The Tea Shop on Lavender Lane (Life in Icicle Falls) by Sheila Roberts Read Free Book Online Page A

became about that relationship. And the more possessive she became. They’d finally had one too many fights and broken up. Just as well. He hadn’t been ready. He still wasn’t. It would take an exceptional woman to pin him down.
    Cecily’s perfect features and baby-blue eyes came to mind. Women didn’t get any more exceptional than her. Besides being beautiful, she was smart. He liked that. And he liked that she hadn’t fallen all over herself to be with him. He appreciated a challenge, liked the fact that she kept the fence high.
    But now it was time to jump the fence, time to get this thing moving. She wanted to be with him, even though she’d been trying to hide it ever since they’d met, and God knew he wanted to be with her, more than he’d wanted to be with a woman in a long time.
    Flowers always helped fuel a relationship, so Monday morning he went into Lupine Floral.
    “Be still, my heart. It’s Mr. Gorgeous,” Kevin, one of the owners, teased him.
    “That’s me,” Todd said. “Can you guys send some flowers for me today?”
    “Of course. Who are we sending to and how much do you want to spend?”
    “About fifty bucks, I guess. They need to go to Cecily Sterling over at Sweet Dreams.”
    “Oh, my. From Mr. Gorgeous to Ms. Beautiful. Are you two an item now?”
    “Just hanging out,” Todd said.
    “Uh-huh,” Kevin said with a knowing nod. “Hanging out never gets flowers.”
    “Sure it does, if you’re a nice guy like me. Now, what have you got?”
    Kevin led him to the refrigerator case that bloomed with a variety of arrangements. “Come and see.”
    Todd trailed him over there. Flowers were flowers, as far as he was concerned. But women seemed to like roses. “How about these?” he asked and pointed to a vase of white and pink rosebuds with some kind of greens stuck in with them.
    “Oh, boring,” Kevin said.
    Okay, they were going to stand here all day discussing the artistic merits of flowers. “You pick one.”
    “Well, if I were you, I’d send this one,” Kevin said, reaching in for a gaudy bouquet. “Orange Asiatic lilies, fuchsia carnations, red Peruvian lilies, lavender chrysanthemums and, of course, the requisite greens, all in a glass bubble bowl.”
    “Works for me,” Todd said and got out his credit card. And the sooner it worked, the better he’d like it.
    * * *
    Flowers arrived for Cecily Monday afternoon. The card that came with them was signed, Thinking about Saturday and smiling, Todd.
    That made her smile, too. It had been a good date, especially that close encounter at the end.
    But should she take the risk and allow herself to get serious about him? Was he the get-serious type? She still had her doubts.
    She was just leaving to meet Charley for coffee at Bavarian Brews when Luke caught up with her on her way out. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
    Oh, boy. She already knew what he wanted to talk about, and she wasn’t looking forward to it. But this was a talk they needed to have. She nodded, and he escorted her around the side of the factory building.
    “So, you and that guy—”
    “Todd Black,” she corrected.
    “Are you two serious?”
    It was the same question she’d been asking herself since Saturday night. “That was only dinner and a movie.” And...she wasn’t going to tell Luke about the rest of it.
    He propped a hand against the brick wall, bringing himself closer to where she stood. “I like movies. And dinner. And dancing.” She knew what he was referring to. She’d danced with him during the chocolate ball at her family’s first chocolate festival. The memory spread an unexpected warmth through her body. This was uncomfortable. And confusing.
    “Let me take you out,” Luke said. “Have dinner with me.”
    “We work together. It would be awkward.”
    “I promise not to make it awkward.” He leaned in closer, and her nerve endings began to wake up. “All I’m asking is that you give me a chance.”
    “Oh, I