by London Casey
“Never forget it,” he said. “Now… here we go…”
He grabbed the tissue paper and ripped it away.
My plan was kind of simple.
Whatever Emily chose was the choice.
I knew nothing about flowers or designing…
“They’re the same thing,” Emily said.
“Well, son of a bitch,” Hank said.
“Wait a second,” I said.
“Let’s see what we have here,” Hank said. “Some rich, purple calla lilies. Oh, some lily of the valley. Then orchids. Very nice. Very expensive too.” Hank looked at me. “You’ve got money?”
“Lots of it,” I said.
“And you’re willing to spoil Emily?” he asked.
“Of course,” I said.
“This is simple yet elegant,” Hank said. “Now, Emily has some sweet peas in hers. A little bit of different color purple than the calla lilies. But it works. This is… you two are just meant to be.”
I laughed again.
I look at Emily.
Her cheeks were a little bit red.
“We just know each other really well,” she said.
I swallowed hard. “Yeah, we do.”
“Okay, so here’s what I’m going to do,” Hank said. “I’ll take this and make something up and give you a call. Then we can figure full arrangements and all that… are you two even listening to me?”
“I’m listening,” I said.
“Me too,” Emily said.
We were still staring at each other.
“Hank, how much for the flowers Emily just picked out?”
“For you two lovebirds, nothing,” he said. “Take them and leave.”
“I’ll be in touch,” I said as I reached for the flowers without breaking my gaze from Emily.
“No, I’ll be in touch with you,” Hank said.
“Sure thing,” I said.
Emily turned from the counter and walked toward the door.
I went after her and touched her arm. “Hey. That was your choice for real?”
“Yeah,” she said.
“That’s what you would want at your wedding?”
She looked at me. “I think I’m as far from getting married as someone could be. I don’t think it matters what flowers I chose today. Do you?”
She tighten her lips and looked like she was fighting off frowning.
She walked away in a hurry but didn’t go to my car.
I stood with the bouquet of flowers she picked out.
The same ones I picked out.
Not that it mattered.
It was just flowers.
And we were just…
Again, I didn’t know what the hell was happening.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Emily
I slept through my alarm because I had a sleepless night.
Each time my eyes shut, I was hit with the same dream of Liam and I holding hands, running from the cops through a dark forest only to have the trees open up at Paragen’s, complete with lights, food, wine, and music playing, but nobody else around.
Somehow in the dream, I managed to wake myself up before things got crazier.
You mean crazier than the last one where Liam leans over the table and grabs you by the face and kisses you?
That was the one.
I tripped over air while trying to get dressed.
When I brushed my teeth and spit into the sink, the toothpaste splashed to my shirt, leaving me with a few white stains that would definitely be questioned by both Lucy and Ember.
Which meant I had to change my shirt.
It was just one of those mornings where my head was scrambled.
And I convinced myself that the scrambled was only in my head. Due to lack of sleep. No other reason whatsoever. The Liam thing… that was nothing. A dream was a dream. Nothing more or less.
Whatever thoughts that were lingering were just that.
Silly thoughts.
It was like having a bad dream that hung around in your head for a little while.
No big deal at all.
I stormed through the bakery like a madwoman, keeping myself as busy as possible.
I helped Lucy run the register and complete orders.
I helped Ember organize orders ready for pickup.
I cleaned the office.
I made sure every chair out front was pushed in at the right angle.
I touched every picture frame on the wall, just to say that I did it.
From there, I stood at the front door and took a deep breath.
My body felt like it was time to close up and call it a day.
I checked my phone and it was only two hours later.
And that pesky dream about Liam?
It was playing on repeat in my mind.
I opened the office door and found Lucy and Ember both waiting for me.
Their arms were crossed.
Scowls on their faces.
“You’re quitting?” I asked.
“Who is?” Lucy asked.
“Both of you…”
“I’m not quitting,” Ember said.
“Oh, good,” I said, then I sighed. “I always fear one day I’ll open the office door and you both will be quitting.”
“What’s with you today?” Lucy asked.
“What?”
“You’re hiding something.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are,” Ember said. “You’re making things up to do to keep yourself distracted. What happened?”
“Nothing happened.”
I took a step and Lucy shook her head. She put her hand out. “No way, Emily.”
“I’m your boss,” I said. “Now get out of my way.”
“Make us,” Ember said.
She slowly lifted the left side of her lip.
I could probably knock Lucy down.
But Ember?
No way.
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” I said. “I’m fine. Just… tired.”
“From what?” Lucy asked.
“Did you really pick out flowers yesterday for Liam’s wedding?”
“Whoa, wait a second,” I said. “Are you two attacking me?”
“Questioning,” Lucy said. “What are you doing?”
“With what?” I asked.
“You’re planning someone else’s wedding,” Ember said.
“I’m helping,” I said. “Trying to be a good friend.”
“To who?” Lucy asked.
“Who do you think?”
“And what has she ever done for you?” Lucy asked. “Better yet, what about Liam?”
“I’ve known Liam since I was a teenager,” I said. “So don’t even go there.”
“Oh, I am,” Lucy said.
“Screw that,” Ember said. “I’m already there. I set up a chair, got a drink, and I’m watching the show.”
“There is no show,” I said.
“Except the one you’re putting on,” Lucy said.
“You know what? Fine. Here’s where I’m at in life… there’s a guy my sister wants me to date. He works with her husband. This guy can help with this building and get me out of the lease I’m stuck in here. Miranda wants me to sleep with the guy because she wants out of the building too. And if I do that and get out of here… I can be happy. And you two can do something better with your lives. And, fine, I spent the day with Liam and had a weird dream about him. So I’m a little rattled today. Okay?”
Lucy and Ember looked at each other and nodded.
They backed off and let me out of the office.
“Do you really want to close this place down?” Ember asked.
“It’s hard to explain. I would never do anything to screw you over though, okay?”
“What kind of dream did you have about Liam?” Lucy asked with a smile.
“I think you can guess,” I said.
I walked to the front of the bakery.
I stood at the counter all of
two seconds before I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.
A text from Liam waited for me.
Long day, Em… meet up for a coffee?
When I saw Liam waiting for me, I couldn’t help but smile.
He stood there holding a leather briefcase type bag by its handle.
He smiled back at me.
Then he pointed to the cafe. “Is this no good?”
“What?”
“You sell coffee and I’m asking you to go to another place for coffee.”
“Oh, you’re worried about me cheating on my own business?” I asked.
Cheating… why’d you have to use that word?
After that dream…
Heat moved across my cheeks and I shook my head.
“Sorry,” I said. “That sounded stupid. We’re fine, Liam. We can have coffee here.”
“I swear I won’t buy anything but coffee,” he said. “No baked goods. They’re the worst here. The worst ever.”
I laughed. “Now you’re just trying too hard.”
He opened the door for me and pointed to a corner table. “Grab those seats and I’ll meet you there?”
“You know what I want?” I asked.
“Same as always, right?” Liam asked with a wink.
The same heat rushed back to my cheeks.
The last time Liam got me a coffee was… a long time ago…
I swallowed hard, moved to the table and sat down.
I watched him in line.
It wasn’t that big of a deal.
It wasn’t like I was getting some fancy order.
My order wasn’t that special.
Coffee. Three sugars, two creams. And cinnamon.
All mixed together. Obviously.
A few minutes later, Liam came to the table, tossed his bag toward the window then sat down.
“That bad of a day?” I asked.
“Just long, Em,” he said. “Sometimes things line up perfectly. Sometimes they don’t. I’m working on a trademark case and a really vital piece of the case managed to vanish off my desk. Or better yet, it was never given to me. So I prepared all of this paperwork only to find out it’s worth nothing because I was missing a deposition. And the information in there…” He waved his hands. “It doesn’t matter. I got my head chewed on for a minute. Then I chewed on a few heads. Everyone was just in a bad mood.”
“Sorry to hear that,” I said.
“How was your day?”
“Better than yours,” I said.
Liam laughed. “Good. Hope you don’t mind me bothering you for a minute or two.”
“Not at all,” I said. “Truthfully… today was weird for me. I had a sleepless night. The day went by slow. Lucy and Ember were all over me and I snapped at them.”
“Nothing that can’t be fixed, right?” Liam asked.
“Probably not. I just… I said some things about the business I maybe shouldn’t have. I can’t lose them, Liam. But at the same time, they could be doing something better.”
“Says who?” he asked. “You have a good business. Maybe things aren’t perfect, but I’m sure there’s…” He laughed again. “Look at me. Telling you what to think and feel. That’s not going to end well, is it?”
“Not at all,” I said.
“You know what? Fuck your business, Em. It’s failing. How’s that?”
“Better,” I said. “And, hey, you know what? Fuck that deposition. And all your paperwork. It’s all garbage anyway.”
Liam rubbed his chin. There was a little extra stubble on his face. Meaning he hadn’t shaved this morning.
Why? Did he have a dream about me?
I looked away so I wouldn’t blush.
“We have to shake this day off, Em,” he said.
“I agree,” I said. “Last time I had a day like this, Jon and I went to a park and just pretended the world didn’t exist.”
“Jon?” Liam asked.
“Oh. Sorry. My ex.”
“Oh,” Liam said.
He looked like he was frowning.
“I don’t know why I blurted that out.”
“No big deal. Ex, huh? What happened?”
“Just… life,” I said. “It didn’t end all that great. He announced he was leaving me in front of everyone in the bakery. Which was my fault. He had said he wanted to talk and I kind of ignored him.”
“That’s rough, Em. Nobody deserves that.”
Nobody… or just me?
“It happens. I’ve been… I don’t know. I tried texting a bunch of times after it happened. Just to see if we could talk. I think about texting him again. The smoke has cleared. Maybe things could be different.”
“You mean go back to him?” Liam asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “It wasn’t the worst relationship. It’s better than being alone.”
“Em, you’re not alone.”
“You know what I mean.”
Why am I talking about this with him?
“You can’t do that.”
“What?” I asked.
“That guy dumped you that way? Fuck him. There’s no way you can go back to him. Ever. Okay?”
Liam’s voice grew louder and a few people started to look.
“Liam, what’s wrong with you right now?”
“Nothing,” he said. “I just… I didn’t know you were with him. Or what he did to you. I’ve been so far out of the loop with you, Em. I hate that. I’m sorry about that. I always tried to keep an eye out for you, you know?”
“I don’t need someone to keep an eye out for me,” I said. “I’m not weak. Or stupid.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he said. “I just… you deserve to be happy. And with someone that makes you happy. Not someone that makes you feel like you have to crawl to them, okay? I’m sure whatever led to this guy doing what he did, that meant it was over for good.”
“Maybe I’m just a bad person,” I said. “You don’t know that…”
“There’s no way it was you, Em,” Liam said.
“I was too focused on the bakery. Worried all the time. I mean, I still am.”
“Bullshit,” Liam said. His nostrils flared. “If you want something, you find a way to get it. You make time. You… if that was me? You know what I would do? I would be at the bakery with you. Helping. Asking questions. Just being present.”
I swallowed hard.
Liam was fired up.
My heart started to race a little.
Everything he just said… that’s all I wanted.
But not with Liam.
Duh.
Of course.
I looked down at my coffee.
I slowly took a sip to see if it was cool enough to drink.
It was.
When I tasted the hint of cinnamon, I smiled.
Liam got the order perfect. Without me telling him.
He remembered.
And that… it kind of started to crush my heart.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Liam
In a strange way I was getting used to the apartment being mine.
I slept on the couch with the TV on and woke up in the morning, got dressed, grabbed something to eat on the way to work, and that was becoming somewhat of a routine for me.
A routine that wasn’t going to last long though.
It wasn’t like Miranda and I were split up or anything.
That thought…
I got to my desk, looked at the day’s work, and started making phone calls.
That one trademark case that had been all fucked up was going to haunt me for a few minutes.
It wasn’t my mistake but I wasn’t going to point fingers and roll over on anyone.
Plus, there was the bigger patent case I was putting together.
That one was still way up in the air on which direction it would end up, but I would be well prepared for it.
I noticed outside my office that Jacob and Maria were talking.
I noticed how close they were.
And it didn’t seem like a work conversation at all.
After a minute or so I watched as Maria touched Jacob’s hand then walked away.
He stood there and stared at his hand like he had shook hands with someone famous.
I moved from behind my desk, walked to open up my office door and whistled.
Jacob looked at me and his face turned red.
“What was that?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
“I don’t deal with interns fucking each other.”
“What?” Jacob yelled. “You think… no…”
“Then what was it?”
“Janelle and I had a fight last night,” he said. “Over the phone. It was shitty.”
“You two okay?”
“I don’t know. She’s jealous of Maria.”
“I can see why,” I said. “Touching your hand…”
“We’re friends,” Jacob said. “I think.”
I shook my head. “Go find the Levowitz file for me. I want you to review it and tell me if anything seems off to you. Clear your head of any love triangles and focus on work.”
Jacob looked flustered and confused.
I shook my head and walked back to my desk.
I looked out the window and took a deep breath.
My desire to work was zero.
My desire to find more trouble with Emily was one hundred fucking percent.
And that in itself was trouble.
When I saw Miranda’s name on my phone screen, I almost thought about not answering the call.
I did at the last possible moment.
“Hey,” I said. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, hello there,” her voice said. She sounded happy. Alive. “Do you remember me?”
“No,” I said. “Who is this again?”
“Not funny, Liam.”
“What? You started it.”
“Did you forget about me?”
“No,” I said. I swallowed hard. “We’ve been texting…”
“I haven’t talked to you in a few days,” she said.
“You’re busy,” I said. “And the phone works both ways.”
“Oh, that’s right, it’s my fault,” Miranda said.
“That’s not what I said. Did you really call so we can argue?”
“No.”
“Good. What’s going on?”
