“Thanks.”
Aiden waved to the guy before exiting the floral shop, then hightailed it to his car. The cold air blew through him to the point of pain. Swinging the door open, he threw himself inside the thing. Turning on the engine, he boosted the heat to the highest setting. The cool winter air had practically frozen him to death during that brief jaunt outside. It pierced his skin, his muscles, his bones. Damn near pierced his soul. Perhaps it was just in his mind for it hadn’t seemed that cold before he’d gone into the shop. Now that his adrenaline was going full throttle, trepidation and excitement swirled within him and he wasn’t sure what to think or feel. He was the kind of man who took calculated risks, but when he woke up that morning, he’d never anticipated he’d be buying flowers for a client, ‘just because’. He was digging her, and there was just no denying it. Rubbing his palms together, he turned on the radio and sat back for a spell. ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’ by Savage Garden played out the speakers. He smiled at the tune, one of his all-time favorites…
Maybe it’s a sign?
CHAPTER FIVE
I Just Called, To Say, You’re Sexy
Addison stood in her living room dripping with sweat while Macy Gray crooned, “I Try.” Her workout had been damn good, but these gorgeous red and yellow ombre calla lilies were even better. She ran her finger along the fluted ridges of the blooms, the softness against her fingertips feeling like a dream. She re-read the card and confusion fell upon her.
“Maybe it was Derek from the gym…” she mumbled. Derek was a tall, sexy hunk of chocolate who flirted with her endlessly. The man, however, wasn’t a free agent—though he enjoyed pretending to be one with anyone who caught his roving eye. She plopped down on her couch and searched the files of her mind.
Steve? I doubt it…
Steve was a man she’d dated a couple of times, an older man who was also divorced but they had no chemistry.
Cole? Maybe… but I doubt he’d spend this sort of money. These flowers are definitely not cheap. She knew a damn good bouquet when she saw one. After all, her sister was a florist and owned a chain of lucrative shops.
Nah, couldn’t be Cole. He’d never pay out this sort of cash.
They’d gone out one time and he’d spent the majority of the conversation discussing the cost of everything. At first she’d thought he’d acted that way because he was a math teacher, but deep down she’d believed he was simply being cheap…
Oliver? Yeah… could be him.
Oliver was a guy from Sweden who’d she’d met online in a workout chat group. They’d been out a few times, but it was always for short periods of time. She found him to be sweet and cute, but he kept such a busy schedule that they were barely able to talk on the phone, let alone date.
Addison had placed an ad online on a couple of dating sites, through which she’d met several other men, too. None of those hookups had amounted to much. One had been a romp in the hay—lackluster, to say the least. She wished to begin life again, though it was a struggle at times. All that she knew and had been accustomed to had been ripped out from under her, but when she’d finally got the gumption to take life by the reigns, her close friends giving her a bit of a push out into the open field, she seized the opportunity. She’d had fun on most of her encounters, but she wasn’t convinced she’d met ‘the one’ or ever would. Not anyone she’d danced with, ate a meal with, went to the theater or movies with made her believe that, with further exploration, they just may be on to something.
I don’t even believe in the idea of ‘the one’. I believe in many and, if you’re lucky, you just happen to find one of those in the stack of possibilities.
She chuckled at her thoughts before heading to her half-unpacked kitchen and placing the flowers in her favorite emerald glass vase. She arranged them just so, gathering them here, releasing the stems there, until they were perfect, exactly how she desired.
These are so gorgeous. I wish I knew who sent them so I could thank them.
She sighed and picked up the card once again, re-reading it.
This could have come from anybody. I wonder if they didn’t leave out their name on purpose?
Tossing the thought out of her mind, she inhaled deeply, taking in the sweet, beautiful scent. Like fresh air, it filled her lungs. It was the end of winter, but the flowers opened the fresh buds of spring, a dream of what was to come…
Perry’s hair was jammed under a crooked, old baseball cap. They sat across from one another in the Cheesecake Factory, the massive booth dwarfing them. Aiden glanced down at his menu one final time then shoved it aside and plucked his glass of frosty beer from the table. He took a big gulp. The froth felt good as it tickled his upper lip.
“So, did you ask Mom about him again?” Perry asked behind a yawn.
“No.” Aiden shook his head and flopped back in the seat. “I don’t put much effort into it lately. Kinda gave up.” He shrugged.
“At least you know who yours was. You’ve got a name.” Perry rolled his slightly slanted blue eyes.
“But we really don’t know that, right? Maybe Mom was wrong. Who the hell knows? Maybe that’s why he didn’t take an interest in me. Who has a kid and never comes to see them? I mean, even if he wasn’t sure I was his, it seems he’d be curious enough to find out. Anyway, I honestly don’t care,” he lied, but he wished his lie were true.
“Nobody is gonna step up to the plate if they aren’t sure, Aiden. Not with child support looming over them. Mom said your father was definitely Gregory, though. She didn’t even hesitate when she told us his name.” Aiden wasn’t sure what to say. He hated conversations about his father. They didn’t have the same dad, but Mom had admitted she wasn’t certain who Perry’s father was, and it was hard to tell if she even cared about this fact or not. Perry sure did.
She’d never wavered from her admission of who Aiden’s father was though. She’d said he’d been the love of her life.