‘Dom, can I have a word?’ Charlene, my assistant, asked.
I glanced up from the screen of my computer. ‘Sure. I thought you’d gone.”
Most of the employees left early on Fridays, an unspoken agreement we had since they worked their asses off all week.
‘Someone has to work late,’ she said with humor, ‘but I’m actually glad I caught you when everyone else is gone.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘I wanted to talk to you about a delicate thing.’ She cleared her throat. ‘I got an email from Kelly yesterday.’
I stilled completely. ‘What? Why would Kelly contact you?’
I hadn’t communicated with my ex since we signed the divorce papers.
‘She wants us to release the rights to some of the pictures she had done while she was modeling for us. I could just forward it to legal, but I thought I’d run it by you first.’
‘Give her whatever she wants. I don’t care. I’m surprised she didn’t bring it up in the divorce proceedings,’ I said.
‘It’s possible she didn’t know she could do it, or maybe she forgot about it.’ She hesitated in the doorway.
‘What is it, Charlene?’
‘Maybe she just wants to get in touch with you.’
‘She wouldn’t. Trust me.’
‘Oh, who knows? Maybe once she went out there in the big wild world, she realized what a moron she was for letting you slip away.’
I started laughing.
Charlene smiled. ‘That’s good. You’re laughing again, boss. For a while there it looked like you forgot how.’
‘You know I like to keep it professional at the office.’
‘Yes, but there’s a difference between that and looking like you’re mourning or something. Although, I guess it would be fair to say you’re mourning your marriage.’ She shrugged. ‘Anyway, that’s all I had to say. I’m going.’
‘I’m coming too. I’m done with work.’
‘That’s progress. You’ve got plans?’
‘I do actually, yeah.’
Her eyes widened. ‘Good for you. I’m not going to butt in, but I haven’t seen this’—she pointed at my face—’in a long time, so whatever it is, I’m happy for you.’
We hurried together to the elevator. I went down to the parking garage, stopping first at ground level for Charlene, who always rode in on her bike. I had no idea how some people biked year-round in Chicago—winters were brutal.
Kelly. I never wanted to hear her name again. I’d made that clear after the divorce. But I was determined to push her at the back of my mind. I’d promised Reese fun.
I’d been so focused on her and her ex that I’d never stopped to think about mine—about what would happen if my path ever crossed hers again. But that wasn’t going to happen. Kelly and I had said everything there was to say, the parting, though messy, was agreed upon, and we were both relieved to be out of the marriage.
As I climbed inside my car, I was determined not to think of Kelly again. She was part of my past. My future was Kelly free, and I was only going to focus on Reese.
I went home and quickly packed a bag, then made a split-second decision to stop on the way, to buy her flowers.
‘Hi. How can I help you?’ the sales associate asked me when I stepped up to the counter.
‘I want a bouquet. The biggest one you can make.’
‘Special occasion for you and the missus?’
I tensed. Why would she assume I was married? I didn’t have a ring on my finger.
Her smile fell when she noticed my expression.
Damn, Dom. It’s just a figure of speech. Get your shit together.
‘I just want to make her smile,’ I said honestly.
‘Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever had a customer say that. So, do you know what you want in terms of flowers?’
‘Give me something you’d like to receive.’
She smiled. ‘What’s the budget?’
‘No budget.’
‘That’s my kind of customer. Wait here.’
It took her fifteen minutes to come back to the front, but I could instantly say it was worth it. I didn’t have the first clue about flowers, but the bouquet looked great. There was a mixture of white and pink and something that looked to be between orange and pink.
‘I used salmon-colored roses for accents,” she explained.
That was the color. Salmon.
After paying and climbing back into my car, I raced through the city, hating that I was already late. But I knew in my gut that it would all be all worth it. I’d planned to surprise Reese by bringing the flowers to her doorstep, but she was already in front of the building with the biggest suitcase I’d ever seen next to her.
I stepped out of the car holding the flowers and watched her intently.
Her face only changed subtly at first—dimples appeared in her cheeks, and her eyes crinkled in the corners—but then she flashed me a huge smile. ‘Dom, those are amazing.’
I handed them to her with a grin. ‘Surprise. Sorry I’m late.’
‘You can be late anytime you want if you show up with surprises like this.’ The bouquet was so big that she had to hold it with both hands. ‘They smell so good and look so pretty.’ Her eyes turned sad.
‘Reese, what’s wrong?’
‘Absolutely nothing, you gorgeous, amazing man.’
‘Come on, let’s go.’ I stared at her suitcase.
“The weather forecast is confusing, since it’s supposed to be cold in the morning and evenings and warm throughout the day.”
I quirked a brow. “So you packed everything you owned?”
She laughed. “No…I would have needed six suitcases for that.”
I waited for the punchline, but there was none. She obviously owned a shit ton of clothes.
As I put the suitcase in the trunk of the car, she opened the back door, carefully setting the flowers on the back seat.
“They’re so beautiful,’ she murmured. ‘I can’t wait to put them in water.’
“It’s not far away. Just an hour’s drive,” I informed her when we were both in the car.
‘How come you bought a house so close to the city?’
‘I wanted something on the water without being crammed next to any neighbors.”
‘But why don’t you live there full-time? It’s not such a huge commute.’
‘I like to relax when I’m there. Back at the condo, I work a lot from home. I don’t want any of that when I’m at the lake.’
She nodded. ‘Duly noted. So the lake is just for relaxation?’
‘Exactly!’
She glanced out the window, and I could see her reflection from the corner of my eye. She was smiling.
‘How was your day?” she asked.
‘Good. Productive.’ I had no idea what made me say it, but I found myself adding, “Until my assistant told me that my ex-wife wants us to give up the rights to some pictures of her.”
“Oh.” Reese was instantly on alert, her shoulders going up to her ears.
Damn, why did I have to bring it up?
I took her hand in mine, brushing her wrist with my thumb. ‘Don’t worry. Sometimes models do that, wanting to monetize the photos themselves. I shouldn’t have brought it up.’
‘No, I’m glad you’re sharing things with me. I mean, I’m dumping all of my ex issues on you, after all.’
She looked like she wanted to add something more but then cocked her head to one side, avoiding my gaze.
‘So what does that mean? Are you going to see her again?’ she asked after a moment.
‘No. There’s no need for that. Legal and HR can deal with it all. They just wanted to let me know.’
‘How do you feel about… I don’t know… anything related to your ex?’
‘Every time I talk about her, it leaves an unpleasant taste in my mouth. I keep waiting for that to fade away.’
She laughed nervously. ‘Spoiler alert: it might never happen. Of course, it depends on how much trouble she causes, but in my experience, it only gets marginally better.’
“Then let’s talk about something else. Tell me about all the Christmas presents you bought for your family.”
“Ha! That’s going to take up the whole drive.”
She wasn’t kidding. By the time she finished telling me about the last gift—a makeup kit for Paisley, we arrived at the house. I entered the property slowly and looked at Reese. Her reaction didn’t disappoint.
‘Hey, you didn’t tell me it would be all decorated.’ She was grinning ear to ear. Thank God the Christmas lighting looked tasteful and wasn’t gawdy.
‘I hired a company after you were at my condo. I’d planned to invite you here and figured you’d love it.’
‘This is incredible.”
I was addicted to making her smile and loved to see her happy. It filled me with a sense of accomplishment unlike anything I’d ever felt before.
Part of it was that Reese appreciated things. She didn’t expect anyone to do anything for her, so when I gave her something, like the flowers, her reaction was over-the-top, and I loved it.
She jumped out of the car and took a few steps toward the house. Then she turned on her heels and came back to the car, opening the back door and grabbing her flowers.
Chuckling, I went to the trunk, taking out our luggage.
‘Come on, let’s hurry up!’ Clearly she couldn’t wait. Her childlike enthusiasm was contagious.
She swung her hips slightly from left to right as we walked toward the house. I tried to look at it objectively and not be a scrooge. I’d always felt like decorations were a waste of effort, but maybe because of Reese’s reaction, I now appreciated it. The whole place seemed more welcoming.
The company did a decent job. They’d put strings of white lights everywhere, and it really brightened up the outside.
I unlocked the front door and opened it. Reese gasped, and I followed her gaze immediately, wondering if there was any damage inside, a burst pipe or something.
But no, she was just reacting to the Christmas tree. Again, the company had done a decent job. They went for a mix of red and gold with white lights—classy and tasteful.
‘I can’t believe you told them to put up a tree. Most people would say it’s far too early!’
I tried to suppress my laughter, but I couldn’t.
She narrowed her eyes. ‘What?’
‘I am one of those people. I didn’t actually instruct them to do it. I think it might be part of the package. I must have overlooked that detail.’
‘This is a masterpiece. Can you give me the contact info for the company?’
‘Sure. You want to use it for your place?’
She blinked as if I’d said the most obnoxious thing on the planet. ‘No! I’m decorating my own place. I’ve got tons of things that I’ve accumulated over the years. It’s too personal to me, so I have to be the one to set everything up. But I want another option for the hotel. I wasn’t thrilled with the company we used last year.’
‘Sure, I’ll forward it to you.’
She glanced out the window. ‘They put lights in the backyard too. Can we go explore them?’
I growled, stepping closer to her. “We will. Later. For now, I want to explore you.”
She shifted in my arms, leaning against me. ‘Yes, sir. I’m at your service.’ Then she purred, ‘I’m all yours this weekend. You can do whatever you want with me for however long you want.’
I felt a straining in my boxers and groaned. ‘Woman, don’t say things like that to me before I feed you.’
‘First you brought me flowers, and now you want to feed me. This is shaping up to be one of the best weekends ever.’
‘I’m glad you think that.’
Glancing around, she found a vase in the living room and put the flowers in it. Then she focused on the kitchen. ‘This is impressive.’
‘It came with the house. I thought it was too big at first, but now I like it.’
‘Don’t we have to shop or something?’
‘No, I had it fully stocked. Look in the fridge and tell me what looks good to you.’
‘You’re cooking for me again, not just feeding me?’
‘Why do you sound surprised?’
She shrugged as she went to the fridge.
I wrapped an arm around her, standing right behind her. ‘I’ll do it often enough that you’re not surprised anymore.’
She sighed, sounding content. ‘I don’t think I’ll ever take that for granted.’ She opened the fridge door and whistled. ‘Wow, when you said it was stocked, I didn’t realize you meant with this much food. I can’t decide.’
‘Want me to surprise you?’
‘That sounds great.’ She turned around to face me. ‘What’s with the wicked smile?’
‘You’ll see later. You want to change into something more comfortable?’ I asked, kissing her neck quickly.
She giggled, pushing her pelvis against me, and I barely held back another groan. This woman was going to be the death of me.
‘I could, but I don’t want to change because I’m dying to go explore everything outside.’
I liked her priorities.
‘How do you feel about steak and salad?’ I suggested.
‘Sounds delicious and fast.’
Ten minutes later, I was cooking the steak while Reese was preparing the salad.
‘Where are the bowls?’ she asked.
‘Not sure. I keep forgetting because I don’t come here too often.’
‘I’ll manage.’ She opened two cabinets, found a bowl, and then popped open the package, pouring the salad in.
Even the mundane act of cooking dinner was somehow fascinating with her next to me. She made the dressing out of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and salt.
‘I present to you Reese Maxwell’s world-renowned signature dish: prepackaged salad.’
I laughed. ‘I’ll take it.’ Then, leaning into her, I said, ‘I’ll take you.’
She pressed the side of her hip lightly against mine.
‘You’re full of sass tonight,’ she murmured.
‘I’m learning from the best.’
We ate at the dining room table, sitting across from each other.
‘It’s so peaceful here, and I can imagine that the view is gorgeous in the morning. I don’t think I’d ever go back to the city if I had this place,’ Reese admitted.
‘Then why didn’t you buy a home outside the city?’
She sighed. ‘I lied. I would go back because I like dropping by my cousins’ homes now and again to see the kids.’
I smirked. ‘But not your cousins?’
She smiled sheepishly. ‘Them, too, though lately I mostly ignore them when I’m at their places. It’s just that… well, the little ones want my absolute attention when I’m there, and I’d feel bad not giving it to them. They’re always so excited to tell me about whatever they’ve been up to. I like to know what’s going on with them, especially the oldest one, Paisley.’
I liked that she seemed genuinely interested in their lives. She didn’t act like kids’ stories bothered her.
‘You’re a great cook,’ she said after the first bite of steak. “Ever consider being a chef?”
“No. Dad always said his cooking skills were for the family, and I quite agree with him. I don’t think I’d have half the fun I do when cooking if I had to do it professionally.’
‘It’s like me with Christmas decorations. I like to do it for myself but not for the hotel. Gran actually asked me to help her at her house this year, which is bittersweet.’
‘How so?’ I asked, taking a mouthful of salad.
‘I’m always happy to decorate, but it also means she knows she can’t do it by herself anymore. She didn’t come out and say it, but I can read between the lines.’ She groaned. ‘Damn, I was starving, and I didn’t even know it. I didn’t eat too much at my aunt’s for lunch,’ Reese said, shoving in yet another mouthful of steak.
We were completely silent for a few minutes while we downed our food. Reese kept looking over her shoulder, glancing out the window.
‘We can go outside now,’ I said, barely keeping from bursting out laughing.
‘I can wait until you’re done, or if you want to have, I don’t know, dessert or something?’
I shook my head. ‘We can have the dessert once we come back.’
‘What is it?’
‘It’s frozen tiramisu. I’ll get it out of the freezer before we go.’
‘Sure, take your time.’
She put on her coat while I took the box out of the freezer, setting it in the sink, then grabbed my jacket.
