Page 16

16

Jack

I step outside the venue to answer my phone. “Tyler, is Gisella okay?”

“Uh, kind of.” My muscles tense at his words. But he rushes on, “She’s safe. Sorry, should’ve led with that. But she seemed, I don’t know, upset since she got in the car when I picked her up after work.”

I’m only partially relieved at his explanation. The last thing I want is for her to be distressed about anything, so I’m grateful she’s safe. But it’s been excruciating to be away from her these last two days. I kick myself that I didn’t insist on staying the night Saturday. I would’ve had to leave Sunday for work, but at least I would’ve had a few more hours with her.

And now she’s upset? I can’t take it anymore.

“Tell me what happened,” I demand.

“Well, besides her crying a little right after we left her work, which she tried to hide from me, but I saw it. She asked if we could get flowers from this florist before I took her home. But the shop was closed for an emergency or something, and she was visibly upset. I was worried about her and didn’t want to leave her alone when we got back to her place, but she insisted she was fine.”

I was going to wait to see her until I could take her to work tomorrow morning, but I can’t. I need to know tonight if her stalker contacted her again.

“Thanks for letting me know, Tyler. Check the updated schedule for the rest of the week. Nate and I made some adjustments today.”

“Will do, thanks, Jack.”

I disconnect and check the time. A little before six. I look up a few things before heading to my vehicle. Before I go see her, I have a few stops to make.

Forty minutes later, I’m parking outside of her building. I text her to buzz me in, and then I grab the couple of purchases I made on the way over.

When I make it upstairs, and she pulls the door open, my body tenses for a whole new reason. She’s dressed in loose pajama pants and a tight tank top that highlights her curves, her hair piled on top of her head. She looks gorgeous. I swallow heavily when her gasp meets my ears.

“Jack, what’s all this?” she asks, eyes wide with awe as she steps back to allow me to pass by.

“Tyler told me that you wanted flowers, but the store was closed.” I hand her the oversized bouquet. “I didn’t know what you like, so I hope this is okay.”

She sniffs as she takes the flowers from me, a smile curling her lips. Delight sweetens her soft voice as she tells me, “They’re beautiful.”

I follow her into the kitchen, where she pulls a vase out from under the sink and fills it with water. Setting the rest of the items I brought onto the counter, I watch her in fascination as she removes the flowers from the plastic and carefully trims each stem before placing them in the vase, taking the time to rearrange a few of the flowers until it seems to be to her liking. She smiles at the sight, turning the vase a few times so she can look at it from every angle. My eyes follow her as she walks out of the kitchen and places the vase in the middle of her small dining table.

When she rejoins me, she looks happier than when she first opened the door. “That was incredibly thoughtful. Thank you for bringing me those.” She gestures to the other packages. “What’s all that?”

I turn and start pulling everything out of the bag. “I brought you wine. Hopefully, you like this one. It’s the same kind you ordered when we went to dinner the other night.” I hand her the bottle. “I also brought dinner. I assumed Chinese food was a safe bet, because who doesn’t like Chinese? And if you already ate, I’ll eat while you drink wine and tell me about your day.”

“I like Chinese.” Her whispered response causes me to glance over my shoulder, seeing her face drawn slightly downward.

I list the dishes I ordered, and she tells me her preferences. Having waited as long as I can, I step into her. My hand finds her waist, and I press my lips to her forehead, inhaling the floral scent of her shampoo. “Go sit on the couch. I’ll fix you a plate.”

Her hands shoot out and catch me around the waist. She pulls me into her soft body as my arms wrap around her shoulders. The heat from her body seeps into mine, and I take a moment to enjoy the feel of her against me. Burying my nose in her hair, I let some of the stress from the last few days melt away.

Her hold lessens, and she takes a small step back, strands of her hair getting stuck in my beard. Smoothing it down, I resist pulling her back into me.

Before she turns away and shuffles into the living room, she says quietly, “I’m glad you are here.”

This is certainly not the most professional choice, but I’m glad I’m here too. I quickly fix our plates, pour her a glass of wine, and grab a beer for me. After making two trips, I join her in the living room, taking the opposite side of the couch.

We start eating in silence, both seeming lost in our thoughts.

When I can’t take the silence anymore, I clear my throat. “Tyler said you were pretty upset. Were you contacted again? Because if so, you need to call me immediately if that happens.”

She shakes her head adamantly. “No, I didn’t get any texts or anything. While the stress from that probably didn’t help, it was work issues.” She huffs a small laugh. “I could tell he was worried. I feel bad. Honestly, it was stupid. I had a bad day, and I always get flowers on Mondays. So I overreacted when they were closed.” Taking a sip of her wine, she smiles at me. “I’ll text him tomorrow to apologize for being dramatic.”

I set my plate on the coffee table and take a swig of beer. I’m relieved that it wasn’t related to the texts. And I can understand how much stress she is under. I can’t imagine that’s easy. That alone could make the strongest break. “He was worried. He likes you a lot.”

That brings out a brighter smile. “I like him too. He’s a good kid. ”

I laugh. “Don’t let him hear you call him that. He hates it since he’s one of the youngest guys working for me.” I relax back into her couch, enjoying being back with her. “So you always get flowers on Mondays, huh?”

She nods. “Clara always used to buy flowers every Monday. Said buying something beautiful was the best way to start a week. We would trade off weeks, picking which arrangement we would get. So when I started to have money to afford it, I continued with the tradition.”

“I like that.” And I do. I like to hear about the things that make her who she is, including her habits and what brings her comfort.

She takes our plates to the kitchen and settles back on the couch, an uncertain look on her face.

“What is it?”

Gisella opens her mouth to say something but closes it quickly.

I raise my eyebrows in question.

She fidgets on the couch. “Nothing, I really appreciate you bringing me flowers and dinner.”

I open my mouth to tell her how sorry I am that I couldn’t come over sooner, but before I get the chance, my vibrating phone interrupts me. I groan in annoyance as I retrieve it from my pocket and see Nate calling. “I have to take this.”

She nods and leaves me to return to the kitchen.

Placing the phone to my ear as I watch her walk away, I enjoy the view immensely. “Nate, what’s up?”

“Can you come help cover the rest of this event? Tanner’s wife just went into labor, and he had to leave.”

I rub my eyes with my thumb and forefinger. Nate and I need to hire more employees as soon as possible. We’re going to run ourselves into the ground at the rate we’re going. “Yeah, I’ll be there in fifteen.”

I join Gisella in the kitchen. When she looks up at me, my breath catches. “I have to go to work. But I think I’ll be the one to pick you up tomorrow.”

“Okay.” I don’t miss the hint of disappointment in her tone. The feeling is undoubtedly mutual.

As I head out of the kitchen toward the door, something out of the corner of my eye has me stopping. Taking a step to the counter, I pick up a container and pop the lid off. I glance over my shoulder at Gisella, standing a little behind me. “Did you make me chocolate chip muffins?”

She gives me a sheepish shrug as a blush fills her cheeks. “You said they were your favorite. And technically, we did agree to a payment plan of baked goods.”

I hook my arm around her shoulders and pull her into me. Her arms automatically wrap around my waist.

The contentment I feel with her against me would have been inconceivable a few months ago if someone had told me this was a possibility. I blame Nate for putting his idiotic romantic ideas in my head.

I know I need to release her and not take it a step further. I’m toeing a line I’m not sure how to navigate, as I have never been here before. Gisella is technically our client. Admittedly, since whatever this is between us started before that, and she isn’t paying me, the lines get blurrier and blurrier the more I stare at them.

My hold loosens, but don’t let go completely. I want to relish these last few moments with her before I’m once again dragged away. Her body presses against me when she takes a deep inhale. Smoothing my hand down the back of her head, I say softly, “Hey.” When her eyes find mine, I tell her, “I’m sorry I haven’t been around. I will try to free up some of my time.”

She shakes her head. “I know you all are busy, and you have a lot of jobs and other clients. I’m sure it’s difficult to figure out how to split your time between everything. Plus, I’m technically not paying you, so I really should be the last priority.”

I don’t have time to convince her how wrong she is. I can’t remember a time I have ever had a client’s body pressed to mine the way hers is nor would I have enjoyed it as much with anyone else. I settle for one last gentle kiss on her forehead and admit, “You are so far from the last priority for me, I can promise you that.”

I begrudgingly release her and tuck the container of muffins underneath my arm. She pads behind me to the door.

“Put the security bar in place when I leave.” Giving her one last look, I step into the hallway and close the door behind me. I stand there until I hear the lock click and another noise that I take as her sliding the security bar under the doorknob.

It’s going to be a long night as I count down the minutes until I can see Gisella again.