“That’s a lot of babies all at once,” he says. “What aboutyour assistant? In the Hamptons, I overheard you talk about your business.”
I can’t believe that a year later he’d remember that about me. “We had made the decision at the beginning that the three of us—Ellen, Qi, and I—would man the silk flower business. There was no budget for staff. My assistant accepted a job in Arizona and moved there.”
“You don’t have that many people you can rely on?”
“I don’t.”
He twists his empty beer tankard on the table. “You’ve dealt with a lot of distressing and traumatic events in the past year.”
“Broke, Broken Girl, the movie,” I say with a dramatic hand gesture. “That’s my life.” I poke fun at myself because I’m sure that’s how he sees me. “I’m twenty-seven-years-old and I’m a big fat failure. It runs so deep, the only apartment left in that shitty building I live in?—”
“Usedto live in.”
“Okay, the only apartment left in that shitty building I used to live in was 1F. F for failure.”
Kaz furrows his brows like he’s mad at the world and studies me long and hard.
I squirm in my seat under his scrutiny.
“You’ve had a little dirt thrown your way?—”
“Enough dirt to cover all the coffins in every cemetery in New York State.”
“That’s one way of seeing it.”
As if there was another.
Kaz remains silent for a long beat.
“You’ve had a little dirt thrown your way, but not enough to bury you. You’re still standing.” He reaches out and takes both my hands into his.
I borrow his strength as mine.
His blue eyes hold mine for several heartbeats. “Think about it, Harley. Flowers don’t grow without a little dirt. You’re probably about to hit your stride.”
As a former florist, his words speak to my soul.
I bite hard against my lower lip to stop my face from screwing up with tears. I’ve already ugly-cried enough times in front of thisgorgeous man.
My, my, my. We spotted Devlyn Frostburg at the trendyForêtrestaurant, and girlfriend wasn’t agreeable. Is she ever?We simply wanted to know abouther life plans. Since the sky is the limit now that she’s a lottery winner who won an eye-popping stash, what did she intend to do with that windfall of money? After all, her and her ex made history by becoming the first people to win the biggest lottery prize of all time and landed in the Guinness World Records. Winning $3.4 billion right after turning forty is an exciting way to kick off a new decade of one’s life.
Seems like Devlyn is as sour in her 40s as she was in her 30s.
She told us—and she was definitely slurring her words—her ex, Kazimir Lindström, had the luxury of donating the entirety of his share after tax because he owns several businesses, but she’sjusta working single mom, trying to make ends meet.
Single mom to an adult son who happens to be an NHL hockey player. Dear Devlyn made that drunken statement after stepping out of a pricey New York restaurant, decked out in monogram designer wear. Cry me a river.
Will Kazimir’s camp respond? Or will he keep his head low and ignore his ex-wife’s attempt at poking the bear?
#JustSpottedNYC #SpillingTheTea
Chapter 8
A more approachable Kazimir Lindström
Kazimir
With my arms weighed down with bags, I wave my foot under the bumper to close the trunk of my Mercedes Benz tank, round the vehicle, and enter my home.
