Page 38 of Petals of Blue, Part One (Wilted Duet #1)

Thirty-Three

BLUE

“What's the verdict?" Janine eyes me over the rim of her mimosa. Her eyebrow is daring me to give her the wrong answer.

I don't know the answer. "I'm not sure. What do you guys want to do?"

"Blue, it's your birthday we're planning. Don't ask us what we want." Dakota looks appalled. "Violet, talk some sense into her."

Violet's head snaps up from her phone, and she immediately puts it face down on the table. Weird. "What did you say?"

I narrow my eyes. Does she have a boyfriend? Girlfriend maybe? She's been wrapped up in her phone a lot in the past few days. If she were younger, maybe I could get away with searching her phone for creeps, but we're past that point. Sadly.

"Blue asked us what we want to do to celebrate her birthday. I think that's crazy," Dakota explains not picking up on Violet's distractedness.

Rolling my eyes, I take a sip of my screwdriver and listen to them toss out ideas I might like. All the options sound just fine, except there's something missing from the plans. Or a few someones are missing from the guest list.

"It's a few weeks away still. Let's wait to plan it." My suggestion falls on deaf ears. It's only been a week since I kissed Felix and Declan. Work has been busy, and with Violet being home more recently, I've been too distracted to shoo the four men away.

If I thought they were everywhere before, I was mistaken.

Felix takes his breaks with me, where we normally just sit in silence and sneak peeks at one another. He's asked me about my interest in the security team position, which I don't mind talking about.

Declan makes my coffee every morning with a soft smile and encouraging words for the day ahead. He's become a bright spot in my mornings that I didn't see coming.

Roman still brings me flowers and even brought takeout up to our apartment on Thursday. To say Violet was excited about her orange chicken was an understatement. I'm sure I'll be seeing him at the gym more now that he's almost done with training too.

Jared texts me fun facts about math, updates me on his family, and asks invasive questions about my day because—well—he's Jared. We haven't breached the subject of my not going to cycling class, which I hope means his sister isn't gossiping about my attendance.

"What if we just figure out where we're going for now, then we can decide on times?" Bethany's attempt to compromise on the planning is appreciated.

"Rooftop drinks then Serpent’s," I decide on a whim because A, they won't question it, and B, there's a high probability the guys will be at Serpent’s Kiss anyway.

Or I could just invite them. But what would that mean?

The girls start discussing rooftop bars that have fire pits because there's a high probability that mid-September in Chicago will be cold. I start zoning out until Bethany stiffens and nudges me.

"Incoming," she whisper hisses.

I quickly take a big sip of my orange juice and vodka to prepare myself for whoever she sees. Janine glares over my head, and Dakota's frowning. Violet smiles and waves, confusing me.

"Where's my latte, barista boy?" my cousin pouts and crosses her arms.

Fucking hell. Declan.

"Sorry, squirt. Didn't think we'd be running into you ladies here."

I take another sip of my drink as the hairs on my arms tingle with awareness. I'll have to acknowledge them eventually, but if I could get a little buzz going that'd be great. Maybe I’ll feel much better about being caught off guard then.

Who am I kidding? All they do is catch me off guard.

My chair shifts and creaks as it's pulled away from the table. Fighting back the gasp that tries to fly from my mouth, I quickly set my glass down and look up. Felix smiles down at me, looking absolutely yummy in his black T-shirt and jeans.

"Good morning, sweetheart," he rumbles, and like the ballsy bastard he is, he swoops down and kisses my cheek.

The breath in my lungs explodes out of me in exasperation. "Hi," I breathe, sounding far more affected by his lips on my skin than I'd like to admit.

Felix just smirks and pushes my chair back in. Glancing around, I notice only Declan and Felix are here. I wonder if they're on a date.

"Good morning, Blue." Declan greets me with a kiss on the top of my head. I swear their only goal lately is to make me flustered. Wait—Violet's greeting finally registers. "Violet, you've been getting free drinks at the café?"

Violet smiles and nods. "Yep! Declan hooks me up with an extra shot of espresso too."

"Winning my woman over without gaining her friends and family's approval is just stupid," Declan explains like that's all the information I need. Then he swipes a grape off my plate, making me scowl up at him. Damn it, why does he smell so good?

Bethany leans forward, capturing my attention. "Wait, is that why Roman was making sure the storm didn't damage my garden and patio furniture the other morning?"

"Well, that and we are nice guys, contrary to popular belief." Declan isn't holding back today apparently. Where's the server when I need another boost of vodka?

"And the snacks in the break room?" At least Janine sounds like she's scolding Felix, but the asshole just smiles and nods. My friend huffs but grumbles out a thank you.

"Oh!" Dakota puts her hand in the air. "I had a few teenagers come to the salon saying they were referred by their new math teacher, Mr. Jones. Jared?"

"Yeah, that's Jared. He had a stack of your business cards displayed at the high school meet and greet. Did he send them with a stack of nerdy math puzzles too?" Declan looks excited as he converses with my friends.

My heart can't take it. This is more than shallow friendships. I had no idea they were doing these things for my friends too. "Well, we are eating so—"

"No, but we had a package dropped off with a ton of puzzle workbook thingies. My clients are loving them," Dakota gushes, cutting off my dismissal.

Felix, who has no boundaries, studies Beth's notebook over her shoulder. "What are you guys planning?"

"Blue's birthday celebration. We're doing a rooftop bar then dancing at Serpent's Kiss," Beth says without thinking as she doodles another heart on the page.

Felix’s head snaps up really fast, then his eyes land on mine. "September twenty-eighth, right?"

"Yup," Beth hums, still fucking doodling.

The way Felix is staring at me makes my spine tingle and the back of my neck heat. He looks so intense, like he's daring me to fight him for whatever reason. Bethany is the one I’m eager to fight right now.

Then Felix goes and invites himself to my birthday. "We'll be there." Motherfucker! "Come on, D."

Declan waves as Felix pulls him out of the restaurant by his belt buckle. Sons of fucking bitches.