Me
None. And this is about Mason. Stop being a dick.
Mason
No, by all means, you two carry on. Watching you two go at it is like a spectator sport, and it’s keeping my mind off whose bed my wife is currently warming.
Silas
You don’t think she’d move on to someone else that fast, do you?
Mason
We’re technically separated, and I know there’s at least one dude who will jump at the first chance he gets.
Me
Who are we beating up?
Mason
I appreciate the sentiment and you having my back and all, but unless you plan on boarding a plane to northern France and seeking out her childhood sweetheart, named Gabriel, then you might struggle.
Closing out the group text chat, I slide my cell into my pocket and pause outside Drew’s door. Showing up here unannounced is in direct breach of rule three on her ridiculous list, but an hour of sitting on the other side of a table in a boring boardroom isn’t going to be enough for me. All she did yesterday in our catch-up meeting was talk about Repeet and potential opportunities with other brands.
I need more.
Knocking a couple of times, I wait for a response, but get nothing.
It’s past seven p.m., so I know she’s finished in the office.
Maybe she’s at the gym?
Or at her parents’?
Or … fuck … maybe she’s out on a date and plans to do the same as Eloise.
I knock louder, fully convinced that she’s beneath another dude when her door finally swings inward and I’m met with a warm smile, which morphs into a scowl.
Her big eyes land on the bouquet of freesias in my hand, and a hint of warmth returns to her expression.
“Will, um …” Covered by nothing but tiny pink sleep shorts and a white tank top that cuts low at the front, Drew immediately pulls her lilac robe across her body and secures it with the tie. “Did I miss a meeting or something?” Her voice is as panicked as her face.
Fuck, why did I not consider that she could be semi-naked and—I peer over her shoulder into the living space and see a tub of ice cream sitting on the coffee table—eating all the sugar she could lay her hands on?
“You look cute as hell. And like you would ever miss a meeting,” I tell her, holding out the bouquet for her to take.
It took me ages to pick out what I thought she’d like best. In the end, I went with a pretty flower that packed an incredible scent. Everything about a freesia reminds me of Drew.
When she takes the flowers and smells them, her eyelids flutter closed. “So, why are you here?” Her eyes snap open, and I see an emotion in them that wasn’t there before. “And how did you know freesias were my favorite flower?”
I step closer to Drew, and the smell of the flowers has nothing on the strawberry sweetness emanating from her tonight. I’d love to bottle that shit and spray it on my pillows. Better yet, have the real thing lying next to me all night.
“This is where I could take all the credit and claim that I always knew they were your favorite flower. But that would be a lie, and I don’t bullshit.”
Still standing in the doorway, she brings the white and purple petals to her nose and inhales deeply. “They are my mom’sfavorite, and I like that you picked them by chance, even if I’m not sure why I have them in the first place.”
Wincing, I grip the back of my neck. “They’re an apology and a just because.”
