Page 26 of Sullivan

I glanced over at the paper flower on my desk. Why I had brought it with me, I didn’t know, but I liked seeing it there. Waking up with Sully gone made me wistful, which seemed strange since we were so new. But somehow, in a few short days, I had gotten used to him being beside me when I woke.

I had sat up in bed, realizing I needed to get ready to head into the office, and noticed the little flower. I picked it up, amazed at the sweet offering, knowing Sully must have made it before he left. It was a romantic, fanciful gesture, and it made my heart flutter. As did the short note he added.

Mo fhiadh beag,

I will miss you today.

Thank you for the best weekend I can recall.

I look forward to many more of them.

Yours,

Sully

I recalled the alarm of first seeing him. Then discovering I wasn’t in danger, but still uncomfortable. He was serious. Stern. Intense.

And then he had teased me. Smiled. It transformed his face.

I discovered the man behind the lawyer. The gentle, sexy, sweet side. The passionate nature hidden under the brooding exterior.

And I liked it. More than liked it. I liked him. Very much. In fact, I’d go so far as to say⁠—

“Hey.”

The sound of Bonnie’s voice cut through my thoughts, and I glanced up. “Oh, hi.”

She came in, sitting across from me with a grimace. “So I think your weekend at the cottage was all about snow and wind instead of walks on the cool beach?”

I laughed, pushing my hair over my shoulder. Another damn clip had broken this morning. I needed to get to a drugstore—or a chemist, as they called it—and buy more. My hair needed a good cut as well and to get thinned out. It was getting wild.

“I got a few walks in before the storm hit.”

“I am so sorry. I hadn’t heard a storm was blowing in until long after you got there.”

I waved my hand. “No worries. I was fine. I had food, heat, and lots of good…” I stumbled over my words. “…books to read. The view was still incredible, and the break was awesome.”

“You weren’t frightened?”

I thought about the moment Sully burst through the door and the terror that had overwhelmed me. But I only smiled and shook my head. “No, I felt perfectly safe.”

“Good.” She sat back with a laugh. “I spoke with Sully this morning. He said he’d actually taken the weekend off. Can you imagine if he had shown up? What a comedy sketch that would have been! The two of you trapped together in that little cottage during a snowstorm.” She cackled merrily. “Like a bad rom-com.”

I swallowed, pushing my hair back again, suddenly nervous. Bonnie frowned. “What is that mark on your neck?”

“Wh-what?”

“You have a bruise. A couple of them. Did you get hurt?”

I shut my eyes, knowing I had to tell her. “No. But there is something I need⁠—”

One of the managers appeared in my doorway. “Bonnie, you’re needed in Rex’s office right away.”

“What now?” she groaned.

“He’s having a meltdown over some new implementation.”

She stood. “Okay. Sorry, Autumn, we’ll have to continue this later.”