Chapter 31
Haley
The second option.
Really? I thought for sure you’d say the third one.
No. The second one is her favorite flower.
I thought sunflowers were her favorite.
Wes, we literally have this conversation every year. Sunflowers are my favorite. Mom’s are pink roses.
Well, excuse me for not remembering personal flower choices.
What are you going to do when you get a girlfriend and need—oh, wait, never mind.
You’re hilarious.
I slipped my phone into my pocket and waited while the woman behind the counter helped another customer at the local florist in Bayport.
No, I shouldn’t have procrastinated on ordering my mom her Mother’s Day flowers until two days before, but my week had been hectic, and today was the first day I had any time to myself.
I’d taken the afternoon off after finishing up with court that morning and was trying to get this done before I went home.
As I continued waiting, the bell above the door rang, and I glanced over and chuckled. “Fancy running into you two here.” Lucas and Callie smiled when they saw me. “What are you doing here?”
“We could ask you the same,” Lucas said with a chuckle.
“Are you buying flowers for someone special?” Callie waggled her brows.
“Yes…my mom.”
“Oh…Mother’s Day weekend, right.” She nodded. “Well, that’s sweet.”
Lucas and I chuckled at her response before he looked at me. “We have a meeting with the owner to discuss flowers for the wedding,” he explained. “So I didn’t go into the office today.”
“Flowers already?”
“We’re just looking into our options, but yeah, we need to get the ball rolling on things,” Lucas said. “We’re looking at the wedding being next June. It’s only a year.”
“Damn,” I grinned. “You two aren’t messing around.” They smiled, and then Callie stepped away to look at some of the example pieces they had on display on the other side of the room while they waited. “A June wedding, huh? You realize it’s going to be hot as fuck?” I teased.
“We’ll be in air conditioning.”
“Where are you thinking about having it?”
“I don’t know yet. There are a couple of places in Charleston we’re going to look at. But there’s also the country club here. I don’t personally care. I’d marry her in a dumpy alleyway.”
“That would be romantic. I’m here for it.”
Lucas snorted. “I think the maid of honor would have a lot to say about that.” I rolled my eyes with a chuckle, and he looked at me, shifting so his body was facing me as he tilted his head.
“Speaking of…you and Morgan…” With the way my heart shot to my throat at his sudden accusatory tone, it was a miracle I was able to keep my face as impassive as I did.
“You two seem to be kind of…dare I say, getting along lately.”
I scoffed. “Yeah, well…it’s probably because of the wedding.”
“The wedding…”
“Yeah, I mean, I’m the best man. She’s the maid of honor. Wouldn’t be a good look for you and Callie if we killed each other, would it?” I was surprised at how quickly the explanation rolled out.
I was even more surprised when Lucas seemed to buy it. “I suppose not,” he said with a chuckle. “I don’t know…it was just weird. I noticed it at the engagement party a couple of weeks ago…how you two weren’t down each other’s throats like normal.”
I was definitely down her throat later. I kept that thought exactly where it belonged: to myself. “Gramps would’ve had my ass if I caused a scene at his place,” I said.
Lucas chuckled, and then his expression shifted. “Has Gabe heard from Blake yet?”
“Yeah,” I replied with a nod. “He told me this morning that he heard from him last night. He made it there okay, and all is good.”
“That’s good,” Lucas said quietly.
“Luke.” We heard Callie and glanced over to see her standing with a woman, waving him over.
“That’s my cue. I’ll see ya tomorrow night.” He clapped my shoulder and walked off, disappearing down a small hallway with Callie and the woman.
“They’re for my anniversary,” I heard the man in front of me say. He turned to head for the door, and my brow furrowed at the bouquet in his hand.
I was still watching him as he made his way down the sidewalk when I stepped up to the counter. “Black roses. That seems a bit morbid for an anniversary.”
The woman behind the counter chuckled. “I think a lot of people misinterpret black roses.”
“Aren’t they like…doom and gloom and death?”
“No.” The woman laughed as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I mean, they can be used to convey grief or loss, yes. But they have several other meanings…”
The woman ran down a list of different meanings for the roses while I ordered my mom’s arrangement to be picked up tomorrow. When she stepped away to put my order in the back, I pulled out my phone, sending Morgan a quick message—her being mentioned by Lucas had me suddenly craving her company.
Come over tonight.
Princess
K.
I stared at my screen for a moment, blinking a few times.
The “K” is really throwing me off here.
Why?
It’s giving pissy and dismissive…
Sorry. I had a shit day today with some project delays, and I’m just in a mood.
Well, I’ll get you unmooded later.
That’s not even a word.
It is now, Princess.
K.
“Okay, you’re all set, sir,” the woman said.
I glanced up from my phone and smiled, but my eyes strayed to the case behind her, displaying their various rose options. A thought struck me, and I smirked as I slipped my phone back into my pocket. “Can I get one more thing…”
After leaving the florist, I made a few more stops before heading home. I hung out, channel surfed through the TV, ordered a pizza for dinner because I didn’t feel like cooking, and waited for Morgan to arrive.
When the knock finally came on my door around seven, I opened it and saw Morgan standing on the other side. I chuckled as I took in her stressed demeanor and stepped aside to let her in. “Rough week?”
“You could say that. And all I can say is thank God it’s Friday.”
“Well…” I smirked. “I got you something that might cheer you up a little bit…”
Her brows pinched as she looked at me. I bent down, grabbing my “gift” from the small recess in the island where I’d hidden it.
When I set it on the counter and slid it over to her, her brow furrowed deeper.
“You…you got me flowers?” Her tone was laced with sheer skepticism, and honestly, rightfully so.
I chuckled. “Yeah, well…you said earlier you were having a bad day, so I wanted to do something to cheer you up.” Her eyes lifted from the flowers to mine, her expression filled with bewilderment as she reached for the small bouquet of black roses, taking them into her hand.
There were only six of them, so it wasn’t some astounding display.
“The lady at the flower shop ran down a list of meanings behind black roses, and one of them was supreme hatred.” I snorted at the look now on her face. “It seemed too fitting to pass up.”
“You’re such an asshole,” she bit out, but I could see the flicker of amusement in her eyes before she smacked me in the face with the bouquet.
“Hey, it worked!” I laughed. “You thought it was funny. Even if you didn’t, you can’t deny that it made you want to smile, maybe even laugh a little. Mission accomplished, Princess.”
I was lying in bed on a Sunday morning, my eyes fixed on Morgan’s sleeping form—she’d come over last night after we left the bar and ended up staying.
This had been a newer development in the deal between us over the last few months since the first time we’d accidentally broken that rule.
I wasn’t complaining. I never cared for that stupid rule in the first place.
And being able to wake up next to her in the morning, whether we were at her place or mine, I was able to ease the effects of my erotic dreams of her—because those were still a very regular fucking occurrence.
“Please tell me you have coffee this time…”
Morgan’s sleep-riddled voice pulled me from my thoughts, and a chuckle escaped me. “Yes. I learned my lesson.”
In exchange for the no sleepover rule, she added “must have coffee on hand” to the list. I didn’t have any the last time she’d stayed over, and, well, that was the first time she’d withheld sex from me because, without her morning coffee, she turned into the demon I used to claim she was.
“Such a good boy,” she breathed.
My brow arched. “Don’t…don’t say that again…”
“Why? You call me a good girl. What’s the difference?”
“I call you a good girl when I’m fucking you six ways to Sunday, Princess. Not because you happen to have something I like stocked in your kitchen.”
A sleepy laugh escaped her. “Never thought you’d get so defensive over being called a good boy.”
“I’m not getting defensive. I…” I hated it but was simultaneously turned on.
Another laugh escaped her as she sat up, wrapping the sheet around her naked body and yanking it off of me as she stood. I rolled my eyes with a shake of my head and a subtle smile as I sat up, reached for my sweatpants on the floor, and pulled them on.
I walked toward her, watching the way her eyes traveled over my shirtless form down to where the sweatpants hung low on my hips, earning a smirk from me. “See something you like, Princess?”
“Yeah,” she said, biting her lip before meeting my gaze. “The guy who’s gonna make me some coffee.”
My expression fell as she chuckled. “You’re a little shit…”
I don’t know what possessed me to be so playful…but suddenly, my hands shot toward her waist to tickle her sides.
That proved to be a mistake.
Because one moment, Morgan squealed, and the next, her fist connected with my jaw.
I stumbled back with a grunt as she yelped, seemingly surprised by what she’d done. “Fucking hell, Morgan,” I groaned as I rubbed my jaw.
When I looked at her, her eyes were wide. “I’m so sorry!” she squeaked. “You can’t tickle me! It puts me into immediate fight or flight!”
“So, you’re telling me it’s okay to give you a five-finger necklace, but if I tickle you, I risk catching an uppercut from Satan herself?”
“I’m sorry!” She covered her mouth to muffle her laugh. “I didn’t mean it. It was an instinctive reaction.” She took a couple of tentative steps forward. “Are you okay?”
I dropped my hand, turning to look at the mirror on my wall before she gently grabbed my chin and turned my head toward her to look for herself.
“I’m fine.” It was a little red, but she didn’t get me hard enough to do any damage.
I could see her fighting back more laughter, and I shook my head with a subtle grin. “You’re a goddamn mess.”
Before she could respond, a knock on my apartment door pulled our gazes toward the hallway. “You expecting someone?”
“No,” I answered as I started toward the door. “Stay here.”
I walked down the hallway and peered through the peephole, my brow furrowing. When I looked over my shoulder and saw Morgan’s head peeking out of my bedroom, I gestured for her to disappear from view before I turned back and opened the door.
“It’s so early…”
Lucas chuckled as I stepped aside to let him in. “It’s nearly ten.”
“Exactly.”
He shook his head with a grin. “Sorry to drop by so early and unannounced. I was just on my way into town and wanted to drop this off.” He handed me a white envelope. “It’s your ticket for The Rose Ball next weekend.”
“Oh.” I nodded and pulled the ticket out, looking at it for a moment before slipping it back into the envelope and setting it on the counter. “Thanks, man.”
“Welcome,” he said with a nod. Then, his brows knit. “Your jaw is red.”
I rubbed both sides, feigning like I didn’t know what he was talking about and wasn’t just walloped by the feisty brunette hiding in my bedroom. “Oh?” I shrugged. “Must have scratched myself in my sleep or something.”
He nodded, seemingly buying it. His eyes then shifted to the counter where I’d set the ticket, and that’s when I realized that Morgan’s purse was sitting there. Fuck. Lucas chuckled. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. He didn’t seem to realize whose bag it was, thankfully. “Uh, no worries…”
“I’ll let you get back to it.” He laughed again as he clapped my shoulder and headed for the door. “See you Tuesday,” he said before slipping out.
I released a breath when he left. Then, I heard Morgan’s voice. “Is he gone?”
“Yeah,” I said as I turned to see her step into the hall, still clad in my sheets. “Good thing, considering you’re whisper-yelling.”
She made a mocking expression, and I let out a sardonic huff of laughter as I started down the hall, my steps purposeful. She yelped in realization and spun, running back into my room as I chased after her.