“She never behaves like this,” Mrs.Fuhrman said, taking her time walking over.She had curlers in her hair, slippers on her feet and a robe cinched around her middle.“She saw the moving guy and forced open the front door.I shouted at her, but I couldn’t come over until I put a robe on.I’m so sorry, Lara.Are you all right?Suzy-Q, get down right now!”
The dog happily did so, and she crushed the flowers beneath her bear-sized paw.
“It was a much better idea in theory,” Connor said.
“It was perfect.”
He attached Suzy-Q’s leash and gave the dog back to Mrs.Fuhrman.
“I think she wants to adopt you,” Mrs.Fuhrman said before walking away.“Sometimes dogs do that, you know.”
Suddenly, it was just her and Connor.She leaned against the doorjamb, uncertain what to think, what to say, how to proceed.
He picked up the bouquet.Some of the petals fell off and several of the heads had been severed.A few blooms drooped over the side of the protective cellophane.
He offered it to her.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever had a more perfect gift.”She accepted it and pressed it against her chest.“Thank you.”
“Can I come in?”
She hesitated.“If this is about the communications deal, it’s probably best if we meet at work.”
“It’s about us.”
Her heart seemed to stop beating.She held the bouquet so close she crushed the few remaining perfect blooms.
“I’ll stand out here all night, if you want.”
“Okay,” she said.It might be the only way to preserve her sanity.When he stood close, her resolve melted.
As if they were a shield, she kept the flowers between them.
“I went to see your father.”
“You did…?Why?”
“To ask for your hand in marriage.”
She stared at him.She’d heard words come out of his mouth, but she was sure they’d been in the wrong order.Or maybe she’d heard what she wanted to hear instead of what he’d actually said.“What?Why?”Her emotions slammed into one another—doubt, fear, distrust, each made her reel a little harder.
“Erin came to see me.She handed me my ass.”
“Chicks before dicks,” she said.
“And I…?”
“You are not a chick.I’ll let you work out the rest.”
“I deserve that.”
“Take it however you want.”
“Then Julien Bonds came to town.”
“Did you tell him he’ll have to deal with you on the patents?”
“We didn’t discuss them,” he replied.“We talked about you.”
