“Why?”
“Oh I don’t know. Wild guess is she’s not too happy with you. She gave me some speech about not being afraid to love, yadda, yadda.”
He pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose. He’d rather be anywhere else right now but this crappy hotel room in Virginia. “Did you confront her?”
“Of course not. She’s my employee. Or she was. No, she confronted me, full of righteous indignation. Why did you tell her you slept with me? Trying to save your rep?”
He laughed drily. “After last night, I’m thinking my rep’s pretty much destroyed. Have you taken an ad out somewhere yet?”
A long pause. “Look, let’s just forget it. I made a deal with you. You wanted your damn store, you have it.” She didn’t say anything more before she hung up.
Spencer threw his phone across the bed and lay back against the pillows. By now, she had to have received his delivery. But she hadn’t called. She probably wanted a clean break from both him and the store.
He couldn’t say he blamed her.
But how could she walk away from the thing she loved most in the world? Whatever the reasons, that had to kill her.
He stared at his phone, needing to hear her voice. If he could reassure her somehow, if there was just a way they could be friends even if they weren’t lovers anymore.
If only he could chop off both his arms and not miss them.
Talking to her again would be selfish. But as hard as seeing her again would be, knowing he never would was a hundred times worse. He couldn’t imagine walking into The Book Nook and not finding her there. The mere thought of it made his chest ache.
He just needed to know she was okay. That was all. If she sounded all right, he’d say happy birthday and hang up. And he’d find a way to move on.
Eventually.
* * *
Later that evening, Kelly came home to a note that she’d missed a floral delivery. But no worries, she could find it in Arthur the super’s office.
Sometimes being sort of friendly with the super was a mixed blessing. She had no interest in those flowers. They couldn’t be from who she wanted them to be from so why bother even going to get them?
She went downstairs to collect them anyway, figuring if someone had gone to the time and expense, she’d at least bring them up to her apartment. But when she saw the bouquet of white daisies—not painted, just pure white and yellow blooms—the sight made her throat tighten.
Whoever had sent her those flowers knew her pretty damn well.
Alana. It had to be. Or maybe Nicky. They’d spent a couple hours commiserating over the past week and he’d slipped right back into her life as if he’d never left. They’d gone to dinner and a movie tonight, and he’d made her laugh when she’d figured that was pretty much a lost cause.
Even if she didn’t have love, she had wonderful friends. And that meant the world.
Kelly carried the box up to her apartment, choosing to take the stairs rather than the elevator. Anything to delay opening the tiny white card. Was it wrong she wanted to pretend for a while she had someone in her life? A boyfriend, a lover. Whatever name she called him, she needed the illusion for a bit longer.
She set the daisies down in the front hall and walked away to wash her hands. Then she drank a glass of soda and stared at the clock. Came back, circled them. God, they were gorgeous. There had to be two dozen of them, each flower more perfect than the last.
And deluding herself wouldn’t help anything.
She pulled out the card and thumbed it open.
These flowers aren’t half as beautiful as you. Happy birthday.
Sucking in a breath, she dropped the card as if it had caught fire. Of course it was unsigned. Maybe Alana wanted her to think Spencer still cared. That was a best friendly thing to do, wasn’t it?
A quick phone call ascertained that no, Alana had not pretended to be her make-believe boyfriend for the day. Nor had Nicky. Or her parents. Or anyone else she could call within the tri-state area.
After she’d exhausted all the possibilities, she sat down on the floor with the phone in her lap. She should call him. Just say thanks and that was it. Easy, breezy, buh-bye.
If she didn’t start bawling, she’d be in business.