shot up even as laughter burst out of me. I waved a hand at her. “No. Absolutely not. It’s not my wedding.”
“Um, okay.” She cocked her head. “Why are you laughing like that?”
“Because it’s fucking hilarious that you thought I was here for my own wedding.” I shook my head and offered her a smirk. “I think weddings are bullshit, and if I ever come in here wanting flowers for my own wedding, I hope you’ll slap me and remind me that it’s the worst possible idea a person can ever have.”
An eyebrow arched, she sighed, and something flashed in her eyes as she shook her head. “I knew you weren’t the type, but just so you know, it’s not always the worst idea a person can have. Some people really do it for the right reasons.”
I laughed again, letting my head fall back while I waited for it to subside. “I don’t think so because there are no right reasons. For one or the other, it’s always for the wrong reason.”
The corners of her full lips pressed in and she just stared at me for a beat before giving me a small smile. “Sure. I believe that you believe that. I also believe you’ll change your mind one day, and I hope you do end up coming back here to get your flowers. I’ll slap you and remind you of this conversation. I’m sure your fiancée will think we’re both insane, but at least she’ll know how serious you are about her to have asked her to marry you anyway.”
Oh, if only she knew. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen. Anyway, I need to get going. I’ll see you tomorrow, Luna Willet. Let’s hope that delivery guy is on time. Otherwise, I’m going to be making those calls anyway.”
She rolled her eyes at me again, amusement lighting them up as she gave me a knowing look. “You really do enjoy being ruthless, don’t you?”
“I do.” I laughed again and winked at her. “And that’s the only time I’m ever going to say those words.”
Her laughter was soft and melodic, the sound of it following me as I gave her a wave and left her shop. I wondered if she’d still have laughed if she’d known I’d said those words once before and I was hellbent on never, ever saying them again.
Chapter 7
Luna
“Adi had to be at school early this morning,” April said as she let me into their apartment. She shut the door behind me and walked to their kitchen, talking to me over her shoulder. “Her class is going on a field trip, so she won’t be here for our girls’ breakfast this month.”
I set my purse down on the coffee table in the living room before following her. “I’m sure she’ll have a lot more fun on a field trip with her friends than hanging out with us. Where are they going?”
“A museum. They had to go in early to get organized and go through all the rules before they head off. You know how it goes.” Without asking if I wanted any, she filled a cup of tea for me and passed it over. “What’s new with you?”
I raised my shoulder on a nonchalant shrug, but I couldn’t hold back a coy smile as I wiped imaginary dust off the kitchen island when I sat down. “Oh, you know. Not much. We did only have lunch yesterday. Whatever could have possibly happened in less than twenty-four hours?”
April froze in the middle of fixing her coffee and spun around to face me with her eyes wide, her expression demanding. “Spill, Luna. What happened? Don’t you dare say nothing or I’ll give you floppy bacon instead of crispy.”
An actual shudder traveled through me. “There’s no need to threaten the food of the gods. I’ll tell you, but I need you to promise you will not disrespect the pig that way.”
“Fine.” Her body relaxed and she finally finished fixing her some coffee, then smirked at me as she sat down. “Now, spill.”
“Remember yesterday when we hypothesized about meeting the hottest man on the planet when we got back to work?”
She frowned but nodded. “What about it?”
“I did.”
“You did what?” Her eyes narrowed before they reversed course, opening wider than before as her lips parted. “You met the hottest man on the planet when you got back to work? How? Where? Who? Oh my god, did you take a picture?”
Laughing at the rapid-fire barrage of questions, I held up my hand and counted down on my fingers as I answered them one by one. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I did. He’s definitely one of the most attractive men I’ve ever seen in person, though I don’t know about him empirically being the hottest man on the whole planet.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Let’s not get caught up in technicalities. What does he look like, and most importantly, you still haven’t told me if you took a picture.”
“I also still have to answer the rest of your questions.” I quickly gave her the cliff notes version of how it had happened, then shot her a look. “Of course, I didn’t take a picture. How would I even have done that? Just asked him to keep still so I could take a few selfies with a potential new client?”
“Well, yeah.” Her brow furrowed like she really didn’t understand why I hadn’t done it. “If people can take selfies with their regular morning coffee, why couldn’t you take one with him?”
“Maybe because he’s not a coffee?” I deadpanned.
April chuckled. “Maybe not, but it sounds like he ended up being your knight in shining armor.”
“I wasn’t some damsel in distress, though. I didn’t really need his help.” I was glad I’d gotten it, provided that my delivery was actually made later in the day. But until then, I’d reserved judgment on the issue. “Besides, he’s not a knight. Trust me. He just gets his kicks that way, you know?”
“No, I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” She glanced down at her watch and cursed. “You’re going to have to talk while I cook, though. Otherwise, we’ll be late. Again.”