Dom isn’t in Miami.
He’s right here, in LA.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Dominic
I toss my bag down on the couch in my apartment, fatigue riddling my body. I don’t know what it is about a three-hour ride on a jet thatstillmakes me feel like I’ve been airborne for nearly twenty-four hours, but it happens every time.
My eyes drift to the window, where the sun beats down on the city below, and then back to my bag.
There isn’t a contract in there.
There isn’t a deal with my name on it.
But thereisa decision hanging over my head—one thatfeels just as heavy.
Texas has been asking questions. Quiet ones. The kind that don’t mean anything … until they do.
I’d always imagined this moment would feel like validation.
Instead, I wish it hadn’t come up at all.
It’s like dangling a carrot in front of a donkey for months, and then, when the donkey finally finds a nice other donkey who iswaybetter than the carrot, handing it to the donkey.
Okay, that’s a bad analogy.I run my hands over my face.
Before I can spiral any further, there’s a knock on the door. My heart jumps in my chest, because I’m pretty sure I know who it is, and she has no idea how much I’ve missed her.
I spin on my heels and rush for the door, swinging it open.
And all I see is red. Alotof red.
“Um,” a voice says behind three armfuls of vases of roses. “Can you put some of these in your apartment? This might be the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me, but… I can’t… I can’t fit it all in mine.”
“Oh my gosh,” I groan, and then burst into laughter. “They actually went through with it. They didn’t cancel them.” I grab two of the three vases.
“So…” Nicole’s eyes drop to the flowers in her hands. “Why eighteen dozen roses? Is that a thing? Does it mean something?” She looks confused, exhausted, and also happy—but mostly confused. “I love the gesture. I do. I just…”
“Yeah.” My face grows bright red. “It was totally an accident. I was trying to just dothree dozen, but it submitted the order multiple times.”
“Oh,” she says, sighing and laughing at the same time. “Okay. That makes so much sense, because I just wanted to let you know that I’m really notthathigh maintenance, just because my dad’s—”
I cut her off with a kiss, leaning forward over the roses and capturing her mouth with mine. I don’t need hands to kiss her and show her how much I missed her. She lets out a light moan, and our vases knock against each other, rattling us both.
“I can only imagine what the inside of your apartment looks like right now.” I chuckle, pulling away and setting the two vases on my entryway table. Nicole steps inside and does the same, leaving me three very full vases of roses to brighten the apartment.
“It basically looks like a botanical garden exploded in there,” she says, patting my shoulder. “But I doreallyappreciate it. There’s nothing quite like being told you were missed on eighteen different cards with the exact same wording on each one.”
“Oh my gosh.” I run a hand over my face. “I’m literally the most embarrassing person on the planet.”
“But def the hottest, too.” Nicole grins up at me, and I can’t help but thread my arm around her waist and pull her to me. I kiss her forehead and then work my way down the bridge of her nose as she giggles.
“I missed you so much,” I say in between kisses. “And maybe even Cocoa, too,” I add, right before pressing my lips to hers, more fully this time.
“Mmm,” she murmurs against me, and I hold her close, feeling how tiny she is against me.
As she pulls away and peers up at me, there’s something off in her pretty blue eyes, but I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe it’s the overload of roses. Maybe I’m being too much.
