Whitney
I pull the phone away from my ear and smile.
Wren’s laughter finds me even though my cell is eight inches from my face.
“What’s so funny?”
“Flynn,” Wren snorts. “I’m going through footage from last night, and this girl just gave him the slip again.”
It’s been several weeks since we got back from California and every second has been filled with smiles, laughter, and love.
I never would’ve imagined my stalker would turn into the love of my life, but here I am, walking down the street to meet two friends and listening to him cackle like a hyena with a wide smile on my face.
“Again?” I grin wider. “How many times is that now?”
“I’ve lost count. You’d think a trained former FBI agent could keep an eye on this girl, but she’s making it impossible for him.”
I chuckle as I step to the side to let another couple in love pass by.
“Where are you? It’s noisy.”
“I have that lunch date with Pam and Anna, remember?”
“That’s right,” he says, but his laughter fades away.
“What’s wrong?”
“Trying to find her on the next camera.”
“And it’s just that easy to follow her in the city?”
“New York has tons of cameras.”
“That you’re accessing legally, correct?”
His laugh tells his answers. His lips lie. “Of course.”
We don’t really talk about work, but sometimes he lets it slip when he’s telling stories about his friends.
“Oh shit. Deacon isn’t going to be happy about this.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Hey, babe, have fun, but I gotta go.” There’s a crackle on the line. “Hey, Ignacio. Don’t we have a rule about kissing clients?” The phone goes dead, and I’m still plastered to the wall of a flower shop.
“There you are!” Anna wraps her arms around me for a hug, and just like every time before, I’m a little shocked at how free she is with her affection.
The first time I saw her after her honeymoon, the conversation was light and polite. She must’ve deemed me as one of her closest friends because every time she’s greeted me since has been with a beautiful blazing smile and a hug. I let her warmth envelop me, and I hug her back.
“Where’s Pam?”
“She’s meeting us. Let’s go, I’m starving.”
“Didn’t you text me that you spent the morning puking?”
She laughs like I’ve told a hilarious joke.
“And that’s the way it is sometimes according to the books I’ve been reading.”
“And Deacon?”
“He’s ecstatic, reading the same books. He’s going to be the best dad.” Her arm hooks in mine and we make quick work of getting to the café. “Who were you on the phone with?”
“Wren,” I answer.
“Planning your filthy afternoon?”
My cheeks no longer heat. Since we’ve become fast friends, I’ve spilled my guts to Anna about what Wren and I do, only keeping certain details out of the conversation because some things aren’t meant for other’s ears.
“Talking about Flynn,” I clarify. “Seems he’s having a little trouble in New York.”
“That girl is giving him a run for his money,” Anna confirms. I keep my mouth closed about what I overheard Wren just say on the phone because it’s not my story to tell. “All of the guys are getting cheap thrills from the trouble she’s causing for him.”
I can just picture the serious man with a sexy British accent give that girl the business for getting into trouble once again.
“Have you thought about what you want for lunch?” I ask to change the subject before I blurt what I heard.
“The left side of the menu?” she answers.
“Isn’t that breakfast?” We’ve met at this café twice a week for the last two weeks, so we’re all pretty familiar with it.
“The baby wants pancakes,” she says with a quick wink.
My phone buzzes in my hand, and I frown when I see Pam’s message.
“Shit is going down at the office. Pam can’t make it.”
Anna pulls her own phone from her purse. “Deacon hasn’t said anything to me. I just left there ten minutes ago.”
I know it has something to do with Flynn and him kissing a client.
“You know how those guys are. Running out of coffee pods means Def-Con One.”
“True. Let’s have lunch.”
We order at the counter and wait to the side for our food before finding a seat. I’m barely pulling the paper from my straw as Anna shovels scrambled eggs into her mouth.
“Does he not feed you at home?”
She grins, mouth full of eggs.
“So I told you about Jones.” For some reason, I’m comfortable talking to her about the terror I went through weeks ago. Maybe it’s because she was in her own hell for a while when she sought Deacon out after discovering her friend missing.
“Yeah,” she says, mouth still full.
“He’s in jail, but I just couldn’t get those women out of my mind.”
She swallows before taking a sip of water. “Didn’t you say one of them was stepping out with Jones?”
“Amanda, Theold’s wife was, but Rebecca seems to be innocent in all of this. Well, I sent her all the information I had.”
She gasps, her cheeks tugging up in a smile even though her mouth is full. “Really?”
The question comes out garbled due to the food, but I’ve quickly learned Anna-speak while she’s eating.
“Yep. I felt like it was the right thing to do.”
She nods her agreement.
“I hope she leaves him. She’s been with him longer, and he married the other woman.”
“So messed up.”
“I agree. Now I have to figure out how to tell Wren.”
“Tell Wren?” Her brows draw together in confusion. “Didn’t you tell me you two don’t talk about work?”
“This isn’t work, really. My job with Jones was over the night he came to my door with the intent to kill me.”
Her nose scrunches because she had Russians trash her apartment after she fled when she thought her ex-best friend had been murdered next door.
“We promised not to lie to each other, and since most of the stuff we’ve fought about were lies of omission on his part, it doesn’t feel right to keep it from him.”
“That’s mature,” she says as she leans back in the booth, finally taking a break from stuffing her face. “What do you think he’s going to say?”
“I don’t think he’s going to be upset. I think I’m going to have to stop him from ruining Theold’s life when he hears all the details.”
She laughs. “He is a piece of shit.”
“I get the feeling Rebecca will be the one to set his world on fire, I just provided the kindling.”
Lunch carries on with a ton of laughs, but it ends as quickly as it begins. Anna gets a call from Deacon about the same time my phone flashes with a text from Wren. We make plans to meet again in a few days and go different directions when we leave the café. She’s heading to the office, and I’m heading back to the apartment.
Wren: I have a surprise for you. Come home. I’m heading there now.
I have to roll my eyes.
Me: Your last surprise was a dick in a box. I’m not falling for that mess again.
The three little dots appear and disappear several times before he sends me a heart emoji.
I used to feel like an idiot walking through the reception area of our building. It was almost like people could read my filthy thoughts, but things have shifted. Wren values me, listens when I talk, and he also just happens to dole out orgasms likes it’s his life’s mission to make me come.
I pull the access card from my back pocket and plug it into the machine, beyond grateful that it makes the elevator shoot to the top rather than chancing getting interrupted by anyone else.
I’m still all smiles when I open the door to the apartment, noticing Simon curled up on the couch and Puff Daddy staring at him from the other side of the room like my fat cat will pop up at any second and try to eat his face off. I’ve spent nearly every second in this apartment since Wren hunted me down in California, but those two are no closer to getting along.
I don’t bother calling my man’s name as I make my way through the apartment, and I don’t stop the eye roll when I find him sitting on the bed with a gift-wrapped package on his lap.
He winks at me as I cross the room and lift the lid, and yep… a dick in a box.
THE END
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