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“He didn’t say. But I’m guessing he’s the one who sent you all the gorgeous arrangements. I had them brought into your office.”
I moved around the corner, and she was right behind me. There was a nameplate on the wall outside my office that read:Georgia Reynolds, Creative Director.
My breath lodged in my throat when I stepped inside to see the white desk, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that ran along one wall, and every open surface was covered with a floral arrangement.
I needed a minute.
I was confused and tired and suddenly feeling angry that the man just kept sending flowers that I didn’t care about instead of showing up and talking to me.
“I’m just going to get settled in here. Thanks for everything.”
She smiled. “Should I bring you a cup of coffee?”
“I’m okay for now, but thank you.” I closed the door, desperate for a minute alone.
It hurt that everyone was asking about him, and they all expected me to know where he was.
Because he was my boyfriend, after all.
And the man that I loved.
He didn’t get to just run away from me every time he was scared.
I picked up my phone and let out a long breath.
Hey. Stop sending the arrangements. Enough flowers have been sacrificed for the fact that you’re too cowardly to tell me what’s going on.
And, of course, you aren’t going to answer. That’s your thing, right? Well, I’m done with this ridiculous situation.
Yes, it was scary. I hate that our first Valentine’s Day together is tainted by all the trauma that went on. But you don’t see me running away, do you?
I died. You brought me back. We’re all good. Get over it.
I’m throwing all the flowers in the garbage. I’m not accepting another delivery until you speak to me.
I spent the next few hours going through emails and reading a few submissions.
“Hey,” Sydney said as she stood in the doorway. “We ordered takeout in honor of your first day back. Can you sneak away for lunch now?”
She glanced around the room at the floral arrangements and gasped. I hadn’t lived up to the threat of throwing them in the garbage. That was just me having a meltdown. “I would never have guessed Maddox Lancaster was such a romantic guy. He always seems so intimidating and grumpy to everyone else. But with you…” She moved to one of the arrangements and leaned down to smell the peonies. “He’s just so different with you.”
“In what way?” I asked because I needed a reminder at the moment.
“It’s something that’s hard to explain. But you know how we both love our romance books?”
“Yes.”
“Well, the hero is always so consumed by the heroine, right? That’s what we love so much. And that’s how Maddox is with you. It’s like no one else exists.” She shrugged as she walked toward the door. “We were all imagining that he was glued to your side when you were in the hospital, and no one knew if you were going to wake up or not. That must have been terrifying for him. You know, when you realize you’ve found your person and then you think you might have lost them… Ahhh… I can’t imagine.”
I thought about her words as I followed her down the stairs. My chest was heavy, and I stopped in the lounge where they had pizza and salads set up. There was a cake that read:Welcome Back!It had an ice skate on it with a big red X, which actually made me chuckle for the first time since I thought about the accident.
My father had done some digging and found out that a kid had taken his snowmobile on the ice earlier that day, and someone had reported him to the park district, and he’d been cited. But they hadn’t made it out to check the ice for safety yet.
Not many people went out there, so unfortunately, I’d most likely been the first person to step out on the ice after.
I hadn’t had much of an appetite since I’d returned home from the hospital, but I picked at my pizza and tried hard to focus on the conversation.
But my mind kept wandering to Maddox.
