The anger in his voice, his stance, has me feeling something and it抯 far from dry.
I swallow thickly before I say, 揧eah, well, why are you hating on my flowers so much? What抯 not to like??
He glares at me and then looks away as if I抳e touched some nerve.
Weird.
揟hey don抰 strike me as Poe flowers,?he says.
揚oe flowers? Do I even want to know what that means??I squint at him.
揘ot bold. Not you. I抎 have picked a dozen red roses with their thorns still on the stems,?he growls confidently.
I push back into my chair.
Whoa. Am I that obvious? I hate that he has me pegged, but not as much as I hate wanting flowers from a man like Lincoln Burns.
揃ecause roses aren抰 overdone or anything,?I bite off, trying to save face.
揧ou prefer something more exotic? Fine. Maybe something dark blue and fragrant from a rainforest in Bolivia. Regardless, I don抰 see light purple being your thing.?
I look at him, my brow pushing down.
揑t抯 not intense enough,?he explains, his jaw tightening with a hot look that cuts right through me. 揧ou抮e all bold color, Nevermore. Not washed-out pastels.?
My heart stops like a stuck clock. I抦 horrified because that might be the nicest compliment any man has ever given me.
揟hey抮e just flowers, dude,?I whisper. I can抰 even fake being angry. 揥ho wants to go blind looking at a little splash of color??
Again, a lump lodges in my throat as he gives me the heaviest look ever.
揧ou,?he says. No hesitation.
Oh my God.
揥hatever, Dishonest Abe,?I say, snapping my face to the side and rubbing my cheek, wishing I could wipe away blushes.
He chuckles. 揤ery on point today with the banter, sweetheart.?
I look back at him with an annoyed blink.
揇id you just call me sweetheart??
He shrugs both shoulders, a brash portrait of a man with no regrets.
揥hy shouldn抰 I? I know you better than the little gnat who sent those,?he tells me.
Crap. If only he were wrong.
How did I almost marry that loser, anyway? Jay never said anything half as sweet as Lincoln.
Granted, I was young and stupid and stuck in a pretty narrow dating pool. Too young for the big moody hero-men in town, who always had their sights set on some other lucky girl.
Maybe I dodged a legit bullet when the asshat didn抰 show up at the church.
I抦 still up in my head and slow to react when Lincoln grabs the bouquet off my desk.
揌ey! What do you think you抮e doing??I snap.
揝ince they抮e for charity, I抣l handle these for you. Unless you had a specific charity in mind to give them a new home??His eyes drill into me, knowing damned well I don抰。
Even so, my mouth drops as I stare back at him.
揂s a matter of fact, I know someone who could use them,?I say. He doesn抰 make any move to give them back and I fold my arms. 揕incoln Burns, if you give my flowers to another woman, I抣l cut your balls off and bury them under Eliza抯 floor.?
He throws back his head and lets out a barking laugh.
揌ell of a way to treat your friends, much less your boss. Why not your floorboards, Nevermore? Or is having my balls up in your business too much for you??The way he smirks almost skins me alive.
Holy shit. This man. This conversation.
All things that should not be happening.
揑t抯 logistics, you freak. Eliza抯 also my neighbor. I don抰 live on the first floor, so burying it under my floor wouldn抰 quite work棓
揝o you抎 rather have your bestie driven nuts by my balls haunting her? Didn抰 the man in Poe抯 story start hearing the dead guy抯 heart? I wonder what sound my jewels would make if you followed through on your little threat.?He looks at me grimly and steps forward, fully invading my space. 揑 think they抎 be shouting Nevermore all the damn time.?
I try to give my best dead-eyed nod, but I can抰 help laughing.
This is so dumb. Though I抦 impressed he paid attention to something besides making money and growling at people long enough to remember 揟he Tell-Tale Heart.?
揟hat抯…creepily well thought out. And also incredibly stupid. Have you ever chopped people up before, Lincoln??I wonder out loud.
揘ope. Never had to think like a lunatic until your crazy ass showed up. Must be rubbing off.?His lip curls slightly as he looks at me, unmistakable desire heating his eyes.
揗eh. I抳e never had a boss steal my personal property before either, but here we are.?
揘ot stealing, Dakota. I抦 delivering it to the homeless. There, I found you a good cause and saved you some work.?
I抦 about to scream.
How can anyone be such an insufferable dill weed and also Mr. Generosity all at once?
揧ou sure? I doubt Wyatt eats hydrangeas,?I tease.
His brows furrow and his eyes go incandescent.
Sweet Jesus.
Before Burns, I never knew a man could send you to heaven or hell with a single look.
揑 know I抦 right,?he says roughly. 揝ome loser bought you flowers you don抰 like. Also, it抯 not Wyatt I have in mind.?
揙h? So now you抮e trying to seduce some poor homeless lady with flowers? Dude. Why don抰 you start with a hot cup of tea? I抦 sure that抎 get you laid a lot faster.?
He smiles darkly.
揝ome women are old-fashioned. They don抰 date before a man抯 given them a real gesture. And for the record, you抮e the one who brought up getting laid. Fuck, you make me sound like some comic book villain.?
揥ell, when you look the part棓
揚oe, if I didn抰 know better, I might think you抮e just jealous. You抳e got the most eligible man in Seattle running after you all damn day right now. Why ruin a good thing, right??
Does he hear himself? I could punch him. Seriously.
揙h, please. I could care less if you抮e sending flowers to Vladimir Putin. Just as long as they抮e not mine anymore. Have at them, I guess.?
It comes out pretty harsh. He gives me a hangdog look that melts me right down.
揧ou said they were for charity, Nevermore. I抦 being charitable.?
揟hey were for me to donate. Not have my boss steal the show,?I say sharply.
揂re Anna and Cheryl still giving you a hard time??he says, giving the flowers a small shake.揑 told her multiple times to back off. If she isn抰 listening棓
揑t抯 okay,?I say quickly, not wanting to cause any real trouble for Anna. 揘ice way to change the subject when you don抰 have a comeback, though. You did that with Wyatt too.?
揧ou didn抰 answer my question.?He glowers. 揂re they pushing? I抦 serious when I say nobody here has a right to keep clawing at you when I抳e already vetoed the idea.?
揘o,?I huff out. 揃ut I抦 sure you need people here with a little backbone. I mean, you put up with plenty from me, so why not Anna??
I try to smile sweetly to distract him and fail.
揧ou抮e such a shit liar,?he grumbles, shaking his head.
揊unny, because I haven抰 lied to you. Anna hit me up again, yeah, but I can hold my own. I don抰 need teacher to step in,?I say, my tongue flicking between my lips.
It抯 kinda involuntary. I don抰 mean to razz him. But I guess it does something because he turns abruptly, clutching the flowers to his chest.
揕incoln? Wait up, I didn抰 mean to棓
揑 heard the whole thing,?he says, glancing over his shoulder. 揑 saw Anna and Cheryl in front of your desk before I came over here, both of them giggling like eighth-grade girls. They even gave you crap about the flowers. With some attitudes around here, I do need to play teacher.?
Eep. We抮e back to scary-hot Lincoln. The Viking Lord in a suit look that turns my tongue to stone.