“Thank you for telling me. Shit, Sutton, you said Lainey was there? Did she see her? Does she know, or did you tell her about Cora?” I ask in a rush.
“No, Rem! I told you, I tried my best to kind of brush it off. I told the girls that I thought I saw a weird ex of mine. Then we went and had dinner. It is not my place to tell Lainey about your past. I wouldn’t do that.” She sighs.
“Alright.” I slam my truck door and carry in my bags of groceries. “Thank you for telling me. Warning me. Hopefully I don’t see her. Hopefully she stays the hell away from me.”
Sutton lets out a weak chuckle. “She will if she knows what’s good for her.”
“Love you, Sut. Call me if you need me, okay?”
“Love you too, little brother.” She loves to call me that, even though she has the age difference and I tower over her in stature.
I hang up my phone and stare at the bags of food, lost in thought. Finally I notice the extras that I purchased and the Popsicles.Shit.I hurry and put all my stuff away, toss Ryder’s stuff back in my truck, and head off to his place a few blocks over to do a surprise drop-off of supplies. One small mention of Cora and my plans and my head are all screwed up.
Except her being back in town doesn’t feel small. It feels like an ominous cloud coming right for me, and the only thing that will make me feel better is my own personal ray of sunshine ... Lainey.
17
Lainey
Iswing open my apartment door to the most handsome man I have ever laid eyes on. Remington is wearing a fitted black T-shirt, dark-wash jeans, the same boots he wore on our first date, and a sexy grin. In his hands he’s holding “Tulips,” I say with a smile, welcoming him in.
“Hi, beautiful.” Remington wastes no time once I shut the door. He drops the flowers on my little blue entry table and scoops me into his arms. His lips are on mine instantly. Soft, warm, hungry. I lean deeper into him and a low rumble vibrates through his chest. Before things get more heated, he pulls back and I can feel the pout on my face. Remington’s deep laugh snaps my eyes open to see him smiling down at me. “Jesus, I missed you,” he says tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear, then running his thumb slowly across my jaw.
“I missed you too, more than I should probably admit,” I whisper.
“Why should you not tell me that? I just told you the same thing.” Remington runs his hands down my arms slowly and back up again making me shiver.
“I don’t want you to think that I am needy or clingy orwhatever,” I say, looking away from him in embarrassment, and with the whispers of past partners’ voices plucking my memory.
“Lainey, look at me, please,” he says gently. “I like that you think about me as much as I am thinking about you. That we miss each other. That we are excited to see each other. That we want to spend time together. Okay?”
“Okay.” I nod, looking directly into his handsome face. “Thank you.”
He gives me a soft, sweet kiss, and hands me the tulips he brought. “So you know these ones, huh?” Remington smiles at me with mischievous playfulness.
“I don’t live under a rock, I do knowsomeflower names, Remington,” I say with a heavy dose of sass, which makes his smile grow impossibly wider over his straight white teeth.
“I know you don’t live under a rock,” he laughs, “but I also have to cover all my flower bases here. So today is tulips. They can symbolize lots of things, but I picked them as a representation of happiness.”
I run my fingers along the silky purple petals and ask, “Oh yeah? Why is that?”
“Because nothing makes me happier than being able to spend time with you. I have not been able to stop thinking about when I’d see you next after you left me with that pie. Which, by the way, was the best pie I have ever had. I had to fight off the guys to keep them from eating it. Normally we share food, but there was no way I was going to let them have that one. Although freaking Eli did get one forkful, and his eyes rolled back in his head, so I think you have a fan for life out of him.” Remington is laughing, picturing his best friend. I can’t even imagine all the trouble those two have gotten into together.
“I’m really happy you liked it.” I can feel blush on my skin growing from the heat of his eyes on me.
“It was the perfect pie,” he says taking my hand, kissing the scar on my wrist, and leading me over to the couch. “I heard that you got to meet my sister?”
“I did,” I tell him excitedly. “I hope that’s okay? We hit it off when I went to her store with Kendra, and then we all had pizza. She asked to be the one to tell you for some reason, and I said that was fine.” It was hard for me not to tell Remington about being with his sister. I want to just tell him everything. He makes it easy to be open and honest. Not telling him about Sutton felt weird, but she insisted on talking to him.
“Yeah, she called me, and it’s great that you are getting to know each other. I knew that you would hit it off and be friends. My sister is awesome and one of my favorite people. She also wanted to talk to me first about something that happened in the store,” Remington says, sounding a little nervous.
“I didn’t do anything to upset Sutton, did I?” I try to think back to our afternoon together and start picking over each moment in my memories.
“Of course not!” Remington puts his hand on my thigh, and I feel the heat of his palm travel up my entire body. My mind wonders what it would feel like to have his hands roam all over my bare skin, and another shiver sends goose bumps rippling all over me. Slowly rubbing his thumb in circles, and being very distracting, Remington keeps talking. “Sutton wanted to tell me about something that she saw at the store when you were there.”
“Oh, yeah. She looked really worried. I thought she might pass out. She said she thought she saw an old ex-boyfriend through the window or something, and it kind of freaked her out. Is she okay? They aren’t bothering her, are they?” I ask.
“No, Sutton’s fine, and she didn’t see one of her exes through the window. She actually sawmy ex, and she didn’t tell you because she wanted me to bethe one to be able to talk to you about my past when I was ready. But if she really is around town, and I hope she isn’t, I wanted you to know.” Remington is tense all over. Not the charming, relaxed man that strolled in a few minutes ago. I can tell this is not a conversation he wants to have.
