Lies in Love (18 page)

Dawson
nodded, seemingly in disapproval. “So, where’d you go
last night? I heard you get in pretty late.”

Landon
knew this was coming. “I went to see her.” He knew he
didn’t need to elaborate. It was what his brother had
encouraged him to do, his whole reason for moving here.

“Good.”

“I’d
be at her shop now if I thought it wouldn’t scare her off. I’m
afraid if I go rushing over there every time I get the urge she’ll
run for the hills.” Landon looked at his brother. “What
is wrong with me?”

“I
believe you’ve met your match, brother.” Dawson smiled,
but it did nothing to improve Landon’s musings.

“This
isn’t me.”

“Oh,
but it is.” Landon smacked his brother on the shoulder. “You’ll
get used to it. I did.”

Landon
rolled his eyes. “So what are you doing home so early?”

“I
just came home for lunch.” Dawson checked his watch. “I
actually need to head back for my next class.”

“Have
fun.” Landon smiled sarcastically.

“Always.”
Dawson exited the apartment, leaving Landon with his ruminations.

After
half an hour of rummaging through ‘help wanted’ ads, he
gave in and made the trip to
Perfect
Petals
.

Music
played softly from somewhere behind the register when Landon entered
Talia’s shop. A young blonde sat behind the counter, swaying to
the music. She looked up when the door thudded closed behind him.

“Hi
there. How may I help you?” She was a cheery little thing, no
more than seventeen.

“Is
Talia here?”

“I’m
sorry. She’s out. Is there something I could help you with?”
The girl had hopped off of her perch and was rounding the counter.

“No.”
Landon shook his head then changed his mind. “Well, yes. I
would like a flower arrangement.” He immediately regretted his
statement when Sara peeked in from the backroom and ducked back
behind the wall, but he couldn’t back out now.

The
blonde bounced around the showroom pointing at arrangements, but
Landon didn’t see anything appealing.

“These
are nice, but they’re not what I’m after. Could I request
something custom?”

Looking
acquiescent, the blonde answered, “Sure.”

Landon
thought back to the research he’d done all morning; many
flowers’ meanings were a jumble, but there were a select
handful that he knew he wanted to put into a bouquet. “I’d
like a collection of delphiniums, red daisies, pink roses, and white
orchids with maybe some baby’s breath and fern filler.”

The
blonde’s nose scrunched at his request. Clearly it was an odd
bunch, but each flower had a special meaning to him. The delphinium
to show his open heart, the daisy and orchid for Talia’s
unknown beauty, and the rose for her grace. He hoped she knew what he
was saying with each flower. He wanted to speak to her in a way that
only she could understand.

“There’s
a selection of cards on the spinner there if you’d like to pick
one for your bouquet.”

Landon
examined the cards and found one with a blue rose on the front. He
pulled the card from the rack and began to write:

Thank
you for last night. Seeing you again can’t come soon enough.

He
finished off the card with his phone number and name and stuck it in
the tiny envelope that matched and handed it to the blonde.

“I’ll
have Sara pull this together. It shouldn’t take too long.”
The blonde was smiling flirtatiously. He’d seen that look more
times than he could count.

“That’s
fine. The flowers are for Talia. If I could just pay for them, I’ll
go and you can leave them here for her.”

The
blonde was quite confused but rang up the flowers and Landon paid,
leaving a significant tip for her help. He was mentally patting
himself on the back as he walked out of the shop and climbed back on
his bike. It wasn’t until he was pulling into his brother’s
driveway that he began to regret the gesture. He worried she wouldn’t
like the arrangement, or maybe that he had remembered the flowers
meanings wrong. What if what he really said was
I’m sorry for your loss, but you’re miserable to be with.
He was
second guessing himself, something he’d never done before, but
where Talia was concerned, he just couldn’t stop. She made him
uncertain and almost insecure. It was a dismal effect, but at the
same time, he felt amazing. She brought out emotions in him that he
had shoved far away over a decade ago. Wrapped in a jumble of
emotion, he decided he would do the only thing he could do where
Talia was concerned: be patient.

Sara
was placing the last delphinium into the flower arrangement when
Camey and Talia came through the back door from their last delivery
of the day.

“What
the hell is that?” Camey stuck her finger in her mouth and made
a gagging gesture, looking at the arrangement Sara had put together.

Sara
leaned her head in Talia’s direction and smiled.

“What’s
going on?” Talia looked to Camey then back at Sara. “What
is that?”

“See
for yourself.” Sara carried the bouquet to Talia with the card
facing her.

Talia
plucked the card from the flowers and read the words inside. Camey
was immediately leaning over her shoulder trying to see what it said.

“Who
are they from?”

Talia
clutched the card to her chest. “He thinks I’m
beautiful.”

Sara’s
brow furrowed. She had snuck a peek at the card and there was nothing
about Talia’s appearance written on the paper. Her sister was
really losing it. “He didn’t say you were beautiful.”

Talia
evened her gaze at Sara. “You read the card?”

“I
had to know who put this hideous arrangement together.” Sara
laughed, watching Talia turn on her.

“It’s
not hideous, it’s beautiful. He is saying so much with just a
few flowers. It’s very sweet.” Talia had a ridiculous
grin plastered on her face.

“What
the hell are you talking about? If you ask me, he’s saying he
has terrible taste or he’s color blind. Either way, it’s
not beautiful at all.”

Talia
rolled her eyes. “It’s no wonder Daddy left the shop to
me. You never listened to a word he said growing up, did you?”

Sara’s
jaw dropped. She was hurt by her sister’s words, but they were
true. She was too busy being a teenager to care about what their
father had to say. “Whatever. Enjoy your ugly flowers.”
Sara stomped out of the room putting an end to their conversation.

Orange
and red filled the sky as Talia locked up for the evening. She had
donned one of her favorite oversized sweaters while bringing in the
displays. The spring air was still cool and crisp with a slight bite
from the wind gusts. She couldn’t wait for warmer days of
beaches and bathing suits and floppy hats. Remembering the flowers on
the counter, she wondered what Landon would look like in his swimming
trunks. She quickly chastised herself for being so presumptuous. Who
said they would still be talking weeks from now, much less spending
the summer together? She turned to her flowers, sweeping them into
her arms, and decided to live for the now.

She
buried her nose in the blooms as she ascended the stairs to her
apartment and prepared to call Landon. Placing the bouquet on her
kitchen counter underneath the fluorescent light, she took the card
from between the blooms. Pulling her cell from her pocket, she dialed
his number then waited for him to answer. Her heart beat faster with
each ring. After three rings she finally heard his voice.

“Hey
there, gorgeous.”

“Hi.”
Her voice was all air and hormones. “I just wanted to say thank
you for the flowers.”

“Is
that all?” Talia could hear the smile in his voice. “I
was sorry I missed you this afternoon.”

“Me
too.” She was at a loss for words. He had her dumbfounded.

“Have
you eaten?”

“Not
since lunch.” Talia hoped he was asking her to dinner and not
just checking up on her eating habits.

“How
about I swing by in about thirty minutes and take you out? I’d
love to see you if you’re not busy.”

“I’d
like that.” Talia’s voice was calm, but she was dancing
around like a schoolgirl in her mind. She didn’t know why, but
she couldn’t wait to see him.

“Good.”
Landon paused before adding, “Dress warm.”

“Okay.”
Talia hung up the phone and began frantically getting ready, avoiding
her collection of hats in hopes that she would get another ride on
Landon’s Harley. She loved having her arms wrapped around his
waist, even with the cold air. She never felt the chill when she was
so close to him. Her heart beat wildly waiting for him to arrive so
she could feel that warmth again.

That
early spring chill was clawing at Landon’s leather jacket, but
the adrenaline driving him to Talia’s kept him moving faster
against the breeze. He raced down the busy streets of Dallas just to
get to her door. He had plenty of time, but he couldn’t wait to
see her face, to touch her soft skin, to smell that sweet scent that
always wrapped around him when she was near. He was almost fifteen
minutes early when he arrived, so he sat on his bike and stared at
the front door of
Perfect
Petals
just staring and thinking of that name,
Petal.
What drove
him to call her the name once reserved for his grandmother? He wasn’t
sure. All he knew was that it was the same thing pulling him closer
to her now. As he sat staring at the door, he was surprised to see a
light flicker on inside. Seconds later Talia appeared at the bottom
of the stairs looking beautiful in her fitted burgundy sweater and
skinny jeans matched with a pair of brown furry boots. He hoped they
were as much functional as fashionable for their bike ride to dinner.
He hopped off his bike, removing his helmet, and walked to the door
to knock. Before he reached the door, she caught sight of him. When
their eyes met, he was happy to see a smile fill her face.

She
pushed the door open and slipped on her puffy brown winter jacket.
“Hi.”