Page 16 of Cursed Luck
“It’s fine,” he said and inserted his credit card. He was wound tight and needed fresh air. It had been a mistake coming to see her.
“Well, thanks for the tea,” she muttered, her worried eyes studying him.
“No problem. I’m glad you weren’t hardheaded about the changes,” he said as he shoved his wallet into his back pocket.
“Excuse me? You know what, never mind. Go screw yourself, Edward Broderick, and don’t let the door hit you on the way out!” she snapped.
Chapter 8
The man was infuriating! It was a miracle she had not used her plants against him. One minute he was kind and charming, and the next, utter garbage spewed from his mouth.
Mia pulled up to the café and glanced inside for any signs of him. She planned to avoid him, but somewhere in the back of her traitorous mind, she hoped to see him. He needed a long overdue tongue lashing, she told herself as she internally rolled her eyes.
It was a constant battle within her. A piece of her missed his sexy ass, but the other wanted to string him up with Japanese Wisteria. The gorgeous vine would strangle him in time, ridding her of the annoying gnat.
You don’t want to get rid of him. You want to screw him,her brain said, correcting itself.
Shaking her head and her thoughts, she rounded her SUV and lifted the hatch with a push of the button. In the back were two boxes filled with Edward’s order. She hoisted one into her arms and managed to pull open the café door enough to slip her foot inside.
“Let me help you!” Brandy called.
Mia looked up in time to see her new friend jog from the back of the store to where she held the door open with her backside. “Hey… I have one more,” she said and placed the box on the nearest empty table.
Brandy held open the door while Mia grabbed the second box and locked her SUV.
“Thanks, you made that easier,” she told her.
Brandy wrapped an arm around Mia’s waist and peered into the box. “You should have told me you were here. Wow, these are really pretty!” she said, lifting one small vase.
The clear vase was filled with river rocks and water. One medium sunflower stood out from the center with eucalyptus framing it. The arrangement was fragrant and matched the summer feel Edward had requested.
“Thanks, your brother asked for a summer arrangement,” she said, placing it on the center of the table.
Brandy grabbed two vases, and together they set all but two out on the tables. “I’m putting one of these in the office.”
Mia held the final one as Brandy hurried to the back. Seeing the long bar counter near the baristas decorated with only one vase, she realized it could do with another. Crossing her arms over her chest, she looked around and smiled.
The flowers livened up the café without overwhelming the space.
“Mia, everything looks great! I’ve been telling Edward for the last year we needed to add flowers, but he’d told me no.”
She turned to her with pinched brows. “If he said no, why did he order these then?”
Brandy snickered and looked at her with wide eyes. “You don’t have an inkling?”
Mia looked around in thought. “No. That man’s head is too thick to understand.”
Brandy burst into full belly laughs, and Mia slapped a hand over her mouth. “I said that out loud?”
Overcome with laughter, Brandy nodded.
Mia groaned. “Sorry… I know he’s your brother and all, but he makes me nuts. He’s such a jerk sometimes. How are you two even related? Your other brothers aren’t like him.”
Brandy shrugged. “He means well most of the time, but you’re right. He’s not like the rest of us, but I promise he has a good heart. I think Edward’s problem is he cares too deeply, and he doesn’t know what to do with it.”
“Cares too deeply?” Mia asked, a brow shooting into her hairline. “He called me hardheaded.”
Brandy winced. “He did?”
