Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Laurel
When I stepped back inside the house, my phone, which was charging in the kitchen, rang. When I entered the kitchen, I saw it was from an unknown number, as it had been all day.
“Hello?” I answered. “I know someone is there. I can hear your breathing, asshole.”
Click.
“What the hell?” I said, setting my phone down.
I tucked the twins in first and then went to Stella’s room.
“Did Julian leave?” she asked.
“Yeah. He did.” I ran my finger across her forehead.
“He’s nice, Mom.”
“He is.” I smiled.
“I can tell he likes you.”
“Oh yeah?” I tickled her.
“Yeah.”
“Get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow.” I kissed her forehead .
I poured a glass of wine, took it to my room, changed into my black nightgown, and climbed into bed. I could still feel his warm lips wrapped in mine. Suddenly, my phone pinged with a text message from him.
Are you still up?
Yes.
My phone rang with a Facetime call from him.
“Hi,” I answered.
“Hi.” He smiled. “Maybe this is a little too forward, but I don’t care. I wanted to see you one last time before going to bed.”
“It’s not too forward. I’m happy you called. Stella told me tonight that she thinks you’re nice.”
“Back at her.” A smile fell upon his lips. “Sweet dreams, Laurel.”
“You too, Julian. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow. Good night.”
“Good night.” I ended the call and set my phone on the nightstand with a smile.
My bedroom door opened, and three bodies climbed into bed, waking me up.
“Mom, it’s time to get up,” Sophie said.
“Just a few more minutes,” I softly spoke, my arms wrapped tightly around them.
“We want to go to Roman’s and play on the beach,” Stella said.
“It’s not time yet, honey. Why don’t the three of you pack a bag with your bathing suits and towels? Let Mommy lay here for a little bit.”
“Okay.” The three of them jumped off the bed and ran out of the room.
Sighing, I grabbed my phone from my nightstand and noticed I had a text message from Julian.
Good morning. I hope you slept well.
Good morning. I did. Enjoy golfing.
I already am.
As I was preparing breakfast for the girls in the kitchen, the doorbell rang and startled me. Walking over to it, I opened the door, and a man stood there holding a floral arrangement.
“This is for Laurel Evans,” he spoke, handing me the arrangement.
“Thank you very much.”
I brought the arrangement to the kitchen and unwrapped it, revealing beautiful red and pink roses with delicate sprigs of baby’s breath peeking out between the blooms. I searched for a card, but there wasn’t one.
“Wow, Mom. Who sent you those?” Stella asked.
“Probably Julian,” Sara said.
“There’s no card, so I’m not sure who sent them,” I said.
“They’re so pretty.” Sophie walked over and pressed her nose against the delicate flowers.
After plating the girl’s chocolate chip pancakes, I grabbed my phone and sent Julian a text message.
Did you, by chance, send me flowers?
I wish I could take credit, but I can’t. Why?
I received this earlier.
I snapped a picture of the arrangement and sent it.
That’s pretty, but I didn’t send them. There wasn’t a card?
No.
That’s strange. Maybe go to the florist and ask who sent them.
Yeah. I think I might. I’ll see you later.
If Julian didn’t send the flowers, who did? That question would stay with me until I found out the answer. I looked at the delivery card, pulled it off the wrapping, and noticed it was from Vivian’s Florist in Downtown Los Angeles.
“Girls, as soon as you’re done eating, get dressed. We need to make a stop before we go to Roman’s house.”
We stepped into the florist, and a nice older woman asked if I needed help.
“I received some flowers from your shop this morning, but there wasn’t a card. Could you tell me who sent them?”
“I can try. What’s your name and address?”
As I rattled it off, she typed away at her computer.
“Ah, yes. I remember. A young woman came in yesterday and ordered them. She paid with cash. I distinctly remember asking her if she wanted to include a card, and she said no. That’s all the information I have.”
“What did she look like?” My brows furrowed.
“Honestly, she looked homeless. And for what that arrangement cost, I was surprised she would spend the money on that and not on helping herself. It was a little odd, though.”
“What was?”
“She handed me a piece of paper with your name and address on it.”
“Do you still have the paper?” I asked.
“No. It went out with the trash last night.”
“Thank you. Come on, girls.”
I punched Roman’s address into the GPS and drove to his home.
“I need you girls to be on your best behavior. Got it?”
“Got it, Mom.” Stella smiled.
When Roman opened the front door and we stepped inside, all I heard was Maddie screaming.
“Sorry about that. She’s been doing it all morning,” Roman said.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“We don’t know. We’ve tried everything. Morgan is at her wit’s end.”
I entered the kitchen, said hi to Morgan, and set my purse down.
“Let me take her.” I smiled.
“She’s all yours.”
“Hi, sweetheart.” I placed her over my arm, and her crying stopped.
“What the—how did you do that?” Morgan asked.
“She’s gassy. Do you have any baby gas drops?”
“I’m not sure,” Morgan said. “Let’s go check in the nursery.”
I followed her upstairs while Roman took the girls down to the beach.
“I have stuff in this basket that I never opened yet,” Morgan said .
“This is them.” I smiled and set Maddie down on the changing table. When she started screaming, I quickly opened the box, pulled out the drops, and shoved the dropper into her mouth. “There you go, sweetheart. You should start feeling better soon.” I picked her up and held her over my shoulder.
“You are amazing.” Morgan smiled. “I had no idea that’s what those drops were for.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind keeping an eye on the girls while Julian and I go and talk to Georgina?” I asked.
“Not at all.” I followed her out of the room.
The front door opened when we reached the bottom step, and Julian and Parker walked in.
“Hey, Laurel.” Parker smiled.
“Hi, Parker. Hi, Julian.”
“Hi there.” A grin crossed Julian’s lips. “Are you ready to go so we can get back?”
“Yeah. I just have to grab my purse.”
I opened the sliding door and called out to the girls. They came running.
“Julian and I are off to speak to a client. We’ll be back soon. You are to be on your best behavior for Roman and Morgan.”
“We will, Mom,” Stella said.