Page 35 of I Did Before I Do

The sigh of relief she let out was intense. She sagged forward, shaking her head. “That’s good. Thank God.”

But, I’d wanted to. And then I’d told him I was still a virgin, and he’d kinda just…stopped. And left.

Was this a bad thing? Did Kenzie think I was a bad person?

I swallowed. “I, uh, I think I scared him off.”

“What do you mean?” Kenzie was suddenly invested again, listening with her brows furrowed.

“We were, you know, messing around? It was amazing. But, it was getting pretty hot, and I told him I was a virgin, and he just stopped. Right away.”

Kenzie blinked. “He’s not the type to get scared off like that.”

“Well, something happened.” I shrugged. “And I thought about going by the shop, but I mean, if he doesn’t want to see me or whatever…”

Kenzie shook her head. “No, hey. Don’t worry about him. Tell you what. I’ll run down there later, okay? See if I can feel him out a little. I’m sure everything is fine, Sydney. Okay?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Okay. Will you let me know what you find out?”

“Of course.” She reached across the table, touching my hand. “I’ll let you know. Or I’ll tell him to get his shit together and not be a jerk.”

That sounded good. I laughed and squeezed her hand. “Thanks, Kenzie.”

“Don’t thank me. It’s the right thing to do. We gotta look out for each other, right?” She grinned and rose. “I gotta get back to work. You have a good day, okay? I’ll text you.”

“Oh, I didn’t pay for my stuff.” I reached for my purse, but Kenzie waved her hand dismissively.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s on the house.” She backed toward the counter. “See you soon, Syd.”

She really did know how to brighten somebody’s day. “Thank you. Talk to you later.”

* * * * *

As soon as I came in the door to Hills & Bridges, the secretaries stopped talking.

Maggie looked up at me with a sly smile. “Well, well, well. Good morning.”

I looked at her, tilting my head. “Hey, is something up?”

She shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe you should go peek in your office and tell us?”

Oh, no.

I was already imagining the worst. Vandalism, or a water leak. Had I opened my window yesterday and made it easy for somebody to break in and steal everything?

I opened the door to my office and stopped short.

The most stunning bouquet of flowers sat on my desk, in shades of yellow and orange. It reminded me of sunshine, summer, and I leaned against the doorframe, taking it in.

There was a note tied to the vase with orange ribbon.

I didn’t need anybody to tell me—I could feel the stupid, love-sick smile on my face.

I moved closer, bending to sniff the center of a yellow rose. The sweet scent filled my senses, and for a minute, nothing was wrong with the world.

There was a note tied to the vase with orange ribbon.

I undid the bow and removed the note. The envelope was unsealed. I opened it and found a note written in handwriting I didn’t recognize.

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