Page 59 of Forget Me Not
Finally, detangling herself from her work, she stood and stepped around the island to meet him. In his hand he held out a small glass vase overflowing with her favorite little wildflowers.
“Bas?” She took the vase, gently running a finger along a few of the pale blue petals. “They’re beautiful…for me?”
A glance up caught his nod. “These are my favorite,” she whispered, though she knew he heard by the smile on his face—you’d have thought she had just handed him a gold star.
“Why are you giving me flowers if this is a dinner to celebrate you?”
“I told you, it’s also a thank you. I needed to be pushed; you’re a very efficient pusher.”
He cringed at his own words, and she giggled.Giggled? What was it about him that made her act like she was fifteen?
“Well, thank you—and you’re welcome?” Her brow furrowed in thought, her voice rising an octave with the question. That had them both laughing.
With a mostly gentle shove, Syve cleared a space on the island then reverently set the vase down.
“We have a reservation for 6:45, how can I help with closing?”
One look at his face and she swallowed the debate she was starting. This was not a question he was asking to be polite, he genuinely wanted to assist, and who was she to turn down an extra hand?
Choosing to have him vacuum would end up being the highlight of her week. It would be a lie to say Syve had failed to notice before how muscular the man was, but the things that black t-shirt did for his forearms werecriminal.
Seriously, what was wrong with her?
With the extra help, the shop was closed up in a few minutes, Bas watching quizzically as Syve fought with the front door to get the lock to engage fully. When she explained to him that the latch only caught when approached with the exact right amount of aggression, he laughed—but she noticed his stare lingered on the old door.
“It’ll stay locked just fine, don’t worry,” she assured him as they walked away from the building. Bas just hummed in response, following Syve to the passenger side of the Jeep.
Blue skies meant a topless ride—at least that was Dez’s motto. Bastien dutifully kept the tradition alive, which is why the top and doors were all tucked away in the Yerovi garage.
Before she could even wonder why he hadn’t gone straight to the driver’s side, she found herself staring up into thebucket seat—questioning whether her jeans would stretch enough to allow her to climb into the damned thing.
Strong hands landed on her hips just as she began to lift her foot. A squeal slipped from her lips, both hands snapping down from the seat to clutch at Bastien’s wrists while he effortlessly picked her up and placed her in the Jeep.
She gaped at him, getting only a cheeky smile and a wink in return while he jogged around to climb behind the wheel.
“A little warning next time?” She huffed in mock annoyance.
“Nah, you make fun sounds when you’re surprised.” He smiled, slipped one hand behind her seat and expertly backed out of the parking space.
It was not until they stopped at a red light that Syve finally asked, “So…where are we eating?”
“I got us a table at Thyme. I hope that’s okay?”
“Oh, yeah! I mean, it’s my favorite restaurant, I just didn’t think everyone else would like it.”
“Everyone else?”
“Yeah? Aren’t we going out to celebrate?”
“Weare.” Bas gestured between the two of them with his pointer finger.
“Oh.” She blushed again. When he’d asked her to dinner earlier, she’d just assumed she’d be tagging along with the whole family—not that it would have been a bad thing. Spending time with Soriah and Delwasalways fun.Honestly, she couldn’t bring herself to hate Cyrus either, much to Aimi’s dismay.
Blushing over the concept of dinner alone with Bas was ridiculous—how many times now had just the two of them gone for runs or sat together in her empty shop?
She was acting like she had a crush.
Oh, God.
