Page 21 of The Scent of Salt & Sand

Nana was a genius. Or, at least over a bottle of homemade limoncello she’d seemed like a genius. But now, in daylight, and with Dean sober and standing in the middle of a florist shop, he was having second thoughts.

“Officer Dean, you stop that worrying!” The woman who owned Flush Floral patted him absently on the arm.

“Are you sure I chose the right flower? Nana said it was important,” Dean said.

“Of course the right flower is important! Your Nana is a wise woman. Okay, once more, tell me why you chose gardenias for your Melody.”

“She’s not my Melody,” Dean corrected.

“Not yet maybe, but I have a feeling it’s only a matter of time. Now, why gardenias?”

Dean sighed and traced the broad, glossy, dark green leaves of the potted plant. Even through his nerves he had to admit that the fragrance of the white flowers was intoxicating. He just hoped Melody would think so too.

“Dean?”

“Oh, right. Sorry, Mia. My mind’s wandering a lot lately.”

“A sure sign that you’re in love!” She grinned at him.

He hunched his shoulders. “Okay, gardenia because I was instructed to find a flower that reminded me of Melody, and this one does.”

“Because…” Mia prompted.

“Because gardenias are beautiful and temperamental, but strong. They’ll thrive if you give them everything they need to grow. And I have a feeling that’s a lot like Melody. The leaves are really close to the color of her eyes, and the scent—” Dean paused and breathed deeply. “The scent is like Melody—unique and intoxicating.”

“Perfect. And you got the fact sheet I gave you about them, right?”

“Right. And you’re ready for the rest of my plan if everything goes the way I hope it will later today, right? It’s kind of detailed. I have a lot of weeks planned out.”

“Officer Dean,” Mia patted his arm again, “I do surprises for a living. Trust me. I’ll have the first delivery to your Melody within the hour. The rest is up to you. Now go!”

Dean went. He had about an hour, which was just enough time to get done the rest of what he needed to do. He’d learned that he needed to seduce Melody’s mind before he tried to jump her bones. Jump her bones had been Nana’s way of putting it. He’d tried to argue with the savvy old woman, but she’d skewered him with blue eyes that were so much like his that he could never hide anything from her.

“Did you not tell me she fled your attentions at the end of your date?”

He’d had to admit—again—that Nana was right. Everything had been going really well until one kiss had turned into another and another and she’d fled.

“Fine, Nana. I hear you. I’ll seduce her mind. But what the hell does that actually mean?”

“Language, Dean Alessandro. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Mental seduction. The concept is simple. The application of the concept, perhaps not so simple. Here is what you must strive to do—you must make her feel as if, in every room she enters, she is the best-loved woman there. If you can make her feel like that, your life together will be magnificent.”

Bittersweet memories had darkened Nana’s lined face.

“You miss him a lot, don’t you?”

His Nana had smiled with such brilliance that beauty blazed through the years to make her look, for a moment, like a young girl in love again. “Yes, I miss your grandfather every day. But I have my memories of the fifty-two wonderful years we spent together. Your grandfather seduced my mind—and then I happily invited him to seduce the rest of me.” Her eyes glittered mischievously.

“So, tell me how he did it. Uh, but not too graphically.”

Nana giggled girlishly and sipped her limoncello, considering. “I think at the heart of it was the fact that my Alessandro made me feel as if he thought I was the most fascinating person he’d ever met. He was interested in me, not just my body parts. He showed me, day after day, year after year, that he cared about my thoughts, my desires, my dreams, and because I knew he cared about me like that, I knew our love would last.”

Her nostalgia warmed him. “And it did last.”

“You are very like your grandfather. I know you can do this—you can show Melody that your love is deep and strong enough to last.”

So, Dean had set out to seduce Melody’s mind.

He was going to send her flowers. Lots of flowers. But not make the “mistake most idiota men make when sending women flowers,” as Nana had said, referring to the generic bouquets of red roses men purchase on autopilot when they’re in trouble, just out of trouble, or worried about getting in future trouble. “To make it meaningful, choose a flower that represents Melody, and then find unusual ways to gift her with that flower. She’ll know you put thought into it, and that will make her put more thought into you.”