Again, a man was trying to control her life, and she couldn’t hide her annoyance with Jaxon. “No, Baron, I’m not busy that weekend.”
“Yes, you are,” Jaxon insisted. “You have a wedding. You told me about it at the hospital.”
“I don’t remember having a wedding in two weeks.” Her stomach churned as panic threatened. She couldn’t remember anything about the event. Had she even ordered flowers? She racked her brain, but drew a blank. Maybe it was the concussion. “Did I mention the bride’s name, or the groom’s?”
The corner of Jaxon’s mouth lifted in a crooked smile. “Yes, you did. It’s the Rose-McCall wedding.”
Part 25: A Cup of Tea Cures All
“I’M AFRAID I’m a little confused, Sweetie. Why were you so upset about this wedding he mentioned? Wasn’t it a good thing he reminded you?”
“Rose-McCall, Aunt Lauren. He said Rose-McCall wedding. Don’t you get it? I’m Elyssa Rose. And he’s Jaxon McCall. He was talking about us!”
“Oh… Oh my!” Aunt Lauren poured the hot water over the tea bags in the two cups. “But I suppose you were the one who suggested it after all.”
“I didn’t suggest it.” Elyssa studied the delicate hand-painted roses on her porcelain cup. “Well, sort of, but not really.”
“Didn’t you tell me you suggested the two of you should get married in two weeks?”
“Yes, but of course I didn’t mean it. I was teasing. Or threatening. I was just paying him back for… for…”
“Paying him back for rescuing you from the hoodlum who broke into your shop?”
“No, I was paying him back for… for…”
“For driving you across town at the last minute to get emergency ribbon?”
“No, you don’t understand. He’s just trying to ingratiate himself to me so he can buy my building—the building Uncle Ray left me. You know how much that building means to me. He just wants to get his greedy hands on my building.”
“But then why did he help you get the ribbon? And help you make the flower arrangements? And spend the entire day helping you with your big wedding? If he wanted your building, why would he help you out in a crisis?”
“Because… because… I don’t know why.”
“And why did he tell people the two of you were engaged if the two of you never even dated?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask him.” Elyssa stirred her tea with such vigor the string twisted around the spoon, and she struggled to untangle it. Her face burned with heat.
“And why didn’t you ask him?”
“Because… because I was too embarrassed.”
Aunt Lauren froze before her cup reached her lips, her sharp eyes locking with Elyssa’s. “Why were you embarrassed? What aren’t you telling me?”
“It’s nothing really, but… Well, after we got the ribbon, and we were working on the bouquets…”
“Before the crazy guy broke into your shop?”
“Yes, before that happened. Before Jaxon left, he sort of… he kissed me. Okay? I said it. He kissed me. And I liked it, but he didn’t. And why should he? He's experienced, and I was probably terrible at it. So it’s not really his fault, I guess. But that’s when I kicked him out of the shop. I was just too embarrassed to let him stay after that.”
Aunt Lauren lowered her teacup to the table without taking a sip. She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. Elyssa felt the intensity of her gaze, even as she averted her eyes.
“So, what did you do when he mentioned the ‘Rose-McCall wedding’?”
“I told him to leave, of course, and I told him to butt out of my life. And I told Baron I could probably go to the play, but I don’t think I’ll actually go.”
“Well, I definitely think you should go out with Baron.”
“You do?”