Page 23 of Petals of Blue, Part One (Wilted Duet #1)

Eighteen

ROMAN

I've been shaking since I texted Blue last night. There are many reasons I look like I'm a millisecond from passing out.

One being that Blue actually agreed to see me. I couldn't believe it, then again, she was always the heart of our little group. She would drop anything for us faster than we dropped her.

Second, I manipulated her. I intentionally made it seem like something was wrong because I knew she was still the tenderhearted teenager I met in high school.

Thirdly, I lied to the guys and one hundred percent withheld important information about Blue. All four of us are sitting around a table at Declan’s café, yet I’m the only one who knows the real reason.

Nobody knows what I have in store this morning. Honestly, I'm not even quite sure what I have planned. I'm grasping at straws here. It's almost July. We've been here for like four weeks, and still we haven't made any progress with Blue.

Thankfully, nobody had to skip work today, except Declan, but he was already sitting at the wooden table with a stack of papers anyway. I wonder if Blue knows he owns this café.

Jared doesn't start working at the high school for a while yet. With it being summer, he had a decent break from being a math teacher, but I know he plans to get a head start on the curriculum for his first year there.

Felix starts his new job tonight and I seriously cannot wait to hear how it goes. I might stop by and await the explosion that is bound to happen.

I still haven't figured out how I’ll earn money. My passions are pretty limited, but I have some skills. I'm not interested in business like my younger brother and Felix. Math and school aren't my jam, but I can lift weights and help my friends gain some muscle.

Maybe I'll look into personal training opportunities. I did that for a bit right out of high school but fell in line with my parents’ pressure to get a degree.

"Hey, sorry." Declan sighs, collapsing into a wooden chair next to me. "I'm trying to understand their organization in the backroom, and it's not computing in my head."

Felix crosses his arms and leans back. "Why do you need to understand it? If it works for your staff, why does it matter?"

A flash of something flashes through Declan's eyes, and I can't help but wonder about my brother’s reactions to Felix lately. "Because I own this place, and I should know how my people work. I'm not looking to change it. I'm not a dick."

"I never said you were," Felix replies smoothly.

"Well, if Felix won't say it..." a soft, angry, and feminine tone says. I stiffen, knowing that voice anywhere. "I will. You're a dick, Declan."

Blue's floral scent wraps around me as she steps closer. No force in the world could stop me from dragging my gaze up her gorgeous body. Beside my right shoulder, Blue's dressed in cotton red shorts and a baggy white T-shirt tied in a knot over her belly button.

My dick takes notice immediately and my mouth waters. Holy shit. Has she been walking around Chicago like this? I can't even tell if she's wearing a bra.

"So are you Roman," she snaps, pulling me out of my lust-induced haze. I mean, my God, she's a fucking goddess. She's so close I could lick her belly button. "What is this? Some kind of intervention? Trick Blue into hanging out so we can show her we're not all bad?"

I feel the tension rise around the table making my heart thunder in my chest. Christ, I never used to have so many issues. In college with Felix, I was the life of the party. Since my parents dropped their toxic bomb, I haven't been able to pull myself out of this suffocating pit of depression.

There is no oxygen to give life to the fun, outgoing Roman I used to be. He's just lying there in a patch of wet dirt wondering how the hell he was so gullible and selfish to throw away this beautiful flower.

"Petal..."

Crystal blue eyes sharpen on mine. "Don't call me that. Your pretty flower is nothing but wilted petals, Roman."

My gut sinks. She can't mean that. The Erica I knew was bubbly and outgoing. I still see that in her. She's still my Petal.

But if I believe the old me is at the bottom of a moldy pit, why is it so hard to believe Blue when she tells me past Erica is dead? Is she really nothing more than a wilted flower?

Slowly, I begin to nod. "Okay, Blue. I hear you..."

She rolls her eyes. "Sure you do. So what is this? What's so important you dredged my number from the depths of your contact list after all this time?"

"Roman, you planned this?" Jared kicks my leg under the table, looking shocked and amused.

I nod, feeling guilty as hell even if he's excited.

Declan sucks in a breath and jumps up so fast his knees bang into the table. "Here. Please sit. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"

Blue takes his seat easily and without hesitation, like she's claiming the treatment she's due. I'm applauding her in my head. She's become a strong woman in our absence. Maybe this wasn't a good idea...

"I—" Shit. What if we just make her life worse? Have we already? This feels like a step too far.

"Spit it out, Roman. Feel guilty for manipulating me later."

I seriously cannot express how happy I am to witness her strength. Whatever she went through didn't break her. We didn't break her.

I chance a look at the other guys who seem to be waiting for me as well. Which makes sense since I brought us all together under the guise of half-truths and zero plans. Fuck.

"Please give us the chance to explain," I beg, my words feeling like knives crawling up my throat. What if after we explain, she still tells us to get lost?

I wouldn't blame her.

Blue moves her hair over her shoulder and cocks her head. "Explain what exactly? It feels like there are so many things." She glares at Declan who has found a new chair.

He sighs and scrubs a hand down his face. Did something else happen?

Felix catches on to my plan and leans forward. "Everything. Let us explain all of it."

Silence descends, and the nausea I've been struggling with since last night rises. I swear I'm about to throw up when a young woman with bright blonde hair in a high ponytail skips up to our table. She can't be older than twenty.

"Good morning," the newcomer drawls with a hand on her hip. She's slender and muscular like Blue, but a bit shorter. "Who are all of you?"

Jared looks taken aback, which I'm sure we all do. Who is this woman? "Uh. I'm Jared. How can we help you?"

"Ma?"

Who's Ma?

To my complete shock, Blue sighs. "This is Roman," she gestures to me, "Felix, and Declan."

"Owner of Butter and Bloom," Declan adds, sounding proud. Good for him.

Blue whips around to face him. "You're shitting me!"

"Nope." My brother grins.

"We live in the building. Is that how you all met?" the blonde questions, still flashing looks at Blue.

"You live here?" Jared's excitement over new information is contagious. Now we know where to find her.

"Yep!" Blondie chirps. "Oh, and I'm Violet, by the way. Blue's cousin."