Page 31 of Taking a King
“They’re beautiful,” she says, lowering her head to sniff them. “Thank you.” She opens the door and gestures inside. “Come inside while I put them in a vase.”
I follow Claire into her apartment and wait while she fills a vase with water. “They really are beautiful,” she says, arranging the flowers to her satisfaction in the face. “I love delphiniums. How did you know?”
I look at the bouquet of multi-colored flowers and smile sheepishly. “Which one is a delphinium?”
She shakes her head and points at the tall, blue, stalky flower mixed in with the others.
“Oh,” I say. “It’s pretty. To be honest, I really only recognize the roses. I didn’t like any of the pre-made bouquets they had. I asked the florist if I could pick out the ones I liked, and she could arrange them for me.” I shrug. “She seemed to like that idea.”
Claire studies me for a moment before looking back at the flowers. “So, you just picked random flowers that you thought were pretty?”
I take a second to think about my response. “Actually no,” I say. “I picked random flowers that I thought you might like. Ones that reminded me of you. I wanted to make a bouquet that felt like you.” I shrug. “That’s dumb, I know.”
“No,” Claire says, interrupting me. “It’s sweet. And I love it.” Putting a hand on my arm, she leans over to kiss my cheek. “Thank you.”
I shrug, feeling oddly uncomfortable with the compliment. “Glad you like them,” I say, lamely. I gesture toward the door. “Shall we?”
Chapter Sixteen
Claire
Garrett is being the perfect gentleman. It’s a different side of him that I haven’t seen before. Not that he’s ever not been kind and sweet. But there’s something different about him tonight. It’s like he’s trying to impress me. I keep thinking about the bouquet he’d brought. It had been full of colorful blooms of so many different types. The deep blue delphiniums had caught my eye first, but there had also been pale pink peonies, orange roses and lilac blooms. They weren’t necessarily flowers that tended to end up in the same bouquet together, but somehow it had all worked. The bouquet had been beautiful, tied together with a simple piece of twine. To say I’d been surprised by the thoughtfulness is an understatement. The idea that he picked flowers that reminded him of me had sent a swell of emotion through me. The way he’d stated it simply as if it was the most logical thing in the world had made me ridiculously happy.
After I’d thanked him and kissed his cheek, we’d walked out to his car. Garrett had hurried over to open my door for me, something I’m not at all used to. Being practically raised by 4 older brothers made me a little more assertive than some of the women I know. My brothers were never mean to me, but they lacked the gentleness I might have gotten if I’d had a woman around. I’d grown up a little tougher than I might have otherwise, a fact for which I’m thankful now. Still, I have to admit, it’s nice to feel delicate every now and then. Having Garrett open doors for me and tell me I’m beautiful isn’t half bad.
I look over at him, studying his profile as he drives. He’s wearing a dark blue button-down shirt that fits him perfectly and outlines his chest and shoulders. It makes me want to run my hands over all those muscles I know are underneath. Before my imagination gets too far gone, I ask him where we’re going.
“Well,” he says, glancing at me briefly before turning back to the road. “I had to enlist a little assistance. Since I don’t really know my way around the area. I asked your brother for a restaurant idea.”
I’m instantly suspicious. “Which brother?” If he says Wyatt, I swear I’m going to scream.
“Finn,” he says with a smile. “I’m not stupid. I know Wyatt would probably give me the name of a strip club with an all-you-can-eat buffet. And Ronan probably wouldn’t help me on principle. I could have asked Hannah or Quinn, but I didn’t know how to get in touch with them. Van might have been reasonable, but you never know when he’ll listen to Wyatt. So, I figured Finn was my best bet.”
I blink at him. “Wow.”
“What?”
“You really thought this through, huh?”
He winks at me. “I told you,” he says. “I want to do this right.”
“I’m impressed,” I say.
And I am. Listening to him list off all the different reactions my brothers might have to his request made me realize he knows them all better than I thought. Even though they’ve barely met one another. I guess he’s heard enough about them all from either me or Ronan over the years. It’s a nice feeling to realize that even though it feels like we’ve rushed into things and this is technically our first date, we know more about one another than I thought.
“You should be,” Garrett says, pulling me back to the present. “It took some guts to go to your brother like that. I’m a catch.”
The last part is said with a cheeky smile, and I can’t help but laugh. “Is that so?”
He nods. “Lots of people think so.”
I narrow my eyes. “What people? Female people?”
He nods. “Definitely. My mom and my aunts tell me so all the time.”
I smile and shake my head. “Well, they sound like smart women.”
“I’ll tell them you said so,” he says.