Liam smiles. “It’s good to see you again.”
“And you.” Percy turns back to me. “I’ll get out of the way so you can help this young man find the perfect flowers for his wife.”
“I’m not married,” Liam is quick to respond.
Our eyes lock for the briefest of moments.
I force myself not to think about what married life with Liam would be like.
We’re not even officially dating at this point.
“You’ll get there one day. No rush for that.” Percy crosses his arms over his chest. “It’s good to see you. Who would have thought that I’d run into one of my former students in a floral shop?”
“I’m here often,” Liam offers with a glance at me. “This is one of my favorite places in the city.”
Percy tosses me a knowing look. “I think I see why.”
I brushpast Liam on my way back to my workstation. It’s a mess. Between my extended lunch break and the orders I’ve filled since Leanna left, it looks like a disaster.
“To what do I owe this surprise?” I toss him a smile.
The one he offers back is weak. The corners of his lips barely move. “My last appointment of the day canceled, so I thought I’d drop by to see how your day has been.”
“Busy.” I sum it up in one word.
Rubbing a hand over his jaw, he exhales. “Look, Athena. I’m just going to come right out and say this.”
My head pops up, and the scissors in my hand drop to the table with a thud.
He’s here to dump me.
Can you dump someone you’re only sleeping with? Is that a thing?
I steel myself for his next words. Pasting on a brave face, I stare him straight in the eye. “What is it?”
“I like you,” he begins, raking his hand through his hair. “You’re sweet, and you’re a lot of fun.”
I’m that and more, but maybe he hasn’t bothered to notice.
I don’t offer him back any compliments because I’ll reserve those for the next man I sleep with.
Who am I kidding?I don’t want there to be a next man, at least not yet.
I like Liam. Hanging out with him is fun, and the sex is incredible.
I’m not ready to lose all of that since it just started.
His phone dings. Fishing it out of his pocket, he holds up a finger. “Give me a minute. I need to check what this is.”
I’ll give him a minute or ten or twenty thousand. I’ll give him whatever he needs if it means I have extra time to brace myself for what is about to happen between us.
I watch as his fingers fly over the screen of his phone.
When my phone chimes, I drop my gaze to it hoping that he’s not dumping me via text when he’s standing less than three feet from where I am.
I open the text message from Jeremy and stare at the attached picture.
He’s got Cassidy in his lap, and she’s holding tightly to the small bouquet of pink roses I handed him earlier. I tucked a plastic unicorn figurine in the center of it because I knew she’d love the extra surprise.
