Page 47 of Truck Off

How could I not?

I’ve always thought of Chase as the confident, cocky Mutter brother, always so sure of himself. He always smiles and jokes around like life is all fun and games. It’s a quality that’s always turned me off from people. Not that I don’t like to have fun—I do—but I prefer the serious, contemplative type over jokesters.

But he wasn’t all fun and games on our date or the few times we talked. We had a fun time, but we also had some great talks. Is it possible there’s another side to him that no one ever sees?

“Of course there is Lina,” I say to myself. He’s a Mutter. They’ve dealt with just as many problems at home as I have. They’re just as broken as I am.

Maybe that’s why this stings more than it should. He knows my trauma, and he still lied.

I rub my temples, fighting back the onset of a headache. I’m too stressed about this. If I’m not careful, I’m going to get a migraine.

That’s the last thing I can afford right now.

* * *

My shoulders sag as soon as I stop in front of my workstation. There’s an embarrassingly large bouquet of colorful flowers. It’s so large, it’s the first thing anyone sees when they walk through the front door. The bright colors pop against the mostly black and white decor of the shop.

I don’t need to read the card to know who they’re from. He warned me about this. But I read the card anyway.

Lina,

A flower petal for every second that I’ve thought of you and wished I handled things differently. Please forgive me.

Yours,

Chase

“Who’s Chase?” Felix says from right over my shoulder.

I slap the card to my chest and glance back at him. I was so absorbed in the card that I didn’t hear him walk up behind me.

“Nosy much?” I growl.

He shrugs. “Been curious who they were from since they arrived this morning. No one’s ever sent you flowers before and these, well … This is something.”

Ignoring him, I turn back to the card and read it several more times before I slip it into my back pocket. Flower petal. He said petal, not flower.

I study the bouquet and there’s at least three dozen daisies and carnations with a few other flowers scattered in. Two flowers with lots and lots of petals. That’s a lot of seconds.

Felix plops down in my chair and crosses his legs at his ankles. “Talk to me, Leens. Who’s Chase? Is that the guy you went out with?”

I nod. “Only he led me to believe he was his twin brother. I thought I went out with Christian, not Chase.”

Felix lets out a low whistle. “Ouch. That stings.”

“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock.” I grumble.

“Is this the same guy who sent you the replacement inks and locking cabinet?”

I nod but remain silent as I prepare to start my day. I’ve got about thirty minutes before my first client arrives.

“Can’t be all bad if he did all that for you.”

I rub my temples and take a few deep, calming breaths. “He lied to me about his true identity. He literally tricked me into a date. I consider that bad.”

Felix narrows his eyes and studies me, clearly not satisfied with my response. Felix isn’t going to let this go until I tell him exactly what happened.

“Explain,” he says after a few beats of silence.

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