The blush on her cheeks gives away her reply before she voices it. “I felt it too.” She covers her face with both hands and laughs embarrassingly. “I can’t believe I just admitted that.”
“Why is that?”
She lowers her hands and shakes her head. “Because this is not my life Alek. My life is a train wreck. Handsome men do not appear out of the blue and attempt to sweep me off my feet.”
I can’t stop the grin from appearing on my face. “You think I’m handsome?”
She smiles as she rolls her eyes at me, “Like you’ve never been told that before.”
“Not by anyone that mattered.”
Her eyes drift from mine and her voice is soft, “And you think I matter?”
I reach across the table and cover her hand with mine. “I think we could matter a great deal to each other, given the chance.”
To my surprise, she doesn’t pull away nor does she refuse to pursue what’s happening between us. “Alek, I… I don’t know how this would work. I mean I live here, in Charleston, and you’ll be on to the next city forgetting all about me.”
My head falls at the thought that she may be brushing me off. She’s partially right though, we do live different lives, but of one thing I’m certain, she would not be easily forgotten. I lift my head, capturing her gaze once again, “Honestly Rose, I don’t know how this will work either, and I’m not here to make you empty promises. But I would like to spend time with you while I’m here, see how it goes, and then maybe; we can figure the rest out together.”
“I could do that.”
“Really?”
She giggles and her whole face lights up, “Yes. I still have a business to run, but I think I can manage to take some time off and show you around.”
“Yes, of course, I wouldn’t want to interfere with your business.” There’s still one thing I need to ask her, and now that she’s agreed to spend the next few days with me, I hope she’ll agree to this too. “I do have one more request.”
“Kind of pushing your luck, aren’t you?”
Her tone is teasing, and I’m hopeful she’ll say yes. “Maybe, but as you’ve learned I’m very persistent.” I wink at her and she blushes, “Anyway, I was hoping that you would come to my performance tonight, at seven, as my guest of course.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize you had two performances scheduled.”
“This is the one at the hospital, I mentioned it earlier.”
“I remember, and I would love to go.”
We finish our lunch and I walk Rose back to the flower shop. Stopping on the sidewalk, Rose glances toward the shop before turning her attention back to me. “Thank you for lunch.”
I smile at the shyness she emits, “It was my pleasure. I’ll see you tonight?”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
She walks to the front door, turns and waves before going inside. Lunch with Rose was like spending time with an old friend. We had only met the night before, and briefly, at that, yet it was as if we had known each other all our lives. From the moment I found her in my dressing room, she captivated me. Now I only have a few short days to convince her that what we both felt is worth the chance. And maybe, just maybe, it will turn into something more than either of us expected.
Chapter 5
Rose
I walk into the shop, and thankfully, Janet is with a customer giving me time to put my purse away before the inquisition begins. I place my purse in the desk drawer, and check for any new online orders that need to be processed. I gather all the florals needed for the arrangement, and begin to put it together. I’m halfway finished when Janet walks into the workroom.
She pulls up a stool and sits across from me, arms leaning on the counter, “Okay, tell me everything.”
I try to hide my smile, as I continue working on the arrangement. “We had a very nice lunch and he wants to see me again.”
Janet squeals and claps her hands, and I can’t help but laugh at her excitement. “So how did you meet him?”
“Remember last night, when I delivered a gift basket to the performing arts center?”
“Yeah,” she draws out, unaware of where I’m going with this.
“Well it turns out; he was the one I was delivering it to. Alek Berringer, classical violinist.”
“Wait, so he performed a concert last night, here, in Charleston?”
“Yep.”
“And he didn’t leave immediately afterwards?”
“Nope,” I say, making the word pop before I continue. “He has another engagement in town tonight and asked me to join him as his guest.”
Janet places her hands down flat on the counter, jaw slack as she leans in. “Please tell me you said yes.”
I look up at her and grin, “I said yes.”
Another squeal splits the air, as this time Janet adds a little dance of excitement to the mix. All of the sudden her face takes on the most serious expression I’ve ever seen. “We’ve got to get you out of here! You need to get ready for your date!”
“What? No, I have things to do here first, and it’s only one-thirty. I know it’s been a while since I’ve been on a date but I don’t need five hours to get ready.”
“I didn’t say you did, but are you…prepared, if something happens tonight?”
I scoff a laugh, “Nothing is going to happen tonight.”
Janet crosses her arms and argues, “You can’t be sure of that.”
“Oh, but I can. Besides, I just met him; I’m not going to jump into his bed on the first date. I mean, what kind of impression would that give Alek?”
“But what if there isn’t a second date?”
“There will be,” I reply softly not wanting to get her too excited.
Janet leans in, “What was that?”
I sigh in resignation, “He asked me to spend a couple of days with him while he
