Page 38 of Mr. Perfect
“I’m starting to have second thoughts about introducing the two of you.”
Rocky laughed as he lay down on his bed. “It will be epic.”
Felix managed to catch a few hours of sleep, but it only made him feel worse.
“Take your cranky ass to the shower while I go find us something to eat,” Rocky said. He was freshly showered, dressed, and looked way more alert than he should.
“How do you know I’m cranky? I haven’t said anything yet.”
“It’s written all over your face, Fee. Just listen for once instead of arguing. Not everything has to be a battle.”
“We could always order room service.”
Rocky nodded. “We could, or I could walk down the block and get us better food and coffee at a fraction of the cost the hotel would charge.” He blew Felix air kisses on his way to the hotel door.
Felix didn’t rush through his shower. He wasn’t paying the water bill, so he lingered and let the hot water stir his senses alive, including the ones he didn’t have the time or energy to indulge. Felix felt almost human when he stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed sometime later.
Rocky sat on his bed, eating a croissant breakfast sandwich and drinking a cup of coffee. “I wasn’t sure what you were in the mood for, so I got a variety to choose from.”
Felix crossed the room and peeked inside the bags. Rocky hadn’t been joking. He’d picked up a few different pastries, a yogurt parfait, fresh fruit, another croissant sandwich, and an order of golden hash browns. Felix’s stomach growled and his mouth watered. “Who are the hash browns for?” he asked.
“You. I ate mine on the walk back to the hotel.”
As much as he wanted to tear into the breakfast sandwich, Felix decided to take the safer route with the yogurt parfait, fresh fruit, and a blueberry muffin. The hash browns were his only exception, and Felix hoped he wouldn’t regret it later.
Felix had managed to clear all the cobwebs from his brain by the time they reached Reanna and Stephen’s new house in John’s Creek. They’d recently sold their condo downtown and moved to suburbia. The change had surprised Felix until Ree mentioned she wanted to start a family. He had to admit, her new digs were gorgeous, and he could easily picture her and Stephen pushing a stroller down the sidewalks.
“Welcome to suburbia,” Ree said when she opened the front door. She launched herself into Felix’s arms, and he spun her around. “I’ve missed you so much.”
Her warmth and love seeped into Felix, reaching him at a level most people couldn’t. Felix pulled back just far enough to look at her. “I’ve missed you too. You look good, Ree.” She looked better than good. Radiant.
Ree narrowed her eyes, and said, “You look good too. Maybe a little tired. Did you boys stay out too late last night?”
“Later than I should have, I guess,” Felix said. “It takes so much longer to recover as you get older.”
“Wait until you hit your forties,” Stephen said. The corporate attorney was seven years older than his wife and Felix.
“Oh, hush,” Ree said, patting her husband’s chest.
“It’s good to see you, Felix,” Stephen said, hugging him. “It’s been too long.”
“It has,” Felix agreed.
Stephen wrapped his arm around Reanna’s shoulder and pulled her close to his side. Felix would never forget the day Ree called him and said she’d met the man of her dreams. She rambled on for at least forty minutes about his ginger hair, brilliant green eyes, and adorable freckles. Felix had pictured some older version of Opie fromThe Andy Griffith Show, but Stephen looked nothing like the awkward little boy.
“Guys, this is Rocky. Rocky, this is Reanna and Stephen.”
Stephen shook Rocky’s hand, but Ree skipped the formalities and went in with a hug.
Then she looped her arm through Felix’s and led them inside the house. “He is as pretty as you promised,” she said.
“I heard that,” Stephen teased. He and Rocky were a few feet behind them.
“I wasn’t trying to hide it,” she fired back.
Ree showed them around the house while Stephen made them drinks. They met poolside when the tour was over.
“Does anyone want something stronger than tea or lemonade?” Ree asked.