Page 70 of On the Rocks

She tilted her head. “At least tell me what I should wear.”

“Definitely a nice dress,” I said. And a pair offuck-meheels. That part I left out, hoping the dress part would ensure that anyway.

“Then yes. I’d love to go to dinner with you,” she said. “As long as you promise not to pick me up in a chariot.”

“Got it,” I said, pulling out my phone.

“What are you doing?”

“Canceling the chariot.” Her face fell for a second before I started laughing. “I’m kidding.”

She glared at me. “Just for that, I’m ordering donuts to go. Have fun detailing your Mercedes next.”

“Is double parking just your thing now?” Cora asked as I escorted her to the door of her building a few hours later.

“Worked out for me last time,” I said.

She raised a brow.

“No ticket,” I explained. I was very much aware that the last time I walked her to her door, I’d kissed her, even if the kiss hadn’t ended quite the way I’d hoped.

“Cora!” Carlos called as we headed through the lobby. “These came for you.”

Cora walked over to the reception desk. I followed, frowning as Carlos lifted a massive vase into view, setting it down on the desk. It was filled with red roses.

“Who from?” she asked.

Carlos twisted the vase around. “There’s a card here. Nice flowers, huh?”

Cora snatched it up and read it. Her lips puckered and her nose wrinkled. I could tell she was annoyed. “From Levi,” she told me.

“Levi?” Carlos repeated. “That guy’s back? Thought he went off to California.”

“He did.” Cora grimaced. “Maybe we’ll all get lucky, and he’ll go back.”

“The guy clearly can’t take a hint,” I muttered under my breath. I wanted to find the nearest trash can and dump the entire vase.

“After the way he treated you, he thinks he can shell out for some flowers and everything’ll be okay? Pssh,” Carlos said. “What a jerk. Want me to get rid of them?”

Cora sighed, pushing the vase back across the desk. “Why don’t you take them home to your wife?” she said. “I’d hate for them to go to waste.”

“Hey,” Carlos said, clearly pleased at the thought. “There’s an idea. The wife’ll be ecstatic.”

“Good,” Cora said. “I’m glad someone will enjoy them.” She headed for the elevator. “See you later, Carlos.”

“See you,” he called after us.

I followed Cora into the elevator and up to her apartment, unable to shake the image of the massive bouquet. “So it sounds like Carlos isn’t a fan of Levi,” I said.

She snorted. “That’s putting it lightly. Though they actually got along well enough when Levi and I lived here together.”

My eyebrows shot up. “You lived here with Levi? I thought you moved here to live with Jennifer.”

“Other way around, kinda,” she explained. “I met Jenn when we worked at the same restaurant, and I helped her get her apartment here after my neighbor moved out. It’s how we stayed close even when we moved around to work at different places. When Levi left, I couldn’t afford our apartment on my own, and I was a little panicky about what I was going to do. Carlos was around to see it—it’s why he can’t stand Levi now, for putting me in that position. Jenn offered for me to move in with her, so all’s well that ends well, but Carlos still holds a grudge.”

“Sure, that makes sense.” When Cora had talked about the breakup before, it hadn’t even occurred to me that Levi’s departure would have thrown her living situation into chaos. What an asshole. He really had left her in the lurch in every wayimaginable, hadn’t he? And now he was back, making a pest of himself in newly horrible ways.

What part of last night was Levi not understanding? Cora didn’t want to be with him. She was with me now. What the hell did he think sending her flowers was going to accomplish?

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