though to mock him, his phone rang.
‘I think you may have spoken too soon.’ Amusement crinkled the skin at the corners of Cecilia’s eyes, and her mouth turned up into a soft smile.
Linc lost himself in her in that moment. His breath caught and, still stuck on that smile, he answered his phone absent-mindedly.
He had to run the caller’s first few words back through his mind again before he could focus. ‘Sorry, Alex. Which export law did you say is concerning you?’
Linc forced his attention to the call.
Cecilia turned her focus to her work while Linc spoke on the phone with his brother. It felt strangely intimate to be in the same room with Linc while he did that, yet she had learned from his brief time here so far that he would step outside if he wanted privacy for a call.
Maybe she should find a reason to step out, anyway. She didn’t need to add any extra feelings of intimacy to her connection with this man. She was having enough trouble ignoring her awareness of him as it was.
She started to stand.
‘Okay. Tell Jayne I said hi.’ Linc’s voice softened noticeably as he said his goodbyes on the phone. ‘I’ll stop by to see you both tonight on my way home.’
The man loved his family to pieces.
Cecilia’s heart softened and ached a little at one and the same time. He must be close to his family. That was so appealing. Yet it made her feel sad because she, on the other hand, was experiencing a difficult phase with her sister.
But that was going to get better. It was!
Linc ended the call and glanced up just as Cecilia settled back into her chair. ‘How did the committee’s visit go yesterday?’
‘It went well.’ She welcomed the distraction from her thoughts more than he could know. ‘The committee members were happy with the standard of the maze and with the area that will be used at its centre for dancing. There will only be a hundred guests. Tickets to the ball are being auctioned online, with proceeds going to charity. I’m relieved the committee were satisfied with my plans and with the site itself.’
If the nursery played its cards right, it might get a yearly event out of this. She would definitely hold more balls for special occasions...weddings. The possibilities were endless. Cecilia couldn’t help but feel a little excited about the doors this first event might open up.
‘It sounds as though you have things well under control.’ Linc murmured the words as he sat down to recommence his review.
Cecilia laughed. She didn’t mean to, but the sound escaped her. ‘All except the fact that Valentine’s Day is about to erupt onto my work horizon, whether I feel ready for it or not—and I’m leaning somewhat towards the “not” side of that particular equation right now.’
As Linc turned his attention to his work—with numerous interruptions on his cell phone, despite his desire for a clear run at the review—Cecilia refocused and settled in to finalise stock orders for Valentine’s Day.
She worked hard, but she had to admit—to herself, at least—that Linc’s proximity was corroding her concentration. He was just so there.
And she was so busy. Every time she tried to work on her orders, the phone rang again or a supplier called through directly on her cell phone. There were cancellations of previously established orders, stockists informing her that they’d oversold to other buyers and couldn’t fill her order, asking if other blooms could be substituted.
Cecilia’s answer was always the same. No, they couldn’t!
This happened every year—it was part of dealing with this particular day on the nursery’s calendar—but that didn’t make it any less busy or any less challenging for her to ensure she reached her necessary stock levels.
On top of that the floor staff came in more often than usual, with odd questions that simply couldn’t wait. The more that time passed, the busier it became.
‘Linc, I’m putting this call on speaker. I’m sorry if it disturbs your concentration.’
She tried not to let frustration colour her tone as she jabbed at the settings on her cell phone. Once she had placed it atop the filing cabinet in the corner of the room, she began to riffle through the cabinet’s contents.
‘It’s fine. I can see you’re under pressure.’
Linc’s words were calm. He had fielded numerous distractions of his own since he got here today, and he seemed quite unfazed. As though he didn’t find Cecilia’s presence and nearness at all disturbing.
Not that Cecilia felt agitated due to his presence. Certainly not in any personal kind of way. She’d had that conversation with herself earlier. She simply had to get over the nerve-racking, overalert, oh-so-conscious of him feeling.
And she was over it. She 100 per cent totally was. Her consciousness could just catch up with that attitude right now!
‘Mr Sampson, I have your previous delivery docket, your invoice and a receipt showing a nil balance in front of me.’ She gave the reference number, speaking towards her phone. ‘If funds are outstanding to your company, they aren’t owed from here.’
After a moment the man discovered a mistake at his end. He agreed to finalise Cecilia’s order for the next day and ended the call.
With Mr Sampson sorted out, Cecilia replaced the file in the cabinet and returned to her desk.
Time passed. And when a customer phoned with a special request for a particular style of repurposed item, and Cecilia happened to be able to match it, she decided to take the opportunity to head to the repurposing shed to collect the piece.
She replaced the desk phone in its cradle. ‘You’ll be okay for a few minutes, Linc? I’ll put the phone through to Jemmie, out front.’
‘Leave it. I believe I may just be able to manage without you for a little bit without having to disturb Jemmie.’
His wry smile brought out every gorgeous manly feature. It also undid every bit of Linc-ignoring effort Cecilia had put in today.
Before she could stop herself, she smiled back. A big, wide, pleased-with-the-world smile that brushed across her face and made Linc grow still before an enigmatic veil came down over his eyes.
Her breath hitched, and just like that it was all there again. The awareness. The interest.
She drew in a slightly shaky inhalation. ‘Okay. I’ll...ah...I’ll leave the phone. I’d better go take care of this.’
Before she did something she regretted for the second time since knowing him.
Cecilia exited the office and gave herself a good talking-to while she was at it. She wasn’t interested in Linc. Such an interest wasn’t something she could allow to exist. Just because her boyfriend had dumped her when her issues with her sister had hit crisis point, it didn’t mean she should try to pick up the next available—
Oh, get over yourself, Cecilia. And get over Hugh, too.
As
