Lynn’s lips twitched. “Go on, Sherlock. Halfway there.”
Her friend’s green eyes sparkled. “Well, I would infer from the other bouquet that something went more than halfway last night. More like a home run, am I right?”
Squirming in her chair was beneath her. Lynn forced herself to sit still as she hid the smirk that wanted to escape. “I’m not going to tell you while we’re in the office.”
“That’s not a denial, you know.”
She had no intention of denying anything, not to Suz, at least. “Lunchtime. I’ll tell you all about it at lunch.”
Her friend sighed heavily. “I can’t believe you didn’t call and give me an update right away,” Suz scolded.
“I figured you were busy.” She wiggled her brows. “How was your evening?”
“One for the memory book.” Suz tugged aside the uppermost part of her blouse to reveal a large hickey. “Lunch is going to be very entertaining.”
They grinned at each other.
“Hey.” Lynn picked up the bouquet of roses and thrust it forward. “Do me a favor, and give one rose to everyone on your floor? I don’t want them around, but someone else may as well enjoy them.”
Suz winked. “You’ve got it, girlfriend. Meet you at the Souper Shop at eleven thirty?”
After confirming their lunch date, Lynn dove into the final debug for her program. This was the idea that would break her career to a whole new level, but even with an appointment to see the head of the design department looming, she couldn’t seem to keep on task. Her gaze kept drifting to the bouquet of flowers, the faintest hint of a floral scent floating around the cubicle and distracting her.
Last night had been amazing, and she was glad she’d taken the out-of-character chance to try the threesome. But she was looking forward to spending time with Parker alone.
Anticipation was part of the excitement, and she wallowed in how good the idea of being with him made her feel.
“Damn those idiots.”
Lynn jerked to attention, whirling her chair around as Phil stomped to the side of her desk and glared angrily at the defenseless blue arrangement, his perfect brow creased with disgust.
“Phil? What are you—?”
“I should sue them for delivering such trash.”
He reached for the pitcher, and Lynn moved without thinking. She slapped the back of his hand away as she shot to her feet. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Phil lurched away in surprise, dark blue eyes widening in shock. “That’s not what I ordered—it’s a bunch of trash. You deserve nothing but the best.”
An unladylike snort escaped her. “Right. Which is why you took such special care in treating me like your one and only, is that it?”
“Exactly.” His good looks were still there, but the smile he gave her did nothing but leave her icy cold inside.
“What do you want, Phil?” When he took one step in her direction, she jerked up a hand between them. “And don’t tell me you want me, because I’m off the menu. I made that clear last night.”
“I swear this is all a misunderstanding.” Phil tilted his head to the side, a look of absolute yearning in his eyes. “You’re breaking my heart. Just give me the chance to talk to you. To show you how much you mean to me and how good we are together.”
“No. Now get out and let me work.” She turned her back on him, sitting down and resolutely focusing on the screen.
The bastard stood there silently for a good two minutes before he finally left.
Lynn took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Confrontation was never fun, but hopefully he’d finally gotten the message and would leave her alone. Phil was in her past.
But the future? The future looked bright. She picked up the note from Parker and read it again, a smile coming easily. Yes, she had a lot to look forward to.
She opened her email and typed in the address he’d written on the bottom of the card.
[email protected]
I got the flowers. Thank you so much—they’re beautiful!
I’m looking forward to seeing you again, too. Call me tonight, and we can make some plans for Friday if that works for you.
Lynn
Parker couldn’t wipe the enormous grin off his face as he reread Lynn’s email. It was official—he had it bad. So bad he couldn’t concentrate on a single damn thing. Each time he tried to make a phone call or study a client’s questionnaire, his mind strayed to the beautiful brunette who’d gotten him so fired up he hadn’t been able to sleep a wink.
But the giddiness was accompanied by the ever-growing guilt that had been burning a hole in his gut since the moment they’d left Lynn’s apartment.
He’d come into her life under false pretenses, and that wasn’t something Parker ever did. He always put all his cards on the table, except for keeping the occasional ace up his sleeve, but when it came to women? Honesty was his only policy.