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“Your bucket list for fucking. You said you wanted to do it in a car, on a plane, on a train, riding a bicycle, during a game of tennis—”
I laugh. “I did not list all those, and that’s not why I’m here. Swear. I think about you when we’re apart, and I never know exactly where to picture you.” I glance around the office. There’s nothing on the walls, a couple second-hand-looking chairs, and a messy desk. “Now I know.”
“I’ve never gotten around to decorating.” She nods at a small couch against the wall behind me. “Just some pillows.”
“Now you’ll have flowers too.” I walk over and take the roses from her, pricking myself with a thorn. Damn it. “I think you should display them on Benny’s desk so everyone can enjoy them.”
“By everyone, do you mean Rich?” she asks.
Busted. “Nah. You look beautiful, by the way.”
She rolls her eyes. “I told you I’d handle him.”
“I know. I’m just checking on things like a good boyfriend.”
Halston scratches the inside of her elbow, absentmindedly, sluggishly, as if she’s thinking. I didn’t think she’d like me checking up on her, it sounds like a Dad move, but I’m willing to take the heat if it means getting Rich off her back. She sighs. “Look. My dad doesn’t know about us. He’s protective. I’ll tell him when the time’s right.”
I kiss her on the forehead, no small feat since she’s in flats today and barely comes up to my chest. I get it. I’m a dad myself. And if he cares about his daughter the way I do mine, the way I care about Halston, I’d feel the same. “Don’t worry about it. You said you had some e-mails to send?”
“I can do it later.”
“It’s fine. I’ll use the restroom while you finish up.”
“Okay.” She gives me directions, but I’m not listening. I turn to leave her office. “You’re taking the roses?” she asks.
“You ever been in a men’s bathroom?” I ask. “I need somewhere to stick my face. The smell alone—”
“Yuck.” She waves her hands. “I don’t need details.”
I exit her office, close the door behind me, and walk no more than five steps. “What’s the deal?” I ask Benny.
She looks up at me and blinks. “Sorry?”
“With Rich. Is he causing problems for her?”
“I don’t . . . I’m not—”
“What are those?” I ask, walking around her desk. On the corner is a vase with—that fucker—vibrant purple and white roses complemented by baby’s breath and lavender.
“They’re mine,” she says.
I read the card. “This says Love, Rich.”
“We’re in love,” she says and then shudders. “Nope. I can’t even say it without getting the creeps.”
I ball my fist into my other hand. “Call him.”
“What?”
“Rich. Call him down here. Tell him it’s important.” I’m not sure how Halston will react to me confronting Rich, but at the moment, I don’t care. I was blindsided when Sadie chose Nathan, and this time, I intend to know what I’m up against.
I can see Benny doesn’t want to make the call, but she does. After she hangs up, she says, “He’s coming.”
“Don’t mention it to Halston.” I pick up Rich’s vase and hand it to her. “Trash these flowers. We need the vase for mine.”
She gets up slowly, glancing at Halston’s office door. “Oh-kay . . .”
“I’ll hang onto this,” I say about my bouquet as she leaves.
I settle against the edge of Benny’s desk, cross my arms, and wait. I trust Halston. I don’t trust this guy. I’m not even sure how I feel about her dad from what I’ve heard. Halston is with me now, and I’m not going to sit back while Rich tries to sneak back in.
I spot him weaving through the cubicles. I know it’s him. He looks younger than me—that’s a point in my column as far as I’m concerned. Halston isn’t just any girl. She’s a lot to handle and worth the effort. Her dad couldn’t do it, so he put her on drugs. Rich couldn’t do it, so he convinced her to stay on them.
He slows down when he sees me, his eyes darting between my face and the roses.
“Rich?” I ask, in case he’s thinking of retreating.
He frowns. “Yeah? Who are you?”
I set the bouquet on the desk beside me. They’ve served their purpose. I wait until he’s close enough that we won’t make a scene. “I’m Finn. Halston’s boyfriend.”
“She doesn’t have a boyfriend,” he says right away. “Well, she did, and still kind of does, and it’s me.”
“Kind of?” I have to take a deep breath to keep from raising my voice. This guy needs to get a clue, and I guess I’ll have to give it to him. “What exactly does that mean? Be precise. Does she know she’s your girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
I shake my head. “Try again.”
He stands up straighter. “Look, I don’t know who you are—”
“I’m Finn.”
“Okay, but—”
“Listen, I don’t have a lot of time.” I scratch my jaw, fucking itchy stubble. “Halston tells me you’ve been coming around lately, trying to talk your way back into her life, bringing her shitty flowers. That stops here. Today.”
“Does she know you’re talking to me?”
“Not your business. Your business is this.” I hold up a finger and count off. “One—she’s not with you anymore. Two—she’s with me. Three—it’s over between you.”
He narrows his eyes. “You don’t know shit about my relationship.”
“Oh, hang on. There’s another.” I put up a fourth finger. “Stay the fuck away from her.” I stand, and he seems about half my size. “If she tells me again that you bothered her about anything not work related, I’ll come back, and I won’t be so pleasant. See, I’m in a pretty great mood at the moment, because I’ve got the prettiest fucking girl around on my arm. But if you try to take her from me, my mood will change.”
“Do I want her back?” he asks. “Yes. But that’s the only part of the story you have right. As far as anyone in this office knows, as far as anyone in her life knows, I’m her boyfriend. Ask her. Her dad wants us together, and he always gets what he wants.”
“Bullshit.”
“Are you coming to her house for Christmas?” he asks.
I close my mouth. Christmas is four days away. I’ve avoided the topic, which has been easy since she hasn’t brought it up, either.
“I didn’t think so,” he says. “Because I’ll be there.”
Frustration tightens my muscles. He’s just trying to get under my skin. There’s no way Halston’s spending Christmas with her ex. “I didn’t call you here to make holiday plans. I’m telling you to back off.”
“But—”
“You should go. Now.”
He looks behind me at Halston’s office. “We just want what’s best for her.”
By we, I think he’s lumping himself in with her dad. It might take some effort to win her father over, but I’m up for the task. Rich, though? He’s gotta go. “So do I,” I say with a dismissive nod.
He leaves. I wait until he’s out of sight, stand, and return into Halston’s office. She’s putting on her coat, so I help her into it. “Benny’s taking care of the roses.”
She rises onto the balls of her feet, and I bend my head to kiss her. “Thank you,” she says. “The red ones are my favorite.”
I win. Lavender-boy loses. On some level, I must’ve known that. Red roses lure you in with beauty and passion, which is w
hy they suit Halston so well. Can they hurt you? Yes. If you don’t know how to handle them.
Beautiful things should be that way, difficult to get to, to touch.
Otherwise it’d be too easy for people to destroy them.
I’ve sprouted a human vine. I’m sprawled out on the mattress, Halston intertwined with me. Her leg must be double-jointed or something, because it seems to wrap around mine twice. Her head rests on my arm, so I do a bicep curl that brings her mouth to mine. “You good?” I ask.
She nods breathlessly. “So good.”
Sex is a drug for us, plain and simple. It’s true for me, and it’s definitely true for her. Over the last few weeks she’s stopped drinking so much coffee. I’ll put a mug in front of her, and she’ll barely look up from her phone. Or she’ll take a sip, straddle my lap at the kitchen table, and forget all about it.
I stroke her hair off her face until her panting subsides. It’s only ten o’clock at night. Before her, I read every night before bed, or my mind would keep me up into early morning hours. Luckily, great sex and great books have the same soothing effect.
She runs a hand through my chest hair. “This is nice.”
“What would you normally be doing now?” I ask. “If you were at your apartment. Before me?”
“Hmm. I can’t remember a time before you.”
I chuckle. “Twenty-five years, wiped out just like that.”
She gets up on an elbow to look down at me. “I seriously can’t remember. My apartment feels like another planet right now. I guess I’d probably be watching Netflix or playing with my phone.”
“Do you like to read?”
“Depends. I kept books at Rich’s. When I stayed there, he usually read before bed.” She grimaces. “Sorry if that’s weird.”
I shake my head, trying to be cool. It’s good for me to hear about Rich. Know your enemy and all that. I haven’t decided if I should bring up my conversation with him yesterday. There wasn’t even supposed to be a conversation. If it weren’t for his last comment about Christmas, I’d leave it. “What’s he like? Rich?”
