I noddeddistractedly, my mind still on Tate. She’d changed. Not so much that peoplewould notice, but to me, it was more than I liked. She was fuckin’ gorgeous.She was always pretty, but she’d filled out and grown up, and had a new abilityto hide her feelings a little better. But I could tell I’d freaked her out andI hated that because she’d done something she’d never done before. She’d runaway from me. However amusing her adorable ass strutting down the aisle mighthave been, the ramifications of her actions meant she was afraid of me and thatboth saddened me and pissed me off.
“Flash.”
“Yeah?” Ianswered, still looking at the empty space Tate had just occupied.
“Parker.”
“What?” Isnapped, facing my father who raised an eyebrow at me. “Sorry,” I grumbled.
“What the fuckdid you do to Tate?”
I scowled. “I’mnot entirely sure,” I admitted. “But I plan to find out.”
“Then let’s payfor this shit so you can do that.”
I nodded and wemade our way to the checkouts. We passed the flower aisle, and Dad snagged adozen roses on our way out.
A woman in ascooter glanced at him, then the flowers and tsked. “How bad were you?”
“Oh, no, ma’am,she’s just that good,” Dad replied, and I bit back a laugh.
The woman letout a quiet squeak and flushed as we continued on our way. The checkout godssmiled on us, and we were able to get out of the store relatively quickly,which meant my confrontation with one Tate Burke was eminent.
* * *
Tate
“Mom, I’m back!”I called, heading for the stairs. It was two hours since my run-in withcinnamon roll man and I had just started to calm down. I’d stopped off at thenail salon on the way home for some much-needed pampering, but I still justwanted to soak in a hot bath and wash Flash Wallace away.
“Honey, you havea guest,” Mom called back.
“What?” Ifrowned, setting my bag on the bench by the door. “Who?”
Flash walked outof the kitchen with a grin. “Me.”
Fuck.
“Doesn’t Flashlook great?” Mom crooned.
Jesus, great wasan understatement. He looked positively edible. Just like he had in the storeand just like fucking cinnamon rolls.
“Mm-hmm. Ah,sure,” I stuttered out, staring at my feet. “Hi, Flash.”
“Hey, TaterTot,” he said, all sexy and shit.
“Don’t call methat,” I hissed.
“Okay.Sorry.”
I glanced at mymom, then back at Flash. “Ah, what’s up?”
What’s up?God, Tate, get it together.
“Heard you werehome,” he said, not mentioning the fact he’d just seen me at the store. “Wantedto be part of the welcoming committee.”
“She’s been homefor almost two weeks,” Mom pointed out. “I thought you knew.”
“Nope,” heretorted, raising an eyebrow pointedly. “Had no idea.”
