life had suddenly gone from slightly troublesome to really concerning, and that still hurt, but it was the rift with Stacey that remained as a constant source of heartache any time Cecilia let the thoughts surface.
Rejection seemed to have formed a bit too much of a repeat cycle in Cecilia’s life lately. It was just as well that she had learned to bury her emotions in her work and that she was very good at that work.
‘Next, please.’ The voice of the man behind the counter at the postal outlet drew her from her thoughts.
‘Hello. I need to purchase a money order, please.’
‘Same name and amount?’
The clerk probably thought he was being helpful, asking that. Instead, it just reminded Cecilia of how many times she had done this. Every Monday for the past five months, and it wasn’t over yet.
Not this guy’s fault, and not your fault, either, so smile and be normal. Got it?
She was fulfilling a duty, and if that felt like a paltry thing to do, well, the situation wasn’t easy—and doing this was a lot more than just duty. She had to continue to hope that things would improve.
‘Yes. Thank you.’
Cecilia placed the money order into a pre-stamped envelope and mailed it.
As she returned to work she let her spirits find happiness again. She loved the nursery and loved what she’d achieved here. And if she felt a little lift, knowing she was about to see Linc again, too, that came from knowing that every moment in his presence brought the results of the review and his decision about her share proposition closer. It was that and only that.
If she didn’t entirely believe herself, Cecilia ignored the fact.
Her peace lasted until she approached the office and heard Linc speaking.
‘I can tell you really want to speak with her, but Cecilia is at lunch just now.’ There was a pause. ‘Are you in a position where you could call back a bit later?’
‘Is that for me? I’ll take it now.’ She could hardly speak for the buzzing in her ears, and she saw Linc was ending the call even as she spoke.
For a moment after he’d placed the phone back in its cradle, she simply stood there.
‘That was a supplier wanting to change an order.’
Linc seemed to be searching her face with a great deal of attention.
It was just a supplier, phoning on the office phone. Your sister only has your cell phone number. You haven’t missed a chance to speak with her, and Linc hasn’t found out anything about her.
Disappointment and relief fought for supremacy inside Cecilia.
They both won.
‘The guy sounded old...grumpy.’ Linc gave a what-do-you-do kind of a shrug. ‘He didn’t want to leave his name or number, only wanted to speak with you, and he ended the call quite abruptly.’
‘I think I know which supplier that would have been.’ She walked to her desk, sat down. Felt Linc’s gaze on her and an added layer of awareness of her that she would swear, despite her admonitions to herself earlier to the contrary, was real.
Did she want to set herself up for further rejection? No.
Exactly, Cecilia. So get your mind back on your work. Now!
But trying to do that just reminded her that her heart had almost stopped for a second or two, and now she was fighting a renewed sense of sadness and loss that she tried to keep distant during work hours.
‘I’ll call the supplier back a bit later and let him know that a message would be welcome the next time, whether I’m here or not.’
Next time she wouldn’t practically fall apart over a silly, perfectly routine, office-related phone call.
Cecilia ignored the reasons why she would panic, and why she now felt deflated and sad all over again. Because no cause for panic had actually ensued. She’d ignored the way Linc had made her feel today so far, too. If she ignored that for long enough, she would get it under control.
She turned her attention back to her work. In the end, that was where her focus needed to stay!
‘IS THERE A chance we could move my tour of the facility forward and do it now? I have to disappear for a while later this morning on other business.’
Linc made the request as he and Cecilia met at the front area of the plant nursery the next morning. They’d driven into the staff parking area within seconds of each other.
‘I’m sorry for the disruption to our review, but would that be manageable for you?’
‘There’s no need to apologise. I’m surprised you got through even one day without a disruption, to be honest. And the flower show management team aren’t due here until eleven—so, yes, I can do the tour now.’
Cecilia’s words and tone were calm. Yet in catching her unawares Linc had glimpsed what had looked like sorrow in her eyes, before she’d shielded her expression and the mantle of ‘business manager’ came down over her face.
There’d been an awareness of him, too. It had sparked briefly before that mantle had come down. It disturbed him that he had looked and hoped for that very thing. And it disturbed him that she had seemed sad.
He frowned, but a moment later Cecilia spoke with such enthusiasm and apparent focus on her work that he wondered if he had imagined that earlier moment of interest and its preceding sadness.
‘It’ll be a real pleasure to show you everything here in detail. Just let me stow my things, Linc, and we’ll get into the tour.’
Cecilia quickly divested herself of her purse and her lunch, tucked her cell phone into the back pocket of her jeans, and led the way to the first part of the nursery.
She’d been an intriguing young woman at twenty, when she’d fought so hard to get him to let her manage one of his nurseries. With nothing but a community college course and some time spent in customer service in a small plant nursery behind her, she’d gone after her dream of managing one, tenaciously.
Linc would have been a fool not to employ her, so he had done exactly that. But not before she had let him see that she would have welcomed the opportunity to know him better as a man, not only as a potential employer.
Her interest then hadn’t been one-sided.
And now...?
Now, for his sins, Linc had seen a whole new aspect of her yesterday, and that had not only refreshed the underlying awareness of Cecilia that had never truly left him, but had added to it. Why? Was it because there’d been no woman in his life at all lately?
Well, he’d been busy.
Too busy to pick up the phone and invite someone out or to say yes to any of the invitations that came his way?
Was he getting jaded? Or perhaps lonely? Wanting what his brothers had in their marriages?
That last thought came out of nowhere, and Linc shoved it right back there just as quickly. Ridiculous. He was perfectly happy as he was. He ignored any possibility that he might not be.
Linc’s gaze was focused on the back of Cecilia’s head as she walked along a curved pathway ahead of him, but all that did was draw his attention to her again.
A yellow sleeveless shirt contrasted with denim cut-offs, and both highlighted her soft curves. Today she wore her hair up in that ponytail again, and it bounced with every step of her work-booted feet.
The ponytail made Linc want to kiss her, and while the sensible work attire spoke of her determination, she looked equally as appealing to Linc today as she had yesterday—all