I grab my sweater off the floor and hand him his undershirt reluctantly, beating back a wail of despair when he pulls it over his head. When I finish pulling on my boots, I stand and lean into him again. His eyes are soft as he embraces me, and my heart swells.
“Let’s leave in, like, five more minutes,” I propose, gazing up at him with some bedroom eyes of my own.
“Don’t tempt me.” He gives my butt a warning squeeze. “Let’s go, Goldilocks.”
“Wait, one thing.” I grab his sweater before he can put it back on. “I’m taking this. I’m... cold.”
He shakes his head, amused. “And you call me a stalker.”
Chapter 24
There’s a bouquet of blush-colored peonies on my desk when I get to work on Monday.
I squint at them, confused. It’s not my birthday. No work victories to celebrate.Who would send me flowers?
Ben.It has to be. A teasing nod to my drunken flower rant.Very funny.They’re beautiful, I’ll give him that. Peonies are my favorite.Who has he been talking to?I shake my head as I lean forward to smell them, and that’s when I figure it out.
They’re fake. Incredibly realistic-looking, but definitely fake.
I howl in amusement. There’s a small white envelope peeking out from underneath the vase and I extract the note with shaking fingers.
Hassle-free. Require no work or effort. Will never stink and will live forever. Also:nicestrikingbeautiful, like you.
I beam at his note like a lovesick teenager, then scurry to my window and peer across the fishbowl. Ben’s at his desk, eyes glued to his computer screen. I start to wave, then feel like a moron when he doesn’t look up. I grab my phone instead and hitCALL.
I watch him look at his phone, then glance out the window. I wave, and he breaks into such a massive, genuine grin, I want to slingshot myself across the atrium.
He answers as he rises out of his chair and heads to the window. “Hey, you.”
God, he has a sexy phone voice. It’s deep and throaty and totally obscene.
“Hey, yourself. So, flowers, huh?”
“I took a chance,” he says, and I can both see and hear the smile in his voice. “All part of those traditional rules of courtship you so politely requested. You like them?”
“I love them. They’re perfect. Thank you.”You get me like no one else does.
He blinks in surprise. I think he was expecting sarcasm. “So, good surprise, then? That’s a relief. Could’ve gone either way.”
I laugh and feel a flush sweep up my neck. I can see the fire in his eyes from fifty yards away. It’s a weird thing, watching someone while you talk to them on the phone. Like the strangest form of foreplay.
“I’m not even going to ask how you found out I like peonies.”
He smiles. “I have my ways. Let me take you to lunch today.”
He looks at me expectantly and I take a moment to appreciate the view. He has one arm drawn tight across his chest, making his biceps appear even more ginormous than usual. His legs are planted in a stance that should be displayed in the dictionary underswagger. He looks mouthwatering.
“I wish I could, but I have a lunch meeting. Dinner?”
“Of course I have a dinner meeting.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Can’t wait that long.”
“Flatterer.” I squint at him and tap my finger against my lips.
“Don’t do that.”
