Smiling with satisfaction, she put her lunch into the fridge and grabbed a cup of coffee that was fresh and waiting for her, and her day officially began. Checking in with her assistant, she made sure that the wholesaler had made the early morning delivery and that everything had arrived as ordered.

Folding the doors back, she placed pretty buckets and basins of flowers directly outside of the shop, watered the hanging plants and went back inside. She made it a point to ignore Lex, who was now leaning against his car, drinking a coffee. She fell into her daily rhythm—she loved her shop, loved flowers and plants, and taking care of the daily minutiae of it all pulled her into a sort of Zen state.

Well, she’d be lying if she said she could ignore him entirely. He made quite a sight—long, muscular body lounging against that sexy car. His thighs strained the jeans he had on and all of that gorgeous hair was tied back at the nape of his neck. His large hands cradled a cup of coffee and she imagined what they’d feel like on her body. His designer sunglasses hid those beautiful green eyes but she knew his eyes followed her every move. His casual pose did not fool her, he was tight and alert and ready for anything.

Lex watched her as she moved about her small florist shop. She had an innate grace about her. He liked watching the way she put the arrangements together so beautifully, like it was second nature to her. She had an eye for beauty and apparently quite the green thumb. She chatted with customers and the employees and people seemed to really like her as they stopped into the shop just to say hello or to buy flowers. He hid a smile when he watched her run out to the mail carrier and tuck a bird of paradise into his bag. There was no trace of the poker-faced uptight spinster of the night before, except for those moments when she looked up and saw him—then it returned and her entire body stiffened. He wanted to grin at her when she did that. Her ire amused him. She amused him, and surprised him too. She was a lot tougher than she looked to stand there and act as if it were no big deal that a six-and-a-half-foot-tall werewolf was watching her every move.

He made his business calls from his cell phone as he watched her take lunch while working. He’d grown up in a family business, knew what it meant to work so hard you ate your lunch standing up and in a hurry. She seemed to be doing pretty well for herself if the traffic was any indicator. She’d had a steady flow of customers all day long and she seemed to know ninety percent of them personally.

* * * * *

At four, Brad came in and moved in and tried to drop a brief kiss on her lips. She stiffened and turned her head but as usual, he didn’t catch that. “Nina, there’s a guy across the street, he’s been there all day. I think he’s watching you.”

Nina smiled at him as she stepped out of his reach. Brad Logan was the owner of the bookstore next door to the flower shop and he’d been pestering her to go out with him for months. He was actually quite good looking and Nina had no idea why he was interested in her, or rather, the public Nina anyway. She liked him well enough but he just didn’t give her the spark of interest that would lead her to letting him into her closely guarded personal life. It had been awfully long though, since she’d let anyone inside. She found herself yearning to be close to someone she didn’t have to save, protect or bail out of trouble. Someone who was an equal, a partner.

“I know. It’s nothing,” she assured him.

Brad looked at Lex again. “Who is he? Do you want me to go and talk to him?” Brad asked her, still concerned.

“He’s an associate of my brother’s. Everything’s all right, Brad. Thanks for your concern though, I appreciate it.”

“Why don’t you let me escort you to your car when you close up? We could go out to dinner afterward.”

“Not tonight, Brad. I have plans, but thanks. I’ll be fine, he won’t hurt me,” she assured him and after a few minutes more of chatting, he went back next door.

Lex watched the scene with annoyed interest. His glittering green eyes narrowed behind the sunglasses he had on as he watched the human man touch her arm. Didn’t he see that she wasn’t interested? Lex felt an irrational desire to punch the guy out. “Stupid goatee,” he snarled to himself.

It was dark when she locked up and walked out to her car. He could see her roll her eyes at his presence and he gave her a wolfish grin in return. He heard her annoyed exhalation and chuckled as he followed her to the grocery store.

At the market, she shopped and tried to ignore his presence. Of course she failed when he simply walked behind her as she pushed her cart. In the produce aisle he took a cantaloupe out of her hands and picked up another and handed it to her.

She had a look of disbelief on her face and he wanted to laugh. Instead he said, “That one wasn’t any good. I have a great sense of smell, you know. The one you have now is ripe and sweet. I promise.”

She closed her eyes for a moment and it looked like she was praying for patience. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. With a barely leashed snarl of her own, she pushed her cart around him and kept shopping, but she didn’t put the cantaloupe back.

She paid and loaded her groceries into the trunk and he followed her back to her house, where he pulled up into the driveway behind her.

She spun, hands on her hips and sparks in her eyes. “What are you doing? I told you, Gabriel is not here!” she said through clenched teeth as he approached her car, where she’d been pulling out bags of groceries.

“I was going to help you carry your groceries in. That way you won’t have to make two trips.”