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Halfway to her office,Tracey, the receptionist, caught up. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Hayden, but there’s a delivery here for Baker.”
Me? I hadn’t ordered anything.
“Meet me in my office,” Hayden said before she hustled off.
I was nauseous by the time we reached the front desk. A spray of wildflowers in a glass vase sat atop.
“Those are for you.”
“They are?”
I approached the flowers with caution, like they were a trick of some sort. A card was nestled in the bouquet. Tentatively, I reached for it.
We agreed to lunch, but I was hoping we could have dinner too.
Holt. When had he had time to do this?
Balancing the vase in one hand, I pressed my phone to my ear.
“Easy.”
“They’re beautiful. Thank you.”
“Does that mean we’re on?”
“We’re on. But lunch might be off.”
“Oh?” His disappointment tugged on my heart.
“Hayden wants me to shadow her this morning, which means it could turn into all day.”
“We can do it tomorrow then.”
“No,” I said quickly. “I mean, I want to try today, but—”
“You’re a busy woman. Just let me know.”
“The flowers. They made my day.” I set them on my desk and admired the bright colors. Usually, I’d be in bed on this day, reliving the pain. Holt had made it easier to bear and didn’t even know it.
“I’m glad. I’ll either see you at lunch or see you at home.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Holt
Can you do 2?
The text turnedaround my sour mood in an instant. It was after noon. I’d already resigned myself to the fact we wouldn’t get to do lunch. Now that it was on, I whistled as I changed the battery on a Ford Taurus.
I’d spent the night with Baker—I spent every night with her. Shared coffee this morning, walked her to the train. It still wasn’t enough. I wanted lunch with her and had no logical reason why. Although if I was honest with myself, it did make sense. Baker had shown more loyalty and genuine concern for me than I’d ever experienced before outside my family. Even Celia hadn’t ever connected with me so instinctively. I never let her see the real me, but I’d loved her superficially. And she allowed that. Whereas Baker demanded more of me, and gave more to me as well.
Meet me at the new garage. I’ll bring the food.
That earned me a thumbs up emoji followed by a big smiley face. I checked the time again. Only three minutes had passed. Ninety more to go.
“Holt?”
Baker’s voice echoed through the empty space.
