“What are you talking about?” Zoe asked as she stepped out of the elevator. The first person she saw was Francine, her assistant, rushing forward with big excited eyes.
Francine was in her early twenties, a college student at NYU studying English. She was short, didn’t wear very fashionable clothing, and had thick curly hair that out-shown every other feature on the young woman’s face.
“Zoe!” Francine gushed. “Oh my god….”
“What?” Zoe glanced down at her outfit. Cream slacks, a pink, light-weight sweater, hair up, a little eye makeup, as usual. Nothing too outrageous. She looked past Francine and saw other people looking at her, smirking, smiling, and some looking at her with new appreciation. Zoe frowned at them all. “What’s going on?”
“Um… you had a delivery this morning,” Francine answered as she turned and headed toward Zoe’s office. “A big delivery.”
“What time this morning?”
“Around seven,” Francine answered. “I arrived and they were making the delivery. Oh my gosh Zoe, I have to meet this guy.”
“W-what guy?” Zoe stammered as Francine carefully pushed Zoe’s office door open. Zoe didn’t have to go inside to know what was going on. The moment the door opened, the smell from the flowers rushed out and pressed against her face. And then she could see them: dozens of beautifully arranged vases of flowers, lilies and roses to be exact. They were spread out all over her office. On her work table, conference table and desk, on the floor, on the shelves, everywhere. She’d never seen so many flowers in her life—outside of Colton’s shop. She stepped into her office, her heart racing. She felt her bag slip off her shoulder and down her arm before it hit the ground with a thud. “This is….”
“Amazing,” Francine sighed from the doorway.
“Romantic,” Zoe recognized Gail Stewart’s voice.
“Expensive,” Claire said, “these are very expensive. You know, whoever sent you these must have bought out every florist in the burrow for these lilies. Maybe all of Manhattan.”
“This is…” Zoe stopped speaking when she saw that one arrangement on her desk had a similar cream envelope sticking out of it. She crossed the room in four steps and plucked the envelope from the flowers. Her fingers shook as she opened it and drew out another card with hearts on the front. Colton’s words made her heart lurch painfully.
I really need you, Zoe. – Colton
“Oh no,” Zoe sighed heavily. “This isn’t good… this isn’t good at all.”
“Are they from the florist? Colton?” Francine asked.
“Y-yes,” Zoe whispered.
“Did he do something stupid?” Gail asked.
“Yes,” Zoe nodded. “But nothing this stupid. What am I going to do?”
“Run over there and jump his bones?” Claire asked. “I mean, really, Zoe, this is extravagant. If you haven’t slept with the man yet, you should. You definitely should. I mean, that’s the reason he sent you so many flowers.”
“Or maybe he loves her,” Francine countered rolling her eyes. “There’s more to gift giving than an ulterior motive to get into her pants. Maybe that’s your M.O. but it’s not Zoe’s. Right?”
“Right,” Zoe murmured as she stared at Colton’s handwriting. She wasn’t sure what she should do. She wanted to call him and tell him that he was crazy and that she loved him and wanted him desperately, but that would go against the plan. And then… Ignoring him would be rude. Nibbling on her lower lip she glanced around the office and sighed heavily. “I can’t do this.”
“What?” Francine asked.
“I can’t work in here with all these flowers and not think of him.”
“That’s probably the point,” Gail laughed.
“Yeah,” Zoe nodded. “Yeah, that is definitely the point.” Zoe went to her bag and found her cell phone. She thought of calling Colton right then or sending him a text message. She wanted to hear his voice; she wanted to tell him that she loved the flowers and him. Instead she sent a frantic text message to Ben and Minnie. She needed their help. She couldn’t do this alone.
I really need you, Zoe.
Four hours later, Zoe was still staring at the little card in her hand while her thoughts were consumed by Colton. She thought of his hands on her body, the feel of his lips on hers, the earthy smell of him, and his slightly crooked smile. She thought of the time they’d had together, the fun and laughter, the awkwardness, the intensity.
God, she loved him. She was blind with it.
She tried to focus on work, but that was difficult when she had to constantly stop and answer questions from passersby who wanted to know about the flowers. She didn’t know how to explain them or the meaning behind them, so she said they were from a friend. She didn’t care if people believed her or not. It was the simplest excuse she had at the moment.
She picked up the first card, read the words, and sighed heavily. “What I’m I going to do?” She asked out loud.
The card was plucked from her fingertips. She looked up and found Ben standing beside her desk staring down at the card. He was wearing green surgical scrubs and a white lab coat with his name embroidered across the left breast.
“Were you in surgery?” Zoe gasped.
Ben smiled and looked from the card to her. “No, I was barfed on this morning. Job hazard.” He set the card down on her desk and then looked around. “Well, the man can definitely play ball, can’t he?” Ben bent down and kissed her cheek. “You’ve been sitting here all morning staring at these little cards, haven’t you?” He took the other one from her and read it.
“I… I h-haven’t… I….”
“Your assistant told me you have,” Ben grinned. “Come on, get up.” He took her hand and easily pulled her out of her chair. “Did you call him?”
“No, I was waiting for you or Minnie to show up,” Zoe answered as he led her around her desk. “I should call and thank him, shouldn’t I?”
“Holy shit,” Minnie gasped as she hurried into the office. “Oh. My. God.”
“Min,” Zoe went to her friend and hugged her tightly. “Look what he did, Minnie. Look at these notes.” Zoe dragged her to the desk and picked up the cards. Minnie read them and then looked around again. “What am I supposed to do? I want to call him—thank him.”
“Send an email,” Minnie said after a moment.
“An email?” Zoe stammered.
“Yes,” Minnie pushed Zoe around the desk and into her chair. She then moved the mouse to bring Zoe’s computer out of sleep mode. “Email him… it’s impersonal and you won’t be trapped into a conversation or wooed away to meet him.”
“Good plan,” Ben said from across the room. Minnie spun around at the sound of his voice. “Hi. We weren’t properly introduced this morning,” Ben said as he came forward,
“Benjamin Wolff.”
“Wolff?” Minnie asked. Ben showed her his hospital ID badge as proof of her name.
“Ben, this is Minnie Philips,” Zoe said as she accessed her email.
“Great to meet you, Zoe speaks very highly of you,” Ben said.
Minnie stared at him for a long time and then turned away, her lips pressed together, her face pink. “Okay… type what I tell you.” Zoe glanced at Ben who was grinning from ear-to-ear, his eyes on Minnie. “Type this: ‘Colton, thanks for the flowers—you really went above and beyond. They’re very beautiful.’ You’re not typing, Zoe.”
“I suppose I’m not needed on this particular venture?” Ben asked.
“Nope,” was Minnie’s clipped response.
“Okay,” Ben smiled. “Zoe, can I buy you dinner tonight?”
“No—I’ll buy you dinner,” she pushed out of her chair, ignored Minnie’s protest, and walked Ben to the door of her office. “Seven thirty, Rylie’s again?” He nodded and gently squeezed her shoulder. “I really could use your help in this… I don’t know what to do.”
“You’ve got your powerhouse friend over there,” Ben gestured to Minnie with his chin.
/>
Zoe turned and saw Minnie at her computer, typing away.
“Don’t send that!” Zoe exclaimed. “Whatever you’re typing, don’t send it!”
“Just a draft,” Minnie said, not taking her eyes from the monitor.
“God… don’t leave me with her, she’s insane.”
“She’s determined,” Ben whispered. “And I think I make her uncomfortable.” Ben waved to Minnie who frowned back at him. “She’s cute.”
“Oh,” Zoe whispered, “are you interested?”
“Only in making this a success for you,” Ben kissed her briefly on the mouth. “See you at seven thirty.” Zoe nodded and watched him leave, noticing that several other people in her office watched him leave as well. Zoe rolled her eyes and closed her door.
“What’s gotten into you?” Zoe asked as she walked back to the desk where Minnie was glowering. “You usually aren’t so stand-offish and mean until after you know a person.
Ben’s a great guy.”
“I don’t doubt that—something about him gives me the heebie geebies,” Minnie stopped typing and read the email out loud. “‘Colton, thank you very much for the beautiful flowers. I hope you understand that I meant what I said to you this morning and last night. I will be donating these flowers to local hospitals on your behalf, please know that I really love’ —scratch that we’ll say like— ‘I really like them. I know that you will understand my feelings when I ask you to not to contact me again.’ What do you think?”
“It’s good, but… I want to keep my flowers,” Zoe whispered.
“You can’t keep them, Zoe,” Minnie laughed. “You have to get rid of them—and the hospital patients need them more. Just, pick your favorite one and then we’ll send the rest out. I’m sending this.”
Before Zoe could say no, Minnie clicked the send button and the email disappeared. Zoe walked around her office staring at each arrangement, completely unsure of which one she wanted to keep. They were all so lovely. A few seconds later the computer dinged with an incoming message. Zoe hurried back around the desk, saw Colton’s name, and gasped.
“He responded!”
“He’s probably been waiting for you to contact him all day,” Minnie said as she clicked the message. Zoe wiggled forward and sat in Minnie’s lap so she could read the screen better.
Hi Honey,
You’re a very giving, caring, sexy woman. That’s a good idea to send the flowers to the hospitals. You can forward all of the flowers that I’ll be sending you (every day until you come back to me) to the hospitals. I miss you, Zoe. I miss you very much.
Colton
She sighed heavily and leaned back against Minnie. After a quick little hug, Minnie pushed Zoe off her lap and rolled the chair closer to the desk. She brought her hands over the keyboard then stopped and took them back
“We shouldn’t respond to this,” she said. “That’s what he wants. In fact—” she hit the delete button and ignored Zoe’s gasp; she also managed to empty the deleted mail folder before Zoe could seize the mouse. “Please don’t ask tech to undo that delete, Zoe, you don’t need the email,” Minnie said as she stood. “Really, I need you to focus on the task.
You can’t communicate with him—no matter what he writes or says or does.” She picked up the cards. “Do I need to shred these?”
Zoe’s eyes filled with tears.
“Okay fine, I won’t shred them,” Minnie sighed as she picked up the envelopes as well,
“I’ll keep them for you—deal?”
Zoe nodded and then laughed. “I feel so foolish.”
“Love will do that to you—have you eaten lunch?”
“I don’t know,” Zoe moaned. “I don’t know what I’ve done all day long other than stare at those cards and think about Colton.”
“Well… take the rest of the day off,” Minnie said firmly. “Let’s go grab something to eat.”
“Zoe,” Francine came into the office carrying a white box with a black ribbon, “this just arrived for you.” Francine set the box down on Zoe’s desk and then smiled with excitement. Zoe picked up the little card taped to the box and opened it. It wasn’t Colton’s writing on the inside, but it was signed with his name.
You can poke me any time. – Colton
Zoe handed Minnie the card and then lifted the lid to the box and began to laugh. She drew out the black foam Yankee finger and smiled. “He bought me another finger.”
“Yes, I see that,” Minnie murmured.
“What’s the card mean?” Francine asked.
“I poked him in the eye with one of these our first date,” Zoe answered smiling at the memory. “It was so embarrassing—he was so good about it. He just laughed and he didn’t blame me or make me feel stupid. He just laughed.”
“Okay, give me the finger,” Minnie said wiggling her fingers for it.
“Why?” Zoe gasped.
“Because you’re hugging it like a teddy bear,” Minnie answered. Zoe looked down at the foam finger in her arms and blushed. “And because you need to stay strong, okay? Look, Francine, right?”
“Yes,” Francine turned her eager eyes on Minnie.
“If she gets anymore presents or flowers or anything out of the usual, please put them away for a week. If they’re flowers, send them directly to one of the hospitals. Presents like this, and you don’t know where they came from, should be hidden until the end of the week.”
Francine looked at Zoe for confirmation. After a moment, Zoe nodded in agreement.
“Ms. Rayne?”
Zoe glanced to the doorway and found a bicycle messenger standing in the doorway with a package. Francine hurried forward and signed for the bundle; she glanced at it and then carried it toward Zoe.
“It could be important—how do you know that it’s not from someone else?” Francine asked.
Zoe nodded and ripped open the packaging before Minnie could stop her. She knew it was from Colton the moment she found the t-shirt from O’Shea’s. She smiled and held it open. It was a blue t-shirt with O’Shea’s logo on the front and a cartoon crab on the back.
Inside the package was another envelope, this time it was Colton’s handwriting. She pulled the card free and opened it with eagerness.
Zoe, please come home. – Colton
“Oh… no,” Zoe sighed and lifted her eyes to Minnie. “I’m doomed, Min.” Minnie bit the corner of her mouth and for the first time stared at Zoe with eyes a little less certain and determined as they were before. They stared at each other for a long time.
“What do I do?” Zoe asked.
“What do you want to do?” Francine whispered.
“I want to go home,” Zoe whimpered as her eyes filled with tears. “I want to be in his arms. I want to feel his mouth. I want to feel his arms around my body. I need him, Min, I do. Desperately. He’s a bastard and he hurt me, but I fell in love with that stupid bastard and I just want him to hold me.”
“Oh my,” Francine murmured, her eyes filling with tears. “That’s so romantic.”
“Maybe… he’s suffered enough?” Zoe asked. “You didn’t see him last night, Min, he wanted to pull Ben’s head off, I’m sure of it. Maybe that was enough.”
“You want to go to him,” Francine murmured.
Zoe nodded but looked at Minnie, “What do I do?”
Minnie rubbed her face and then hugged herself tightly. “Three days?” Zoe took a deep breath, “Three?”
She wasn’t sure if she could ignore Colton or her feelings for him for another three days.
Hell, she wasn’t even sure if she could go for three hours or three minutes. But she’d try.
She’d definitely try.
--
Final Lesson: “Sometimes all it takes is one long kiss, one meaningful look, and three
little words to make the world right again.”
Colton leaned against the bike rack outside of his shop, blew into his coffee cup, and watched the men install his new sign above the glass doors. It
had only taken three days to make the sign and the quality of it impressed Colton. A few owners of the businesses aside his stepped out to view the change and nodded their approval. Colton was happy with it as well—the change was overdue.
His eyes fell to the shop doors where Jamie was standing, craning her neck to see the progress. When she met his eyes, Colton waved her out. She darted out quickly, making sure not to hit pedestrians passing by and came to stand beside him.
“I like it,” she said finally.
Colton sighed and nodded, he did too.
The past three days had been unbelievable rocky and uncertain for him. The first night he’d had to sit Cara down and break up with her. It happened an hour after Zoe drove away with another man leaving Colton alone on the street. He took Cara back to his place and he sat her down and spoke difficult words to her:
“I’m not in love with you anymore,” he had said. “I haven’t been for quiet a while, Cara, maybe even before our wedding.”
“I felt it,” she murmured. “I felt you withdrawing from me in subtle ways. I figured maybe you’d come after me if I left, but you didn’t. I knew then. I cam back here to see if maybe something about us could be salvaged, but it was gone. It’s been gone.” After that she broke down and began crying. Her tears were real as were her pleads for another chance. Colton had no desire to try to make anything work—he’d given a decent effort at it the first time, but couldn’t kid himself anymore. They weren’t meant to be.
Colton loved Cara, but not in the way she deserved and definitely not in the way he loved Zoe. Hell, he’d never loved anyone as hard as he did Zoe, and that was saying a lot.
The rest of that first day had been spent breaking the news of his break up to his family who didn’t seem to care that she was out of his life, not even his mother.
The second day he spent running around town looking for things to send to Zoe; looking for unique ways to show her that he was sorry—that he wanted her. He’d exhausted many romantic options that first day and was completely out of meaningful options. He didn’t stop sending flowers, he knew that she liked them and he had plenty to give. He also found it extremely difficult to honor her wishes in not speaking or visiting her. He knew if they could only be alone to talk that things would get better. A stronger man wouldn’t have sent any flowers or gifts in a way to give her space, but he needed her to know that he wasn’t going anywhere. He was going to fight for her like he hadn’t fought for anyone else.
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