His lips, his eyes, his broad shoulders. The way his rock hard cock pressed against me as we kissed. I stare into a haze of red roses, imagining being in bed with him, seeing him without his clothes on as we languorously twine our limbs together, kissing down his firm, muscular belly until I reach...
“Julia!” My mom is on high alert.
Valentine’s Day is stressful at the best of times and she’s been snappy all day. “Fill up the space in the window with some more roses - it looks bare now we’ve sold so many.”
Staring outside the window as I replace the empty vases with more flowers, I see Montag’s delivery has three trucks running back and forth. They’ve clearly taken on extra workers to cope with the demand. Since Mr Montag and my Dad fell out, we use another firm to do our floral deliveries, but they can be unreliable, which adds to my Mom’s stress. The other flower shop in Snowflake, The Carnation, is clearly doing a roaring trade.
No sign of Roman. Maybe he’s too busy to meet today too? I wish I had been thinking clearly enough to get his number. I was distracted by kissing him.
By the end of the working day I’m tired, covered in little scratches from rose thorns and not feeling romantic in any way whatsoever. I can’t believe I’ve agreed to have dinner with some guy who I don’t find attractive in the least - on Valentine’s Day. I guess I’ve been secretly hoping that Roman would show up at the door with some chocolates - I’m so over flowers now - and sweep me off my feet.
But that’s not going to happen.
First, my Mom would go ape at him if he even walked through the door. And second, he’s probably been scared off by my feral cousin and doesn’t want anything to do with a Caputo - ever.
I take a quick shower, put on some mascara and lipstick in a nod to presentability, and stick on my nice black dress since Silver is a fancy place.
I’m having serious second thoughts once I arrive at the restaurant. The usual understated - understated for Snowflake Falls at least - decor has been replaced with a helium heart-shaped balloon arch over the door, thousands of pink twinkle lights andI’ll Make Love To Youby Boyz II Men is blaring out.
As the waiter leads me over to where Mr Paris is sitting, the tired feeling is replaced by a creeping sense of wrongness. What am I doing here, with a guy who I don’t know, on Valentine’s Day? Even if it’s helpful to my Dad and to the town, why does the responsibility have to fall on me?
Too late to back out now. Mr Paris stands up as I approach. He may not be my type but at least he has old-fashioned manners.
“Julia, how lovely. Champagne?” He’s wearing a navy suit this time which is a hell of a lot better than that electric blue monstrosity he had on at the party.
“Thanks.” I sit. The restaurant is full of couples staring into each other’s eyes and trying to make conversation over the loud music.
“How was your day?” He pours the champagne into my glass from an already opened bottle which is sat chilling on ice. The waiter, who had been on his way to perform that maneuver, catches my eye and then slinks away to another table.
“Very busy. Valentine’s Day is always crazy. We fulfilled more than 200 orders, I think. How about you?” It seems weird to be sipping champagne in a fancy place with some guy I barely know, when my head is filled with Roman.
“Excellent. I’ll let you into a little secret. I’m very close to completing a deal to buy up the Blitzen Street houses and convert it into a shopping mall.” Mr Paris looks pleased with himself.
“Blitzen Street? But they have families there who have been there all their lives! And those houses are so cute.” I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I thought Mr Paris was here to invest in Snowflake and help improve it, not tear beautiful things down and replace them with generic malls you could find anywhere.
“Cute or not, they’re a great investment. Don’t you think Snowflake needs to move forward, become modern?” He’s looking expectantly at me. He wants me to agree.
Hell, no.
“Part of Snowflake’s charm is that it’s the polar opposite of a big, flashy city. It’s not trying to keep up with the modern world. There’s enough places like that, places that started from scratch and didn’t build all over something that’s well-loved. We get people coming from miles around, not just at Christmas time. You’re seriously going to build a big mall right in the middle of a quaint little town famous for its ice sculptures and Christmas trees?” I stare back at him and take a big chug on my champagne. He looks a little shocked but he has a smug smile.
“You see Julia, that’s what I like about you. You’re a diamond in the rough. A small town girl who could really sparkle in the big city. You just haven’t had enough experience yet.” He tops up my glass again.
“Does my Dad know about this?” I can’t believe he would be okay with knocking down the houses on Blitzen Street.
“Well, we’ve mainly talked about regeneration. He’s the mayor, he’ll understand what’s good for the town. I have to say I’m surprised, I was trying to impress you with my business acumen but you don’t look too pleased.” Mr Paris shifts in his seat slightly.
“I’m not. There are lots of ways you could invest in Snowflake without knocking down houses. It’s a great place, but how would you know that if you’ve just arrived?” I raise my eyebrows at him.
“Well Julia, I’d like to have a reason to stick around.” He looks away as the restaurant’s front door opens and what looks for a moment like a walking basket of lilies enters. The waiter talks to whoever’s behind the lilies and - oh dear - they start to approach the table.
The lilies are lowered and I’m staring into Roman’s surprised eyes. I look at him, he looks at me and everyone in the restaurant stares at the massive basket of lilies.
Roman clears his throat. “Delivery for Mr Paris.” He’s still gazing at me. He doesn’t look happy.
“Ah yes, better late than never.” Mr Paris stands up and grabs the top of the basket. “These are for you, beautiful lady.”
Oh no. The beginnings of a sneeze start to brew.
