Page 54 of Wicked Games We Play

Alana put her hand on my arm, watching me closely as the laughter continued to bubble and overflow, filling the air with my small mental breakdown.

Goddammit, Noah.

I was torn between being absolutely infuriated or wishing I could wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him stupid.

Sabotaging my date fell under the categories of messed up, disrespectful, toxic, and unhealthy, but my traitorous heart still swooned because I knew deep down it came from a good place. It came from his heart, not wanting to accept anything less than me being his.

Oliver opened his mouth to speak more—at least I assumed he did, because from the corner of my eye I could see Alana throw her palm in the hair, signaling for him to stop. “Thanks for stopping by, Ollie,” she scolded. Hopping off her barstool, she turned to me. “Tacos from the food truck down the street instead?”

“Sounds exponentially better than pasta carbs at this point. Let’s go.” I fished through my purse and found my wallet, throwing a twenty on the bar to cover the two glasses of wine we never received, and a small tip, before linking arms with Alana. She led us to the exit, tossing a wink at the maître d’ as we pushed through the doors of the restaurant.

Later I would take the time to think out what I wanted to say to Noah about his date-wreckage, but first I would spend the rest of the night sitting on a dirty curb eating street tacos with my best friend.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR

THREE MONTHS WITHOUT HIM

Research was a bitch. Literally, the worst. It consumed me, filled all of my spare time, and I still was confused as hell.

I received the keys to the building two weeks ago.Mybuilding. I still couldn’t believe Mrs. Landry had sold it to me.

Together, we shuttered the flower shop and let her regulars know I would reopen the shop under a new name with different products, but fresh flowers would still play a part in the store. I kept the walk-in refrigerator and have a small portion of the boutique designed to remain a flower shop. Mrs. Landry had agreed to come in twice a week to create custom bouquets, although with my vision they would be a little different from what everyone was used to.

Traditional bouquets would be a thing of the past, and trendy, dark bouquets would be the newest venture. Black flowers, flowers made from book pages, crystal accent stems, tulle—things of that nature.

Part of my verbal contact with Mrs. Landry agreed that I (we) would still finish out the custom,traditionalprojects that she had lined up, which included two weddings, one of which was my ex-husband’s, and a baby shower.

Renovations for the boutique had begun; Ryder and I were covering the original concrete flooring with a light chestnut wood-look laminate throughout and I was working on repainting the walls an eggshell white, except for the back wall of the store, which was now a deep smoky green. Visions of gold and crystal accents around the store danced across my mind, giving everything an inviting, earthy, yet elegant feel.

I still couldn’t think of a name, though. Why was naming a home decor boutique so challenging? I had a list a mile long of names that I thought I loved, but later struck out.

Brainstorming on the floor, I sat with my back propped against the only wall left unpainted, and my pen roughly scratched out yet another idea. A groan pushed past my lips—I was so frustrated that I couldn’t come up with a catchy name that didn’t sound like a child had picked it.

“You’ll think of something, Lily. Give it time,” Ryder’s voice echoed from across the empty building. He wiped sweat from his brow with his forearm, a floor cutter dangling from his hand as he did so.

“All of my name ideas suck,” I whined, turning my head to the right to see how Jordan was doing with his progress. He had insisted on painting the baseboards for me and was still working on the wall I leaned up against.

After a few more brush strokes, he looked up at me and beamed. “Dad’s right, Mom. You’ll think of something. Now can you scoot so I can finish? I’m hungry. Can we get burgers?”

I laughed at his ramble. Food was always on the brain with this kid. “Yes. Why don’t you finish up painting the baseboard and I’ll go get us some burgers?” I turned my attention to Ryder. “Is Elle still coming by? Should I pick her something up, too?”

“Yeah, let me call her real fast and see what she would want.” He pulled his phone from his back pocket, dialing his fiancée.

I tried not to eavesdrop on their conversation and instead found my purse, making sure I had my wallet before shoving my small notebook of shitty name ideas and pen inside.

“Grab her a cheeseburger with extra pickles and fries.” Ryder walked toward me with two twenty-dollar bills in his outstretched hand. “I’ll take a double cheeseburger with everything on it. Onion rings, please.”

“Sounds good,” I told him, shaking my head at the notion of him paying. “Dinner’s on me. It’s the least I can do after you’ve been helping me and now your fiancée is coming to help after working all day. I’ll be back!”

I slipped through the door of the shop before he could protest and headed to my car. My stomach rumbled the more I focused on the thought of getting burgers for dinner. Had I eaten today? A vanilla latte and a banana were hardly sustenance for the full day. I made a mental note to pack a lunch for tomorrow’s day of renovations before I began trying to brainstorm a kick-ass name for my boutique while I drove to get our dinner.

* * *

Sleep evadedme and as I stared up at my ceiling wide awake, I grew more frustrated with each passing tick on the clock. Frustrated at nothing. Frustrated at everything. The overwhelming feeling of suffocation sat on my chest as I mentally sorted through everything that clogged my mind.

The boutique. Noah. Renovations. Noah. Daily life. My ex-husband’s upcoming wedding and the overwhelming need to make sure their florals were perfect. Noah. Noah. Noah.

After Jordan, Ryder, Elle, and I ate burgers in my empty boutique, Ryder and Jordan said goodbye to me and set off to get frozen yogurt, while Elle helped me clean up from a messy day of renovations before she met them back at Ryder’s place.

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