“Good morning, dear!” Trixie greeted as I descended the stairs and walked into the kitchen. I was surprised to see the guys here already, quietly eating breakfast. I hadn’t even heard them come in. My eyes were drawn to Calvin, but he didn’t lift his eyes off his plate to meet my gaze. He grasped his fork so tightly I saw the whites of his knuckles, and my heart sped up. He was angry about something, and it took everything in me to not let that flight or fight instinct kick in.
“These were delivered this morning,” Trixie interrupted my thoughts and pointed to a gorgeous vase full of roses on the counter. “They’ve got your name on them.” She smiled brightly.
Sure enough, even though I didn’t recognize the writing, there was a card sticking out of the bouquet with my name on it.Stella.
But how? I didn’t know anyone here. No one knew where I was. Who would send me flowers?
“You must have caught the eye of someone in town yesterday. You know how small towns are.” Garrett laughed, trying to lighten the mood as his green eyes sparkled. He was handsome and built strong like his brother. But where Calvin was all serious, Garrett seemed like more than a good time. His hair was cut short and scruffy but still held the same wave that Calvin’s did.
The hesitation must have been obvious on my face as Garrett’s jokes quieted, and they silently watched me pick up the vase of flowers while I tried to keep my hands from trembling.
The flowers were labelled as being from Love in Bloom and they were beautiful. But upon taking a closer look, there was something written on the other side of the card. I turned it around to see the message written.
I will find you in our next life.
Trixie gasped when I dropped the flowers and the vase shattered into a million pieces at my feet. My vision started to go black, my memory taking me to the last time I had received roses with that message.
“Where are you going?” Nick asked as I grabbed my purse off the coat rack by the door of our apartment.
It had been a particularly bad week between us. We argued on the weekend, and in the days since he had been giving me the silent treatment. No matter what I tried or how I apologized, he acted as though I didn’t exist.
“I mentioned it earlier, I’m just going for a coffee with Aurora from work,” I said, unsure of why he was choosing now to finally talk to me when I had been trying for days.
“And you didn’t think to see if I had plans for us first?”
The confused look on my face must have answered the question for me.
“Of course, you wouldn’t. Just like you to not even consider us.”
“No, wait,” I said to him, because I was desperate. He was finally talking to me, and I wouldn’t mess this up. I was starved for whatever breadcrumbs he would throw my way. “I can cancel with Aurora; it’s no problem at all. I’m sorry I didn’t check with you first.” Even though I knew I had, it was always easier to apologize than to explain otherwise.
I expected to have to apologize more than that, but his face lit up as he took my hand. “Come with me.”
He led me to our bedroom where he had lit candles and covered the bed in rose petals. It was the most romantic sight I’d ever seen but nothing felt more wrong as his hands instantly started to strip my clothes off.
“I want you in this life, and our next, and our next,” Nick said as he kissed me, and the pit in my stomach only grew.
A pair of work boots came into my field of vision, causingme to finally blink the memory away as I stared down at the mess I had made. Strong hands clasped mine, stopping them from quivering. This time, I didn’t flinch away from Calvin’s warmth.
“Stella? It’s okay. There’s glass all over the floor, and you don’t have shoes on so I’m going to pick you up. Is that all right?”
Words failed me, but I nodded my head slightly as Calvin bent over, placing one arm under my knees and the other below my shoulders as he scooped me up like I was nothing and pulled me in close to his chest. He carried me to the porch where my shoes were before he put me down.
“What happened?” The concern in his eyes shocked me. Shouldn’t he be mad I broke his grandma’s vase and made a mess in her kitchen?
Reality hit me hard and fast after that realization. IbrokeTrixie’s vase. Everything in this house had some meaning and sentimental value, it was obvious by the care and attention given to every square inch of this home. Tears filled my eyes and threatened to spill as guilt washed over me. She had been so sweet, so generous to me, and making a mess in her kitchen the past two mornings in a row is how I repaid her for her kindness.
“I’m so sorry, I need to clean up the mess.” I turned to rush back into the kitchen, but Calvin gently grabbed my wrist to stop me, slowly reaching his other hand up to my face to use his thumb to turn my chin to face him.
“It’s already being taken care of.”
God, he was gorgeous. His green eyes were piercing, but the shadows behind them seemed to look into my darkness in a way no one had ever seen me before.
“Your breathing is really shallow, you’ve gotta take a deep breath, Stella.” He took in a slow inhale through his nose, paused for a second, and then slowly released through pursed lips. He started again, staring right into my eyes, and this time Imimicked his breathing. Not nearly as controlled as his but I still felt my heart rate decrease.
“There we go. See, you’re okay,” he consoled me, still rubbing my cheek with his thumb.
The door to the porch suddenly opened and Calvin dropped his hands, effectively bursting whatever bubble we had just found ourselves in.
