Chapter Nine: Expect the Unexpected

By seven am she had clocked four miles on the treadmill and worked out the last of the kinks in a shower. She hated the damn thing but it evened her out. And her night had not exactly been even. She'd tossed and turned all freaking night over a kiss. Whew, the man could kiss. Really kiss. Coffee—she needed coffee, not to concentrate on Jon’s kisses. Coffee with an extra shot of sensibility or she was never going to be able to concentrate. Her usual morning routine was going to come with a side of twenty questions, she could feel it.

The sweet scent of vanilla welcomed her into the clinic. She loved that it smelled like a home. She fussed with the vase of tulips by the window leaning into their vibrant scent. Sunshine crept through the front windows and the footpath filled with early morning commuters. "Morning." She slid onto her usual stool and raised her brow. Jonathan set out her coffee with a croissant and a side of fresh fruit. "What's all this?"

"Breakfast. I do have enough for two here…for perhaps an extra guest?" He wiggled his brows.

She picked out a strawberry. "Hope you’re hungry then." She took a sip of coffee keeping a straight face.

Jonathan narrowed his eyes and picked up his own mug. "You're going to make me beg aren't you?"

She resisted the smile and tore off the end of her croissant. "Thanks for this, I'm starved this morning." Teasing him was fun, it's what they did.

"Dev, c'mon. You know my life is boring. How was it?" He inched across the counter opposite her. "Was he dreamy?"

She rolled her eyes and laughed. The tap on the front door interrupted them.

"I'll get it but don't think you're off the hook, missy." He wagged his finger, rested his cup down and disappeared behind her. She shook her head and chuckled. Jonathan would get it out of her eventually but for now it was too easy to tease. Her belly was still a bunch of nerves. She couldn’t get the memory of his mouth out of her mind. The heat of his mouth as it hovered over her neck.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

She looked up, sputtering out coffee. Jonathan was concealed by a bunch of sunny yellow roses. Her breath caught in her throat - gosh she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had flowers delivered to her.

Jonathan set them down and plucked out the card. Attempting to swipe it from him would be useless since he already towered over her. He held it high and cleared his throat. "Devon. Expect the unexpected and sorry in advance. J." He punctuated the sentence with a kiss.

She frowned. Sorry in advance? What the hell did that mean? Did he not want to see her anymore?

Crap.

Disappointment sat heavy on her shoulders. Why would he send flowers? Was this his, thanks-but-no-thanks calling card?

Son of a bitch.

"So, what happened?"

She swivelled on her stool. "We're going to his friend’s house tomorrow night. He can't be blowing me off. It was a very nice night and we had a lot of fun. I don't get it," she muttered.

Jonathan smirked. "So you do like him! Tell me what happened last night and we can analyse it. Come on, we've got a good fifteen minutes before the girls arrive." He refilled their mugs and settled on a stool across from her.

"There's nothing much to tell. He took me to Coney Island and we had a very pleasant evening." Her fingers curled around her cup as she tried to stay focused. Sorry in advance? What the hell?

"Coney Island? Wow, I didn't expect that."

She sighed. "Neither did I but it was perfect. Perfectly perfect and he was a sweetheart. Not what I expected at all." Her admission had Jonathan smiling.

"And..."

She shrugged. "We had a drink and then went home. There's nothing to tell." She frowned into her coffee cup. He’d kissed her goodnight. Had it been a kiss goodbye instead?

"You're a bad liar, Devon Scott. Now for God's sake give me some details before I strangle you."

She flattened her palms on the counter. I’m a better liar than you think. "He kissed me."

Jonathan clapped his hands together. "Bazinga! I knew it. Was it a peck, or a full blown suck the life out of your body kiss?"

"The latter. Full blown and delicious and that's all you’re getting. A woman never tells."

"They do if they really cared about their best friend." He crossed his arms. "So did you ask him to come inside at the end of the date?"

"No! It's the first date. And before you ask, yes I am seeing him again. Tomorrow. Well at least that's what I thought anyway." She'd been out of this dating game way too long. What did she do now? Was this is a test for her to ring him and ask him what the hell the note meant? The flowers were beautiful, thoughtful and were very her. She just didn't get it.

Emma breezed in, her sunny curls pinned back from her face. She dumped her bag on the stool beside Devon and rounded the counter to pour herself a coffee. "Okay, spill. How was he? I mean, does he have all the right goods?"

Devon's cheeks burned. "Emma! God, what kind of woman do you people think I am? I didn't take him home."

"But you so wanted to, didn't you hussy?" Emma always said exactly what she thought. Devon admired her. She was gorgeous and had all the confidence in the world when it came to men. Something she clearly lacked.

"He kissed her though." Jonathan chimed in.

"He was a gentleman."

"Rocking flowers! Holy crap!” Emma plucked a rose out and smelled it dreamily. “Could he find a bigger bunch?"

"See? Gentleman." There was something about courting the old fashioned way that stirred her up. She hadn’t thought she was a traditional girl, but one bouquet and she was a mess. It wasn't something she’d expected from Jon.

"Ok so tell me about this kiss. Was it a sweet and gentle? Or did he melt you into the ground?"

Dammit, her cheeks burned again.

"Jackpot! You go girl."

"Look, we could do this all day but we do need to get to work. Have you seen the schedule today?" She dusted off her fingers and shifted the dishes back to Jonathan.

"Ok, ok, spoil sport. But one more thing..."

She held her hands up. "Yes, I’m seeing him again tomorrow and yes, I do like him, and yes, he kisses like a dream."

A smile settled on Emma's lips. "That is all. Oh, and there’s a client behind you.” She whispered as she disappeared from the coffee bar.

What the hell? Devon turned around with her smile in place. A woman with meticulous blond hair wearing a neatly pressed white pant-suit stood in the foyer with a gold Gucci bag tucked under her arm. "Hi. Sorry, I didn't hear you come in. We're not open for a few more minutes, but please come on in."

The woman's expression didn't change and her eyes remained steely. Determined to drag herself back to the business at hand, Devon showed her to the consult area. The woman definitely hadn't been in her clinic before. She never forgot a face. "Are you looking for something specific I can help you with?"

She sat down, shrewd eyes looking her over. "You're the owner I presume?"

Devon nodded and settled opposite her. "Yes, I’m Devon Scott." She held her hand out and wondered if the woman would ever crack an expression let a lone a smile. She did lean forward and shook Devon's hand.

"Carol, Carol Bongiovi."

Oh God, oh God, oh God.

This was her? Already? Why in the blue hell didn't he tell her she was coming in so soon?

Sorry in advance.

Oh crap.

Suddenly everything made sense. Relief chased embarrassment. He wasn’t blowing her off. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Bongiovi. I'm so glad you could come in."

Carol glanced around the room. Devon couldn't decide if she was impressed or disgusted as her expression remained stony. Then it hit her like a stack of bricks. Oh, God. They’d been talking about Jon when she was behind her. She wanted to throw up. Dear God she was going to kill that man when she saw him next.

"Yes, well my son raved about this place, but I can't decide if it was for the place or the service he got."

Well, aren’t we shrewd? Zing!

Devon held her head high. "It was both. My salon offers a very high standard of care and services. I'd be happy to talk you through them. Can I get you some coffee or tea?

Carol nodded. "So I've heard. Tea, peppermint if you have it."

"Of course, one moment please." She excused herself and found Jonathan around the corner setting up one of the treatment rooms.

"That's Jon's mother!” she half whispered, half growled. “I just declared her son was a good kisser when she walked in for God's sake!"

Jonathan snorted and snuck a glance around the corner. "She's very Beverly Hills, huh? I’m sure she appreciates your compliments on her son's kissing."

She covered her face with her hands. "Shut up and get us some peppermint tea. Oh, my God." She had to think fast and glanced at her watch. "Get Emma to set up a room quickly and we'll give her a complimentary consult. She has twenty minutes before her first appointment. She can assist me until then."

"Yes, yes. Lavish attention on her, good plan. Jon was right. By the look of her she'll bring in the cash, baby. Go!" He nudged her gently back in the direction of Carol who was now on her cell phone. She nodded and signalled to give her a few minutes so Devon escaped to her office to regroup. She flipped through her client records and found Jon's number.

"Do you need a bigger bunch of flowers?" he asked in lieu of a greeting.

She chuckled and gnawed nervously on her lip. "You didn't tell me she was coming this morning!"

"I didn't know until I got home late last night I had a message from her at home. So, I thought since I was unleashing Satan on you, I'd send you some flowers."

She grinned. "They were gorgeous, and you shouldn't talk to your mother like that, that's terrible." She smoothed her palm down her apron. "However, I do feel like I'm under scrutiny. And I may have been talking about you unaware that she had walked in." She bit her lip and the deep chuckle vibrated down the line.

"I hope it was complimentary."

"It was, but that's not the point! She implied that the only reason you'd recommended this place was because of me."

He snorted. "Well, that's half true.”

“Jon,” she warned.

He cleared his throat, but she was pretty certain he was covering a laugh. “In all seriousness, she'll love the place. Trust me. You're onto a winner there with her. Just be your normal charming self. I'd come in to watch, but I'm tied up with business most of the day."

She took a deep breath. He was right. Carol was exactly the type she was used to. The only difference was she just happened to be the mother of the man she was dating. She definitely did not want Carol to assume that Jon's affections for her were the sole reason that he'd recommended him to her. She had too much pride for that. "Ok, I can do this. Thank you for the flowers, Jon. They were very lovely."

"I'm glad you thought so. Listen, I have a business dinner tonight but it's not ‘til eight. Can we meet for a drink? There's a little wine bar a block down from you. The least I can do is ply you with wine after you deal with my mother. That way you can tell me how things went."

She smiled. "Yes." She surprised herself how easy and quick her answer came. "You can bring me another bunch of flowers. You owe me."

"Great. I'll swing by about six."

She hung up and caught her breath. She hadn't even thought of refusing his invite and she’d even teased him. Jesus, she was so doomed. She picked up her notebook and tapped it against the desk. She remembered the idea that had hit her last night. Maybe, just maybe, Carol Bongiovi was the perfect guinea pig. She automatically smoothed her hand over the hidden drawer. She might have to dip in, but if her idea worked, she’d be that much closer to replacing all that she’d spent.