If it was possible, the woman looked even more pleased, and Gavin was irresistibly reminded of the cartoons in which a character in love had little hearts breaking out around her head.

“I know the perfect thing. What do you think of wildflowers?”

She retreated to the rear of the store and her head disappeared inside a refrigerator. When she returned a moment later, she was holding a bundle of daisies, cosmos, Queen Anne’s lace, and an assortment of other posies that he couldn’t identify.

“I think that’s it,” he said, charmed by the bouquet. These didn’t appear at all arranged, or as if they had been carefully cultivated in a greenhouse. Instead, the wildflowers looked interesting and beautiful.

Just like Jessica.

“Perfect. I will wrap them up for you. Make sure you put them in water right away. Do you need a vase?”

He glanced at the assortment behind her. Knowing Jess, it wasn’t a stretch to think she didn’t own a fancy container for flowers. “Sure.”

The woman did an amazing job. She arranged the flowers artfully in a glass container, and then placed it inside a cardboard box that held everything firmly in place. When Gavin produced his credit card and she ran up the charge, she handed him the box with the receipt.

“If you put this in the back, the seat belt will hold it in place.”

“Great idea.” He’d been wondering how he was going to get this to Jessica’s condo in one piece.

“Good luck, and if it doesn’t go well, I have a daughter…”

She wiggled her eyebrows at him.

—

Jessica gazed into the mirror, a liquid eyeliner in one hand, a tissue in the other. She tried for the third time to do as Terrell had taught her: dot the liquid along her lash line, and then smudge. But when she did it, she wound up with a black blob that made it look like she’d sprouted a mole on her upper lid.

Giving up, she tossed the makeup into her bag and stepped back to take a critical look at her outfit. Terrell had insisted that she wear a dress, and she felt like a six-year-old playing in her mother’s heels. But she had to admit that the designer dress flattered her athletic build, and the soft spring-green looked great with her coppery hair and ivory skin.

Ruefully, she looked back at the bed. Almost every outfit she owned was now draped either over her headboard or her mattress. She’d have to clean that up when she got home, something she wasn’t looking forward to. But she had been so uncertain about what to wear that the only thing she could think to do was try on everything, then make a decision by process of elimination.

Gavin had left the stadium early that day, and she had to admit she had breathed a sigh of relief. Ever since he had cornered her into accepting a date with him, she had felt as nervous as the proverbial cat on a hot tin roof. Phil had sent her quizzical glances all morning, which she’d ignored, focusing instead on revising Gavin’s workout given his progress.

That thought made her smile as she pictured him smoking the ball into the swimming pool at her parents’ house. Pete was going to be stunned when he saw the hitter’s power. He was well on his way back to the game, and as long as he didn’t reinjure his knee, he might be okay…

The doorbell rang and she nearly jumped out of her skin. What the hell was the matter with her? This was Gavin, her friend, her client. And she hadn’t committed to anything more than dinner. Yet as she got halfway across the floor, she remembered that her room looked as if her closet had thrown up. Racing back, she closed the door behind her and then answered the bell, trying not to look anywhere near as flustered as she felt.

“Hey there,” she said, in an attempt to act casual. But she noticed that he had taken quite a bit of care himself with his appearance. Gavin was drop-dead handsome to begin with, but in a sparkling white shirt, jacket, and tie, she could see why he was considered one of the hottest guys in baseball.

“Hey yourself,” he said with a grin, although his eyes were warm with admiration. “Wow! You look gorgeous.”

“Yeah? I guess I must clean up good. Come on in.”

“I like your place,” he said, casting an eye around the cozy condominium. “I brought you something.”

He tried to hand her the bouquet of flowers, but before Jessica could say another word, she was caught in a sneezing fit. “Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!” She tried to stifle the reaction, but six more sneezes followed in succession. Helplessly, mascara streaming down her face, she raced into the powder room.

“Are you all right?”

It was a full three minutes before she could speak. Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she saw that she looked like a Halloween vampire, eyes red and rimmed with black. Groaning, she had no choice but to fill her hands with soap and water and wash the makeup completely off. Even then as she dried her eyes, she could feel her nose twitching again.

“Gavin, I’m—”

“Allergic,” he guessed, and she heard him open the front door and put the offending flowers outside. “I’m really sorry,” he said when she finally emerged with a wad of tissues.

“Not your fault,” Jessica reassured him, though she was a little dismayed that her hour-long stint with the makeup was all for nothing. “Ragweed and wildflowers do me in every time. I’m okay with the roses and tulips. But not field flowers.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said as he extended his hand. “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” she managed, snatching up her jacket and following him through the door.

—

Outside, it was raining even harder than before. “Wait here,” he said, indicating the overhang. Dashing through the deluge, Gavin could see his carefully chosen bouquet becoming battered by the storm.

So much for his first romantic overture: he’d brought an allergic woman flowers. But at least he could keep her from getting soaked…

Yet as he opened the umbrella he’d left in the Jeep, he noticed a couple of the spokes had broken, so half of it flopped like a bird with a broken wing.

Shit! He swore under his breath as he made his way through the sheeting rain. Holding the good side over her, he led Jessica to the car, but as he reached for the door he saw a second too late that she had stepped into a pothole and was up to her ankle in water. Somehow he got her into the car, and then gestured to her condo.

“I’ll run up and get a towel for your shoe.”

“Don’t be silly,” she said with a shrug. “Look, I don’t mind if we stay in. I’ve got a few burgers in the fridge…”

“No way,” he said determinedly, even though he was soaked through to the skin. And although he was uncomfortable, he wanted to make the evening a success, to impress her in spite of a bad beginning.

After starting the car, he backed out of the driveway, stealing a glance at his date. Jessica had leaned over and removed one of her shoes and was holding it upside down, letting the water drain out of the fashionable pump. He tried putting on the heater, thinking it would help them to dry out, but immediately it got too hot and he was forced to turn it down.

The rain was coming down in sheets. As they approached the downtown area, he pulled up to the restaurant, but then he noticed something odd.

The place looked dark. There was no line of people waiting for a table, no host holding open the door and greeting guests. Frowning, he put on his hazards and glanced at Jessica.

“Let me check this out…”

Hopping out of the car, he ran through the rain and approached the inn. The door was locked. There was not a light in the place, and even as he knocked, no one answered. Jessica joined him a moment later, ducking beneath his half-functional umbrella, and she glanced next door.

A man was selling newspapers and tobacco at a small shop. Gesturing to the restaurant, she shouted through the storm, “What’s going on?”