Desire: Love and Passion (7 page)

             
"What are you talking about?" Willow said.

             
"Well, someone sent you roses on Monday."

             
Willow stopped walking.  How did she know?

             
"How -?"

             
"It was delivered around three in the afternoon," Nancy said. "I was going to call you, but I figured you would be in yesterday or at the very least today to finalize that new postage design."

             
"A bunch of flowers does not mean I
’
m dating," Willow said as she turned the knob on the door to her office.

             
The scent of roses, lavender
,
and a host of other scents wafted out to her. There were at least a dozen bouquets of flowers. She stopped in her tracks.

             
"The roses came Monday," Nancy informed her. "The others have been coming in since nine yesterday morning and every fifteen minutes until we closed. It started again today. It must have been a hell of a night or one heck of a fight."

             
Willow didn't answer as she walked over to her desk. She dropped her car keys, put down the coffee and the briefcase she carried. Her office was fast resembling a small floral shop.

             
"I restrained myself," Nancy said. "I didn't read the cards."

             
Nancy plucked the card from the first delivery and gave it to Willow. She glanced at the note. It was the same as she received at the house Monday. She dropped the card on her desk beside her keys. Nancy snatched it up almost immediately.

             
"Look, no name." Nancy said. "But, you did something together on Sunday night. And his initials are JM. Who is it?"

             
There was a knock on the office door. It was Emily, the receptionist. She had another floral arrangement in her hand.

             
"Where do you want me to put this?" Emily asked.

             
"How about at your desk?" Willow answered.

             
"It has a card," the receptionist replied.

             
Willow walked over and plucked the card from the stick. She realized that with the exception of the rose
s
, all the other plants were live plants.

             
"I have an idea," Willow said to Emily. "Why don't you see who would like a bouquet in their work space or to take home."

      "You're giving them away?" Emily asked.

      "Yes."

"All of them?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?" Emily asked as she picked up a pot of expensive rare orchids.

"Yes
, I am
."

             
"So who is he?" Nancy asked again when they were alone. "Are you going to read the other notes?"

             
Willow glanced at the tiny card in her hand. She opened it.

             
'Every flower is the part of my soul that dies the longer I wait to make things right with you. They will come every fifteen minutes - the time it takes for me to get your answer by courier.  When they have stopped coming you w
ill
have either said you forgive me and a second chance is ours or that part of me that was touched by your light has been forever lost to darkness.'

             
"A poet," Nancy said reading over her friend's shoulders. "That is so romantic."

             
"Crazy is more like it," Willow said. "Come on, let's prepare for that meeting. Have you had a chance to read my email?"

             
"Not yet. So who is he?"
Nancy persisted.

             
"Nobody," Willow said.

             
"Come on, you can tell me."

             
"I can't and he's nobody," Willow said. "We have work to do."

             
Her meeting lasted well over an hour. Four more plants were delivered during th
at
time. Emily had, in addition to giving away a few, created quite the fresh arrangement for the front office.

             
Willow pounded out his telephone number a little after three o'clock when another large pot of rare orchids arrived. That plant started a lottery in the design department.

             
"Stop," she said as soon as he answered.

             
"How are you?" 

             
"Stop," she said. "You cannot continue sending these flowers. My clients will start to think we are becoming a botanical business."

             
"You know what will make me stop?"

             
"A substantial dent in your bank account?"
s
he asked.

             
"I could buy every plant in Europe before that happens," he replied. "Make me stop."

             
"You're not endearing yourself to me right now," she said. "You are proving why I must never see you again."

             
"I just want the opportunity to apologize," he said.

             
"Apology accepted. Now stop."

             
"Come on Willow
. Y
ou can't tell me you did
n’
t feel the way I felt on Sunday night."

             
"Please, don't remind me. I made a fool of myself."

             
"What are you talking about? I was the idiot."

             
"I will have you know I don't get that close with anyone on a first date."

             
"I really would like to see you again," he said.

             
"I'm sorry, I don't do eat outs with the rich and famous."

             
"We'll dine in. I was thinking of a Taiwanese hot pot. I rarely have company to make it worth the effort."

             
"If I say yes, will you stop this madness?"

             
"I promise."

             
"When?" s
he asked.

             
"Tonight. Giles can pick you up
at
say seven o'clock. Will that work for you?"

             
"Yes."

             
"Thank you."

             
Willow spent another two hours in the office. He was true to his words. There were no more bouquets.

             
"I guess you forgave him," Nancy
said as she
poked her head in Willow's office before leaving for the day.

Chapter 5

Willow dressed in a white laced over super-mini A-line dress with a plunging neckline. She wore silver heels no more than an inch. Her hair was pulled up and away from her neck.
Upon seeing her,
James tried to remember when last he found a woman as desirable.

             
"Oh, Lord," he said
aloud
when he saw her.

             
"What?" She walked by him as she entered his house for the second time in three days.

             
"You look great."

             
"Thank you."

             
"I'm so glad you c
ould make it," he said as he le
d her towards the living room.

             
"You didn
’
t
really
give me a choice,
now did you,
" she said. "Either become the only florist in London or have dinner with you."

             
"I'm sorry if that was a little over the top."

             
"Well, my employees seem to enjoy the additions to the office," she said.

             
"I really want to apologize."

             
"Perhaps it's best if we forget about Sunday. Let's pretend this is actually our first dinner."

             
"That's going to be hard, but I'll try."

             
She followed him into the kitchen. He removed three large plates from the refrigerator.  They
held
an assortment of vegetables, meat
,
and fungi.

             
"Do you need some help with those?" Willow asked.

             
"Sure," he replied. "I though
t we might dine outside again. It’s
been a gorgeous April so far. You can grab that plate, and I'll take these."

             
He pointed to a plate of spices. She took it up and carried it out to the deck. This was a different table from Sunday night. It had a built in burner. Already there was a pot
on the burner
that had steam puffing from it.

             
"Have you ever had Taiwanese hotpot dining?"
h
e asked.

             
"Yes, I love it. I always overcook my steak
,
though."

             
"Saki or plum wine?"
h
e asked.

             
"Saki, hot."

             
It took them only a few more minutes to have the table ready for dining. They sat at ninety degrees from each other.

             
"Do you do this sort of thing often?" Willow asked.

             
"What sort of thing?" 

             
"The apology."

             
"The last time I
needed
to apologize that badly I was fifteen years old and broke my mother's
XVI
vase. I bought her roses every day for almost two months. One day she called me into her room and asked why I kept sending the flowers. I said I was sorry for breaking the vase
and
she said you apologized already. I told her yes, but she never said she forgave me. She laughed, hugged me and said the magic words."

             
"And what is it you
’
re apologizing for this time?"

             
"I did not like the way I ended things between us. I don't want to give you the impression that I didn
’
t enjoy what was happening. I just have a few demons that don't go away
so
easily."

             
"There’
s nothing to forgive," Willow said knowing she avoided him not because of what he
’d done
, but because she was ashamed she'd so easily succumbed to him. "Since we have decided to forget Sunday, it's best we don't re-hash things."

             
"I didn
’
t say I would forget. But I
’
m okay if you prefer it forgotten, for now."

             
"Let’s talk about something else."

             
"What do you want to talk about?"

             
"Why didn't you want to be king?"

             
"I was never destined to be king. Third in line when all was well was nature's advance notice."

             
"The throne was yours for the taking. Especially after what happened."

             
"Oh," James said realizing she was speaking about his return to England after the war.  "When I left for war, I had a normal life, more or less. I liked stepping out from my family's shadow. I believe the time of unelected leadership has long passed. E
ven if I didn't believe that, I’
m an agnostic.
I think that
probably
precludes me from being head of the Church of England."

             
"And Miami, was that your break-free moment?"

             
"Not exactly." 

He looked away from her.

      "That was years ago. I can't believe you
’
re still embarrassed."

      "It was not my finest moment."

      "Yet it was the prelude for the man I
’
m having dinner with tonight."