‘He left,’ Oliver said quickly.
I whirled around, turning my back to the men finishing fastening the sign.
‘Are you fucking kidding me? You had one job.’
Oliver sighed. ‘What did you want me to do, Rosie, duct tape him to a chair?’
I pinched my eyes shut. Steve took a loud slurp of his tea, obviously enjoying himself. ‘Did you tryanything?’
‘He wanted to go to work. I already kept him busy with breakfast for the past hour. The guy eats way too fast.’
‘IknewI should have asked Fallon.’
Oliver scoffed. ‘Yeah right, she’s the light of my existence, but that woman can’t keep a secret for shit. Your only option was me.’
I let out a frustrated grumble and hung up. I had a plan. This morning, George left mine early to grab breakfast with his brother and dad, a weekly tradition they’d started doingsince Peter’s heart attack. It was sweet and something I knew George looked forward to every week. Only this time, Oliver was supposed to keep him a bit longer. Giving me enough time to wrangle the delivery men and get them to install it for me. It wasn’ttechnicallytheir job. But I’d offered them a wad of cash to get them to change their mind. Unsurprisingly, it worked like a treat.
‘Um, Rosie, we’ve got company.’ Steve cleared his throat and jutted his head towards the entrance of the car park.
‘Oh, fuck.’ I looked to where the guys were fixing the last screw into place, balancing rather precariously on ladders. George’s truck rounded the corner.
I pushed Steve towards the truck, grabbing his half drunk tea out of his hand.
‘Stall him.’
‘I think it’s a little late for that.’ Steve grunted, stumbling slightly over the gravel.
This was supposed to be perfect. Everything would be tidy, there wouldn’t be a giant tarp covering the floor, and I’d have time to decorate the entrance with the brand new plants I’d ordered to line the walkway—making people feel like they were walking into the secret garden.
‘Rosie?’ A deep masculine voice called across the way. George turned off his engine and hopped out. His heavy boots crunching on the ground as he strode over to where we were standing.
Pressing Steve’s tea to his chest, I did the only thing I could think of to distract him. His eyes were laser focused on me, no doubt confused why I was even here. I saw the second he was about to look in the direction of the store and I lunged. I threw my arms around his neck and vaulted into his arms. Catching me easily, his mouth parted, about to put voice to those questions, but I slammed my lips down onto his, silencing them.
His grip on my hips tightened, keeping me pressed to his chest. He eagerly met my display, opening his mouth and letting his tongue sweep into mine. Tasting me. God, everything this man did set me on fire. I’d woken up this morning to his hard-on pressed against my butt—as I did most mornings—and him trailing kisses down the length of my neck. It took little time at all for him to slide inside me, waking me up slowly with his gentle thrusts. Not stopping until I came twice on his cock. And yet, this kiss felt like our first one. Filled with the same heat we always had.
‘Sweetheart,’ George breathed against my lips. ‘You gonna tell me why there are men in my store?’ He slanted his mouth over mine, cupping the back of my head in a firm grip, keeping me pressed to him.
‘Huh?’
He chuckled softly, stamping one final kiss on my lips before he pulled away. More than a little dazed, I blinked several times, clearing the fog from my brain. Uh, what was I doing?
A loud crash sounded behind us and George immediately started to turn with a frown.
‘Wait! Stop!’I clapped my hands over his eyes. Still clutching my hips, he spun around.
Steve had disappeared and when I looked over my shoulder, I saw the delivery men had gone. The ladders were nowhere to be seen and Steve was currently putting the tall plants in the entrance way. He grinned, shooting me a thumbs up.
That man needed a raise.
‘Rosie Grange, what the fuck are you doing and why are you here this early in the morning?’ Despite having his eyes closed, he was walking towards the entrance.
Panicking slightly, I blurted, ‘I was, uh, sleepwalking?’
A muted laugh punched from his chest. ‘You don’t sleepwalk. Sleep-talk, yes.’
I frowned. ‘I don’t sleep-talk.’
Clearly having enough of my avoidance, George came to a stop only a few feet away from the entrance and gave my bottom a hard squeeze. ‘Care to explain why you are covering my eyes?’
