Page 89 of Chasing the Dream

And nothing says “I’m sorry for being a dork” like a bouquet of chocolate! “I like that idea.”

“Great. Would you like dark chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate with nuts, white chocolate, a mix…”

A Reese’s would have been so much easier. Although, come to think of it, a traditional Hershey bar might be her favorite. There was his answer. “Milk chocolate,” he said, feeling proud of himself for remembering.

“Okay. How many chocolates would you like in the bouquet?”

He was starting to get a headache. Was chocolate a good cure for headaches? Or was it heartaches?

He shrugged. “I’ll let you be the judge.”

She smiled, and he wondered if he’d just agreed to spend hundreds of dollars on chocolate.

“One last question.”

Thank God!

“Would you like an equal amount of hearts and flowers or just one kind?”

He hesitated. “Let’s go with all flowers.” Hearts symbolized love, and he wasn’t ready to go there yet.

“Give me about ten minutes, and I’ll have it ready for you. There’s a nice gift shop next door, if you have some more shopping to do.”

Is she trying to tell me that chocolate won’t be enough? Glancing around, he noticed that a couple of women were snickering, and he had a feeling they’d overheard the entire conversation. “Thanks. I’ll be back,” he said and quickly exited the shop.

I’m so out of practice with this, he thought as he went into the gift shop. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d bought a gift for a woman other than Maria or his mom. In his mind, buying gifts for a woman meant he was serious about her, and that hadn’t happened in a long time. So, why now?

After perusing the gift shop, which was filled with trinkets and cheesy souvenirs, he decided the chocolates would have to suffice. He went back to the chocolate shop and saw the bouquet sitting on the counter.

“Here you are. How do you like it?” the clerk asked.

“Very nice. Thank you.”

The woman had magically turned a handful of chocolates into an impressive display. She’d mounted the chocolate flowers on plastic sticks that she’d placed in a small, decorative vase to resemble actual flowers. Imitation greenery and red roses filled in the space between the chocolates, and she’d tied a large red bow around the vase. He had a feeling Morgan would love it.

“That’ll be fifty dollars,” the woman said cheerily.

Fifty dollars! It was a far cry from a drugstore candy bar, but Morgan was worth every penny. He took out his credit card and handed it over.

After she’d processed the payment, she said, “Would you like a blank card to put with it? It’s free.”

I should hope so since I just spent fifty bucks. “Sure.”

He walked out with the gift and wondered when he should give it to her. He couldn’t present it to her at the office without arousing suspicion, and he didn’t want to give it to her in front of Maria. So much for there not being any complications. How long could he and Morgan expect to hide their relationship? Relationship? Was that what this was? If she were some other woman, he wouldn’t be worried about defining it. Hell, he probably wouldn’t be buying fifty dollars’ worth of chocolate either!

When he got home, he sat down at the kitchen table with the blank card the woman had given him. He stared at it, willing the words to automatically appear. He sucked at this romance thing. Wait a minute. Romance? Where had that come from? This was supposed to be about sex, not romance. He was an even bigger dork than he’d thought!

While he was ruminating over that, his phone buzzed. It was a text from Morgan with attachments.

Couldn’t decide what to wear tomorrow. What’s your vote?

She’d sent two selfies. In one, she was wearing a form-fitting skirt with a slit up one side and a body-hugging short-sleeved top tucked into it. In the other, she was wearing one of those long, flowy dresses that hid her curves and showed almost no skin.

He swallowed hard and typed his vote. The skirt.

That was quick!

It was an easy decision.