He only had to convince her that spending time with him could be a good thing.
“Try flowers,” Jase said.
Brek glanced to the bouquet in front of him. “What?”
“You want in her pants. Buy her flowers. Women dig ’em.” Jase pointed to his current project. “Not these. They’re sold. Other flowers. And ask her nicely.”
“You want me to give her a dozen roses and ask her nicely to drop her panties?” Brek’s pulse spiked, apparently on board with that idea.
Eli shrugged. “Always works for me.”
“This your latest way to drum up business?” Brek asked Jase.
“It works, and everybody wins. I usually start with a bouquet of lilies and ask nicely. Very,verynicely. With extra tongue.” Jase moved his current creation to one of the walk-in coolers near the cash register.
“No one wants to hear where your tongue’s been,” Brek replied.
Jase removed an oversized bouquet of large white flowers. “Here.”
“What the hell are these?”
“Madonna lilies.” Jase laid the flowers on the table.
“Why lilies?”
Jase tied tissue paper with a bow. “Women like ’em. They mean purity.”
“Isn’t purity the opposite of what I’m goin’ for?”
“Reverse psychology.” Jase cut the ends of the ribbon and folded the edges of the tissue.
Brek crossed his arms. “You’re cracked.”
“They’re also pretty and they smell nice.” Jase lifted them to his nose and inhaled.
“Fine.” What the hell. Brek reached for them.
Jase rubbed his index finger and thumb together. Brek sighed and took out his wallet, dropping a hundred-dollar bill near the cash register.
* * *
The whole cakeshop held the delicious scent of sugary sweets.
“There are a million flavors.” Velma glanced from the menu in her hand to the oversized art deco prints that hung on the teal walls. Cupcake-shaped chandeliers dangled from the ceiling over petite white tables throughout the tasting room.
“Five hundred.” Brek tapped his finger at the top of the menu where, sure enough, the writing announcedfive hundred flavors.
Velma gestured to several wedding cakes in an array of themes, from whimsical to traditional, decorating the counters along the walls. “How does this work?”
“Bride and groom pick five options before we get here. Maggie brings ’em out. We sample and then support the bride in her poor decision-making when she picks the wrong one.”
Brek rested his palm against Velma’s bare shoulder.
Brek seemed to like her sleeveless blouse; he had been more touchy-feely than ever. He’d even brought her flowers. Lilies were officially her new favorite.
He rubbed his hand over her elbow with a tender familiarity she wouldn’t allow herself to get used to. A trail of goose bumps followed his fingertips, igniting nerve endings throughout her body that had no business perking up in public.
“What are you doing?” She shifted her arm away.
