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What in the hell was she doing here?
“Hello. I thought I’d bring this lovely gift to you in person.” Jacquie grinned at me, tilting her head around the massive bouquet of flowers and other gifts tucked between the stems. My stomach lurched hard as panic slammed through me, making me stumble.
How was I going to explain who she was?
“What is this?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Jacquie strode into the apartment with thegift. “I thought it was pretty obvious. There’s flowers, and loads of other presents. Now where can I set this down? This shit’s heavy.”
I wordlessly pointed to the nearby coffee table. My mouth gaped as I followed Jacquie to the sitting area, my eyes not veering from her as my mind worked triple time to come up with an explanation.
The gift had to be from Killian. Now that I really looked at it, I saw two books from my wish list poking up through the flowers.
“Oh, and your boyfriend said he’s looking forward to seeing you tonight,” Jacquie said loudly with way too much cheer.
My pulse fluttered, flattered he’d think of me and remember what I said I wanted yet I was also horrified.That idiot.What was Killian thinking about sending this to me here?
But the truth caused my happiness to dim. He was making a point.
To Peter. Not me.
“Boyfriend?” Wendy asked, entering the living room. “He must be some guy. That thing is massive. How sweet of him.”
Peter sauntered into the room, and the world slowed down to a terrifying crawl. It was too late to hide the gift. I stood awkwardly in front of it having no words to explain it away to Peter.
How could Killian put me in this situation?
“What?” he asked Wendy. His frown evident as he eyed the arrangement. “Is that for me?”
A nervous chuckle escaped my lips and heat burned my cheeks. I forced a smile to my face and shook my head. “It’s for me. I’m … seeing someone.” Then I did a weird jazz-hands like thing and pointed to the elephant in the room.
Peter’s narrowed gaze shot to me. “When?”
“Recently.” I subconsciously edged toward Jacquie who was likely eating up the drama.
“I would’ve known if you were dating someone,” Peter insisted.
“We’ve been keeping quiet about it.” The lie just about lodged itself in my throat.
“So quiet you wouldn’t have told your oldest friend and he knows myprivateaddress?”
I cleared my throat. “I uh … didn’t see a point in talking about it unless I was sure it was going somewhere. It’s really new. I was afraid to jinx it. And, um, we have that Life 360 app so we know where to find each other.” That lie slipped easily off my tongue. I smirked to myself. I doubted Killian would ever need an app to track me.
Peter’s stare was unnerving. I looked away only to meet the mirthful gaze of Jacquie.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Well, I think it’s lovely.” Wendy drew closer. “I’ve never seen anything like it. He must really be into you to know which books you like.”
I covered my slight groan with an airy laugh. “Yeah. He’s totally falling for me.”
“Don’t forget this.” Jacquie handed me a notecard. I wondered if Killian had paid extra for her to torment me.
I took it, only to have Peter snatch it from my grasp before I could read it. “Peter!”
He opened it. “How do I know this guy’s good enough for you? Who is he?”
I tried grabbing the note back, fire burning through my body. This was not how I thought today would go. “That’s not for you.” Now he cared? Peter held the note out of reach, but I was still able to make out what it said.