Page 11 of Finding Her Strength

“Right.” She shakes her head. “Favorite color?”

“Yellow, maybe?”

“You’re killing it tonight.” Her grin is teasing.

“God, I know. I suck so bad today. Can you still help me?” I even throw in a pout for good measure.

She stares at me for a few seconds, then nods her head. “Give me a few minutes.” She turns to the coolers behind her, pilfering through the many flowers. My eyes stray down her body, taking in the white T-shirt and tight, black jeans showcasing her curves. Damn, she’s sexy.

She suddenly turns back around, holding several flowers I’d never be able to name. They’re a multitude of colors that seem like they’d never go together.

Ten minutes go by when she holds up a paper-wrapped arrangement. “Holy shit.” The words fly out of my mouth before I can stop them. There are oranges and yellows and reds all arranged in an artful spray of color. It’s beautiful and exactly what Sara would love. “It’s perfect.”

She smiles at me, making my chest ache. “And you’regorgeous.” Yet again, my mouth is speaking before I can think. “Uh… sorry. I mean... you are pretty. I probably shouldn’t have said it out loud, though. I’m going to stop talking now.”Shut up.I snap my mouth closed.

The smile drops from her face as quickly as it came, and I feel the loss as if it were personal. She clears her throat, then steps to the cash register. “That’ll be fifty dollars and thirty-five cents.”

Okay, obviously blurting out compliments is not the right tactic. This woman isn’t anything like the women I normally spend time with. She’s sophisticated and aloof to my normal charms. Although, charming is a far cry from how I’ve acted today. Idiotic is a bit more like it.

I shake my head to focus back on the reason I’m here. Pulling my wallet out from my pocket, I hand over my card. I suddenly realize I don’t even know her name. The desire to learn it almost overwhelms me.

“I didn’t catch your name.” She slides my card through the machine and looks up at me. Her piercing gaze slices through any resolve I have to ask her out.

“I didn’t give it to you,” she says, which throws me off for a minute. This is a new one for me. Most of the time, it takes all of a perfectly timed smile or a solid compliment to get me a number. I’ve never had a woman push me away quite like she is right now. Her body language is almost stiff like she’s angry or something. Maybe I offended her with my comment. I meant what I said, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it was welcome.

I nod my head. “I’m sorry if I offended you a minute ago. My mouth got ahead of me. I probably shouldn’t have said what I did, even though I meant it. Thanks for the flowers and your help.”

A little of the tension drains from her shoulders while a small smile curls her lips. “If that arrangement doesn’t get you out of trouble, I’m not sure what will.”

I smile at her, happy she’s no longer mad at me, then nod my head. “Thanks again.” Turning, I move to walk out of the store before I say anything else to keep shoving my foot in my mouth. At the last minute, I glance over my shoulder to get one more look at her. She’s still standing there behind the counter, an almost ethereal look to her as the sun shines around her.

A look of confusion crosses her face as I walk out of her store. I know this won’t be the last time I see her. I’ll make sure of it.

7

“ROSEMARY”

SIX YEARS AGO

The beeping of machines provides a backdrop to my constantly swirling thoughts. I never thought this would be the direction my life would go. As a kid, I had all these dreams of what I wanted for my life. I was going places and knew exactly who I was. Then, those dreams went up in smoke faster than I could screamfire. I’ve been adrift since I was fifteen, and at twenty-one, that’s a long freaking time to be so unsure of what your future holds.

My grandmother’s voice echoes in my head, “You’re meant for greatness, my darling Rosebud.”Sitting here now, it’s hard to believe she was right. All I’ve been able to do is survive these past few years. Even that feels like a stretch sometimes. I feel like I’m disappointing her every day, but how can I be meant for greatness when life is constantly there to push me back down when I try?

My father stirs in his hospital bed, and I sit up in my chair to see if he needs something. His old, weathered face is lined with stress, finally reflecting the monster he truly is on the inside. I hate having to be by his side through the end. It’s not as if he deserves my support.

“Get me water,” his scratchy voice grates out. Even whiledying, he’s still harsh and angry. And like the good daughter I’ve strived to be since I was fifteen, I reach for his plastic cup, pressing the straw to his dry lips.

Our life has been hard.Mylife has been hard. All because he’s a lazy, entitled asshole who believes I should be the one supporting him. Then, when I don’t meet his ridiculous expectations, a punishment follows. Looking at him now, his body frail in the hospital bed, his punishments would probably break him before they broke me. And I’ve been broken plenty of times.

“I need to tell you something.” His gaze meets mine, empty and soulless. I lean forward so he knows I’m there, but I don’t say anything. Not talking out of turn is almost ingrained in me now despite knowing he’s too weak to provide a punishment.

Before he starts speaking, Antony Malatelli, my father’s close friend, comes into the room. With his salt and pepper hair, piercing blue eyes, and strong physique, he’s quite handsome. His friendship with my father always baffled me. I never questioned him about it, though, knowing full well what would happen if I did.

“Good, I’m glad you're here, Antony. I was about to tell Rosemary the plan.” My father pauses for a minute to catch his breath. The lung cancer has eaten away his entire body over the past couple of months. He doesn’t have much time left now.

There’s a small part of me that’s glad he will no longer be around to use me as his punching bag. The other part of me is worried about what will happen next.

“How about I take it from here, Gerald?” Antony offers, and my father nods. “Rosemary, your father owes me a very large sum of money. At the moment of his death, all of his assets will become mine. Unfortunately, the few assets he does have will not cover the entire sum. Therefore, you will also be a part of the deal.”

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