Thorn in My Side (Bunch-A-Blooms 2)

“I believe it was you who pointed out it’s past time you call me Luka.”

“Luka.” She presses her palms to my chest, and a jolt of pure energy runs from the top of my head to the soles of my shoes. Her tiny gasp confirms I’m not alone.

“Olive.” Her name rolls off my tongue like the sweetest honey. She stands out against the lush greenery of the surrounding trees and bushes with pink buds that are just beginning to open. The state of denial I’ve been living in has been fractured. “You’re as lovely as a picture today. Easily the prettiest thing out here in the courtyard, despite the display nature is putting on.”

Her brown eyes soften. I want to see more of that, her not on her guard around me. We’re always so busy sparring verbally, I’ve somehow missed a treasure. My mouth rivals the Sahara, and my heart becomes a drum beating a steady rhythm in my chest. She’s unlocking the door to things I haven’t dared let myself experience in years. Her sincerity lulled me into a false sense of security. I had no clue she was as potent as any intoxicating substance. I’m a man who thinks everything through, but right now I’m moved by something more than my head.

I step closer, and she tilts her head up to meet my gaze. Her lips part and I’m helpless to resist their appeal. I bend down and brush her lips with mine, pausing to hold her gaze. Her eyes are glossy, and the hands against my chest, grip my lapels. I tilt my head and deepen the kiss desperate for a real taste of her. Cotton candy, vodka, and heaven rolled into one. I close my eyes and hum. She slides her hand up to wrap around my neck and leans into me. I pull her to me and tingles run up my body.

The sound of voices reaches me as if we’re under water. I stumble back, and we stare at one another, breathing heavily.

“There you are!”

I turn to Rachel still dazed.

“Come on. It’s time to cut the cake.”

I nod my head. As we leave, I grab her hand and tug her along. I’m not letting go of this.

Olive

What the hell did I do? The kiss with Luka had been the stuff of fairytales. I mean my toes literally curled in my heels, the world stood still, and he tasted better than any chocolate that had passed my lips. I could live off that man’s lips. Maybe over time the sugar from the candy factory has seeped into his blood stream and become a part of his DNA. I touch my lips gobsmacked by the way one evening changed everything I thought about the man I loathed a day ago. Now I can see there’s so much more going on beneath that cool façade. I want to open him up and investigate him from the inside out. And that’s a problem, seeing as how he’s still my client.

The rest of the birthday passed in a blur. If his siblings noticed the shift between us, they didn’t let on. Luka kept me close for the rest of the night. His hand rested on the small of my back, and I was constantly introduced and brought into conversations. I made solid contacts that evening. Some had even contacted me about customized orders. Was the kiss a one off? Perhaps some birthday magic at play that made us forget ourselves. I would’ve sworn before that night the man despised me.

His words of admiration are playing on a loop in my head. Not the compliments about my appearance, the ones that praised my spirit. I’d dated my fair share of men, and none of them ever spoke to me the way Luka had. I have pop rocks in my belly and stars in my eyes. It’s a dangerous combination. This man has turned me inside out. I slunk out of the Bed and Breakfast like a thief. I waited until he was caught up with a group saying his goodbyes and slipped out into the afternoon sunshine. I’m on autopilot as I continue my rhythm with the cufflinks, hammering the round circles I’ve made to add texture. The ting of the hammer against metal mingles with the Twenty-One Pilots record playing on my record player.

A knock on the door makes me tense. Oh my God, is it him? I set aside my tools, turn off the record player, and rise. I look a fright in a pair of black leggings, and an oversized ripped up Black Johnny Cash t-shirt. I dress for comfort, not fashion when I’m working. My nerves are taut as a bow about to fire an arrow as I walk to the door and peer out the peephole. Rachel? I open the door.

“Rach is everything okay?” She looks distracted. Her sky blue eyes are cloudy and her body language is off.

“I’m not sure,” she says almost thoughtfully.

“Please, come on in. We can talk.”

“I should’ve called you first, but I didn’t mean to come here. I was driving around, and somehow I ended up here.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I saw you at the party yesterday.”

Ice cubes fill my stomach. “With your brother?”

“Yes, I pretended like I didn’t see you kissing, but I did. The sight shocked me. He’s so…reserved and closed off with most people, and it’s no secret that you two butt heads. Yet…together you made sense. It was like someone pulling back a curtain and letting

in the light. The two of you are opposite in the best possible ways.”

“Wait, what?” It’s the last thing I expected her to say.

“My brother comes across as overbearing and controlling, but it’s only because he had to take on so much so young. When my parents died in that car accident, we were all reeling. I had three years until I finished high school, Micah had one last year in high school, and Kane was in the summer of his sophomore year of college, and Asher was in his junior year. He had to take over our care and run the business. He did it beautifully, but it cost him. He lost out on his youth. Imagine being twenty-five and burdened with the weight of the world?” She shakes her head. “He rose to the occasion, but we all saw him change. He aged overnight. The carefree, outspoken brother was gone. He retreated into himself, lost touch with his creative side, and started micro-managing everyone and controlling everything. He used to be so full of life. His charisma now is an ounce of what he used to possess. God, I loved being around Luk. He was the fun brother who took chances, and encouraged risks.”

“Luka?” I say unable to picture.

She gives a sad smile. “The accident changed all of us in very different ways. It sucked the life from him.”

I cover my mouth. “Oh my God.”

“So you see why I’m ecstatic that this, whatever it is between you, is happening.”