Chapter 10

10

RHIANNON

A lmost a week had passed since Dean left, and I was practically counting down the minutes until he returned. He was finally going to be on his way back to me soon, and I could hardly wait to see him again. Sleeping without him was so rough that I'd decided to stay over at my friend Shelly's place for a few nights. That hadn't helped much with getting more rest, but at least we'd had the chance to catch up with each other.

"Looks like my best customer wanted to make a big statement about how much he's missing you while he's out of town."

I whirled around to see what Harvey was talking about and was surprised to find him holding a huge bouquet. "Whoa."

"Big might've been an understatement." He set the vase on the counter to my left, setting his hands on his hips as he stared down at it. "Although I have a bone to pick with the man the next time I see him."

"How come?" I asked, unable to tear my gaze away from the flowers. In all of the deliveries I had done for Harvey, I had never seen an arrangement quite as big and extravagant.

"Because he didn't order them from me," he complained.

My eyes widened as I turned to gape at him. "What? That's so weird. He gets all of his flowers from you."

"Maybe he thought that wouldn't be romantic enough since you work for me," Harvey grumbled, glaring at the bouquet.

I pulled the small envelope from the stick that was holding it and traced my finger over my name. I knew he hadn't written it himself, but that didn't make it any less special.

My lips curved into a smile as I pulled out the card and read the message on it.

See you soon, beautiful.

Pressing the small piece of paper against my chest, I sighed.

"I gotta admit that I wasn't too sure about you two as a couple when Viper first asked about you, but he's got my stamp of approval so long as he continues to make you smile like that," Harvey murmured.

"He really does make me happy," I confessed, tucking the card into my back pocket. "Even while he's out of town, he's taken such good care of me."

"He gets back tonight?" Harvey asked.

I nodded with a grin. "Yeah, super late, though. Hopefully, I'll see him in the morning before work and then again when I drop his next order."

"You should just take the day off. If you mope around here because you're missing your man, it'll be bad for business."

I really wanted to take Harvey up on his offer, but it wouldn't be fair to leave him short-staffed at the last minute just so I could cuddle in bed with Dean all day. No matter how much I missed him, it wouldn't be right. Not when it was too late to find someone to cover for me. "Thanks so much, but I'll be here. It won't kill me to get a shift in before I make up for lost time with Dean."

"Let me know if you change your mind." He jerked his chin at the bouquet. "If you don't come in, maybe I'll make the delivery myself so I can give Viper a hard time about ordering those from someone else."

I shook my head, laughing softly. "Then I definitely need to come in so you don't alienate your best customer."

"I shoulda known you'd want to protect your boyfriend instead of your poor, old boss," he grumbled with an exaggerated pout.

I giggled as he wandered off, then got back to work. With my gaze darting toward my bouquet, I moved slower than usual. Once I got on the road to make my deliveries, I needed to make up time so I didn't miss the two-hour window Harvey had said I'd be there when they placed their orders. So instead of calling Dean right away to thank him for the flowers, I focused on getting my job done.

It felt like I was on the road forever, but a couple of hours later, I was headed back to the garden center to drop off the delivery van, clock out, and pick up my car. Harvey was busy in his office with the door closed, so I didn't get the chance to say goodbye before I grabbed my flowers and brought them outside to strap the vase into the passenger seat of my car.

Once I was sure they wouldn't fall over during the drive home, I circled the vehicle to climb in the driver's side. Before I clicked my seat belt into place, I connected my phone to the car speaker and called Dean. He answered before the first ring was even done, making me giggle.

"Hey, baby."

His deep voice sent a thrill of feminine awareness down my spine, which made it difficult to focus while I backed out of my parking space. "Keep it PG so I don't crash my car. I miss you so much."

"You better keep yourself safe for me. I'd hate to have to punish you before I can make up for lost time when I'm back tomorrow."

His warning only made things worse. I pressed my thighs together, remembering how it had felt when he slapped my pussy just hard enough to send a shock of awareness directly to my core. "I guess you're right since I already owe you a big thank you for the flowers. Like a huge one, considering how incredible the bouquet is. I've never seen anything like it except maybe on television or at a fancy hotel."

"Flowers?" he echoed.

My brows drew together as my gaze shot toward the vase in the seat next to me. "Yeah, they were delivered today. Did they mess up and bring them a day early? I guess that's what you get for not placing the order with Harvey. He was a little grumpy that his best customer dared to use another florist."

"Harvey doesn't have anything to worry about on the front because I didn't send you flowers," he growled. "But the fucker who dared to make a move on my girl is gonna find out how wrong he was. And soon."

The thread of anger in his tone didn't scare me. I knew it wasn't aimed my way…and never would be. Dean might be as possessive as his club brothers were with their wives, but none of them would ever hurt their women. They were all about protecting us. "There wasn't a name on the card, but I'll save it for you in case it helps you figure out who sent them."

"Thanks, baby."

"Whatever you need. Always," I promised, wanting to soothe him as much as I could over the phone.

"Fuck, I miss you, Rhiannon."

"Miss you, too." I bit my bottom lip. "But I saw your name on the list of orders for tomorrow, so at least I'll get a little extra time with you before my shift is over."

"The more of your time I get, the better. See you later, baby."

"I'll be sure to make all my other deliveries before I do yours so I won't need to rush anywhere right away," I promised before saying our goodbyes.

Hearing his voice and knowing that he would be back in town in the morning, I was glad I'd decided to spend the night at his place. I figured that it would help me feel closer to him. Especially when there was a chance that I might see him before I had to leave for work.

I headed to the grocery store to pick up some supplies since the fridge at Dean's house was practically empty. A van pulled into the spot next to me as I climbed out of my car. I didn't pay much attention to it, pressing the button on my key fob to lock my car before circling around the back of the van to head inside the store. One of the rear doors flew open and slammed into my side, knocking the breath out of me before I opened the app. I leaned over, and before I knew what was happening, a hand clamped around my mouth as someone dragged me into the back of the van.