9. Greer
Greer
Greer dropped the second cooler into the back of the car, pleased with the progress they were making. Even if it wasn’t at all how he’d hoped this morning would go.
Given how it had gone last night anyway.
Which had been spectacular.
He had been planning on them spending the morning together in the laziest of ways.
Waking up naked and nestled in each other’s arms. Making love again.
Maybe getting up and making a late breakfast together, followed by another round of lovemaking and a shower (maybe both together).
He’d had every intention of exploring every inch of her skin, getting to know every sound she made, and logging it all into his own personal catalogue-of-Tessa.
Taking a moment to pause, he couldn’t stop the smile from spreading on his lips. She was poised, educated, and easily the classiest woman he’d ever met.
And, of all people, she wanted him.
Him.
From the moment he looked up and realized girls existed, he’d had no lack of companionship. But the women he attracted were relatively… superficial. Flippant. And they didn’t stay around all that long.
But Tessa saw who he actually was. She seemed fascinated by him and his life. She knew all about his family, the challenges of his fighting career, and the goals he had for his life. He’d never told another woman about any of that, simply because he never gave away anything extra about himself.
If you gave too much, people took off with it, leaving you with practically nothing apart from a sense of regret for opening yourself up in the first place.
Not that they had even bothered to ask. To look deeper. Not really, anyway.
They didn’t seem interested in anything beyond the surface, which was why he figured he felt so differently about Tessa. She took such care with him that it made him want to return it to her. To know everything about her. To invest in their relationship.
Whatever that was now.
It was clear that they weren’t fake-boyfriend-girlfriend any longer.
He was pretty sure they were friends, but after last night, he wasn’t content with just that any longer.
He’d never given much thought to having a girlfriend in his life, and he couldn’t really remember the last time he’d had one. But he wanted Tessa.
She was worth it. And he was ready to throw down for it, too.
Hearing the crunch of tires, he pushed the cooler back into the trunk of the car and turned around to see a large white delivery van slowly travel down the driveway.
The man behind the wheel noticed him right away, slowing down and coming to a stop just opposite Greer.
Taking a long look at the large pink lily painted on the side with the name “Forever in Bloom” written next to it, he figured it was probably a florist paying them a visit.
“Hey,” the kid greeted him after hopping out of the van, running to the back, and opening up the doors. “Delivery for Tessa?”
“You’re in the right place,” Greer said, though he wondered who they could be from.
He figured it was probably her dad, given that the man thought the world of her.
Honestly, Greer couldn’t fault either of Tessa’s parents.
They’d done a great job raising four adult kids and still found ways to fit into their lives.
It kinda reminded Greer of his own mom and brother. They were a tight-knit trio, too.
Waiting for the kid to reappear, he moved from the back of the van with a large green vase full of massive, light pink blooms. Greer reached back into his wallet as he approached, pulling out a few bills.
“Thanks,” he said with enthusiasm, accepting the tip as he handed the vase over. “Have a good one!”
“You too,” Greer said, watching the kid bound back to the driver’s side and hop in once more.
He had to admit, the exchange had him smiling.
He couldn’t have been more than late teens, early twenties, and didn’t Greer remember what it was like to work a delivery job for pennies.
Now that he was making his way on the circuit, he’d been trying to do right money-wise, saving what he could, spending very little, and giving it out when it really counted.
As the kid started up the van and began making a multi-point turn in the driveway to avoid hitting their car, Greer headed back toward the house with the vase in hand.
He wasn’t sure what kind of flowers they were, but he figured it had to be deliberate since there were twelve… no, fourteen of them? Odd.
He shrugged his shoulders at the thought. Maybe they’d had some extra they just decided to throw in. Or it was a baker’s dozen. Was that fourteen?
“Tess?” Greer called, letting himself inside. He instantly felt the refreshing cool air pass over his heated skin, making him realize just how hard he’d been working loading up the car, not to mention how warm it had apparently gotten that day. “You’ve got a delivery.”
“A what?” she called from down the hall.
Hearing her delicate steps on the hardwood, he figured she was probably still packing her things up.
He didn’t know why she’d packed as much as she did, or her apparent need to unload everything into the closet and drawers available.
He was perfectly happy living out of his bag when he was on vacation.
“You got some flowers here,” he said, searching around for a card.
He peeked in between the blossoms, figuring it must have gotten lost between the massive petals.
And while he hadn’t noticed it outside, he realized that they had a really strong scent, kinda like the perfume counter in a department store.
Tessa came around the corner to where he stood in the entryway, her face instantly dropping. “Where did you get those?”
Greer tucked his thumb behind his shoulder. “A guy just came by with them.”
“A guy?” she asked, taking a step back. “Like just an ordinary guy came up to the house with them?”
“No, Tess,” he said, taking a step in her direction as he watched her nervously glance at the vase. “It’s legit. A delivery van, a kid in uniform… What’s going on?”
“They’re from Troy,” she said, taking another step away from him.
“What?” he asked, reaching a hand for her, but her eyes were transfixed to the arrangement. “How do you know that?”
“It’s what he always sends,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Blush pink peonies, fourteen of them. No card.”
“Are you certain?” Greer asked, holding the vase away from her.
“Yes,” she said, the fear starting to fill in her expression. A quick glance, and he saw his beautiful, confident woman turn into a scared rabbit as her hands visibly shook, staring at the vase full of flowers.
“I’ll take care of them,” he said. “Rearm the security system when I leave, and finish packing. We’re getting out of here.”
Tessa nodded quickly, trying to be brave. He wanted more than anything to pull her in and kiss her, assure her somehow that even if her ex had found them, Greer was here to keep her safe.
How did he find them?
Walking back to the front door, he made sure Tessa was right behind him, ready to arm the system.
“I’ll knock and stand right in front of the door when I’m done,” he promised her, yielding another rapid nod from her in understanding. As he pulled the door closed, he instantly stopped, listening to see if there was someone out there.
Someone looking for his woman.
Turning his head side to side, he studied the tree line of their property. Aside from the lake water lapping the shore, the errant bird, and the wind in the trees, he didn’t hear a thing.
Approaching the nearest tree line, he wrapped his hands around the stems of the flowers, yanking them out and giving them a good toss into the woods.
Throwing the water from the vase in the same manner, he walked back to the house and skirted around to the side where the trash bins were lined up categorically.
There were also bins dedicated to recycling. Plastic, paper, aluminum.
Glass.
Giving the vase a quick toss, it landed with a thud and echoed deeply against the side of the container. Greer dropped the lid and made his way back to the car, closing the trunk and taking a quick peek inside to make sure there wasn’t anyone in there ready to pounce on them.
Like Troy Emerson.
Greer felt his temperature rise, a dangerous concoction like hot steam building inside a pressure cooker. His mind spun with how this guy could possibly have found out where they were staying. How he still hadn’t gotten the hint that she wasn’t his any longer.
Now, she was Greer’s.
And Troy was about to find out just how far he’d go to protect what was his.
Tessa hadn’t talked for the first hour of their six-hour journey, which Greer was fine with. He was so focused on trying to keep a cool head and the car between the lines on the highway, he wasn’t sure if he had the wherewithal to unpack all the emotions swirling around them at the moment.
“Gosh, it’s so remote up here,” she finally said.
She’d been so motionless he’d actually thought she might have fallen asleep.
But turning his head quickly, he took in her profile as she stared, wide-eyed, at the scenery around them.
Truly, it was almost poetic how beautiful it was as they drove through the Green Mountains, heading for the White.
Large, sloping hills with massive amounts of space between them, and a small winding road that meandered through.
It looked fantastic on postcards, but driving back and forth was almost making him car sick. Still, it was a great place to get away. There were hardly any cars, meaning nobody could sneak up on them.
She held up her phone, hitting the refresh button on her internet browser. “I can’t get any signal.”
“I’m not surprised,” Greer said, having noticed his own phone wasn’t connecting anymore and hadn’t been for a bit now. Signal up here was sporadic at best, and he was grateful that the GPS route had already been downloaded before they left.