Where I Wanna Be (22 page)

“
Sure, not a problem.” Eli glanced down at Simone’s business card. It was a dainty pink with a flower in the top right corner. Eli immediately recognized it as a hydrangea. “Pretty card.”

“
Thank you.”

“
You’re welcome.” He smiled.

“
She’s here! She’s here!” Nicola rushed from downstairs and began to pass out chocolate cigars with a pink ribbon on them. “My granddaughter is here! Tiana just gave birth to Gianna!”

All of the shop employees congratulated Nicola on her newest grandchild while extending the same congrats to Joey and Eli on their new niece. “Congratulations, Uncle,” Simone beamed.

“
The first granddaughter,” Eli raised his eyebrows, “that poor girl doesn’t know what she’s in for.”

“
She’s going to be that spoiled, huh?”

“
Spoiled? Forget about it.” Eli shook his head. “Every date she brings home is going to go through a 35-point inspection the moment he steps foot inside the house,
if
he’ll step foot inside the house.”

“
Sounds like the five of you were planning this moment for a long time.”

Eli shook his head. “You don’t even know…” He glanced at his watch. It was almost time for Happy Hour and there was a lot to celebrate. “We’re about to head out of here and go to Gino’s. If you don’t have any plans, you can come with us if you’d like?”

“
Gino’s… that’s downtown, right?”

“
That’s right. If you don’t know where it is, you can just follow me.” Eli suggested.

“
I have GPS so it’s not a thing,” Simone looked back at Nicola, who was showing a fresh picture of Gianna and telling everyone she was named after her great-grandmother. “So I’ll just meet you there?”

“
Sure, that’ll be great.” Eli gave Simone another hug. “See you in a few.”

Simone briefly closed her eyes and inhaled Eli’s cologne yet again. So delicious. So tempting. Yet so unavailable. “See you in a few.”

****

“
You never did tell me why you went into the floral business.” Simone said over a margarita.

Eli took a bite of a buffalo wing and quickly swallowed. “I could’ve done a lot of things. I was in art school and studying to become a graphic designer. I had a dream of working for this major Fortune 500 company and making loads of money. My mom called me one day asking me if I could create a flyer for her so they could get the word out. Then she asked if I could do the website. I was planning to help my mom out for just a few months. Long enough to get the shop set up and running between her and Joey.”

Simone dipped a mozzarella stick into marinara sauce and took a bite. “And then a few months turned into a few years…”

“
I don’t even know how it happened. All I knew was that one day I was watching my mom handle a bride and giving her general ideas. The typical roses, calla lilies, and peonies selection. And the girl was eating it up. My mother could’ve sold her shit on a platter and the chick would’ve bought it!” The admission caused a smile to form on both Eli and Simone. “So I interrupted her and asked the girl what does she like, what was she into, what did her fiancée like, what was her favorite color, season, music, etc.

“
I studied up on flowers, the different types and which were best in what season. I studied the different regions and who grew the best flowers where. Finally, to my advantage, I had a little talent in drawing and begin to sketch some bouquets, centerpieces, and arrangements. From there, I created a bouquet and centerpieces that were uniquely the bride. I incorporated bits and pieces from her life, while making the flowers extravagant enough for the
wow
factor all the brides want. She can’t look at another bride’s bouquet and say that was hers. She won’t look at another centerpiece and wonder about theirs. And I remember telling my mother and Joey, ‘I’m only doing this for a few months and that’s it.’ I remember saying it just like that.” Eli smiled. “That was ten years ago.”

“
Sounds like you’ve found your calling.” Simone inquired.

“
When I was a little boy, I never thought I would be in the floral business. I didn’t know a damn thing about roses back then. Now I can name forty different ones just by looking at them.” He shrugged.

As Happy Hour progressed, Eli talked more about Madre’s, building it from a small corner shop on a strip mall to an expanding chain in two locations. He smiled and joked often, having an undeniable confidence about him. The more Eli talked, the more Simone became impressed by him. He was passionate about life, his business, his family.

He was charming to his employees, inquiring about their private lives and talking about anything that had nothing to do with work. He talked sports with the guys and gave relationship advice to the girls. It was clear the employees respected and liked Eli, something rare in any business.

He was a perfect catch. He was lucky enough to have found someone that did catch him.

Simone finally realized she had a schoolgirl crush on Eli. That was fine. She would be okay with that. A schoolgirl crush meant she could dream and fantasize about him and there was no harm in that. She could fantasize about his full lips on hers, again, sucking on her bottom lip as his hands wandered all over her body. She could fantasize about him undressing her, kissing each body part as it became exposed to him. She could fantasize about wrapping her legs around his waist as he moved inside her, pressing his body against hers, as he hungrily took her mouth with his and…

“
You’re somewhere and it’s not here…” Eli whispered in her ear.

Simone blinked twice and straightened out her posture. She could smell Eli’s cologne and hated how close he was to her once again, making her stomach wrap in tight knots and her heart race a mile a minute. She also hated the desire that formed in her sex and spread throughout her body. “I was thinking about something.” She kept her gaze straight ahead.

Eli pulled up a stool and sat next to her. “Do tell,” he insisted.

Hell, no.
Simone turned her attention to Eli and locked eyes with him. His hazel eyes were always warm and inviting, open to anyone and everyone. She noticed how serious they were, hanging on her words and silently demanding a response. The problem was they both knew Simone was going to give him one, whether she wanted to or not—a trait all of the D’Amato brothers shared.
Those damn D’Amatos…
“I was thinking about the future.”

“
Good? Bad?” He pressed.

“
I’m going to make you swallow my cum, Moni,” Eli whispered as he fucked her mouth with his cock. He forcefully pulled her hair and pistoned in and out of her hot mouth. “You suck me so fucking good. You’re my dirty little slut, aren’t you, boo?”
Simone blinked the fantasy out of her head and tried to speak but was too tongue-tied. “Um…um…”

“
That bad, huh?” Eli smiled at her. “So bad you can’t tell an old friend?”

Simone let out a quiet breath and took another sip of her margarita. Eli was just a crush. A simple, no-harm, no-foul crush. He was also a married man. A
happily
married man who was faithful to his wife and devoted to his young son. She would need to keep reminding herself of that. “I’m not sure yet.”

Eli placed a hand on Simone’s thigh and leaned closer to her. “I’m sure whatever it is, you’ll come to the right decision.” He smiled.

Please get your hand off my thigh.
He was touching her. His hands were warm. They were gentle and firm. They were protective. She wanted him to move his hand a few inches toward the middle and feel the heat he created between her thighs. She also wanted Eli to get the hell away from her before they did something they both would regret. “I hope so, too.”

The sound of the rain pounding against the window awoke Faith from her sleep. She slowly blinked her eyes open and stared outside. They slept with the window cracked open and the air smelled clean, crisp, and fresh. She inhaled a deep breath and let it fill up her lungs. She loved the smell of rain. It always reminded her Mother Nature was washing away the ugly to prepare for the pretty.

Mother Nature had a lot of washing to do, apparently. It was awful and really coming down. It was going to take forever to get to work. She knew some clients were going to cancel and reschedule. That was fine by her. Normally she would be annoyed by the inconvenience and loss of income but it wasn’t an issue. If she didn’t have to go in to work that morning, she would just stay home. But as the owner and head stylist of MillionHair, she didn’t have that luxury. She needed to be at the shop. She needed to handle the circus her stylists/best friends created each time they all got together.

It was never a question on what Faith wanted to do for the rest of her life. Some people were meant to be doctors, lawyers, teachers, and politicians. Faith? She knew she wanted to style hair. She would study hairstyle magazines and do her best to recreate the same vision. When she went with her mother to the salon, she would watch the hairstylists and take notes, studying their technique.

Every week she did something wild and different to her hair, much to the chagrin of her parents. Whether it was a short pixie do, a weave down to her butt, or multicolored braids, Faith loved experimenting with hair. It didn’t matter the texture or shape; the more heads she did in a day, the better she mastered them.

She started to move out of the bed when her husband grabbed her waist and pulled her back. “Mmm…” he purred. “Where are you going, baby girl?”

“
Bathroom, baby.” Faith peeled his arms from her waist. “I’ll be right back.”

“
Hurry up,” Eli yawned, “I have morning wood I don’t want to waste.”

Faith turned back towards her husband. “You are so nasty, Eli.”

“
You know you love it.” He removed the covers and revealed he was telling the truth. “Hurry up and come back.”

Faith smiled seeing her husband’s cock bouncing in anticipation. “Oh, you’re damn right I’ll be right back.” She hurried to the bathroom and did her business. She removed her boy shorts and tank top, leaving them on the floor. She went back into the bedroom and crawled on the bed. “Are we ready to go?”

“
Just one sec,” Eli reached over to the nightstand and grabbed a breath spray. He sprayed his breath and then sprayed his wife’s. “Now we’re good to go.” He pulled Faith closer to him and cradled her in his arms as she straddled his waist. Their lips repeatedly met each other, their tongues dancing and eagerly wanting more. Faith ground against her husband, anxious to feel his cock deep inside her but loving the tease the mushroom tip was giving her wet slit.

After a few brief moments of teasing, Eli adjusted his position and slid inside his wife. She felt so hot, so wet, and so tight. Every thrust he made, it felt like her walls clenched tighter around his cock, taunting him to move faster, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to do it without exploding. Still, it was a risk Eli was willing to take. He loved nothing more than being with his wife, making love to her in every imaginable position. And when their son was asleep, it was an added bonus.

Faith leaned over on her husband and captured his lips with hers. She softly bounced on his cock as he guided her, his hands caressing her ass. It took some time to get used to his size and Faith could admit some positions did hurt. But the pleasure of easing up and down on her husband’s long and thick shaft erased all fears. Her channel welcomed him time and time again and Faith was blessed she was married to man with both length and girth.