Page 32 of Wallflower
I shake my head. “I’ll make it work.”
“Great.” Violet drags her teeth over her bottom lip as she peruses the other tasks I’ve asked her to do today, and I lean back in my seat to watch her. “You’ve got physio twice a week every week from now until the season starts in September, but we can always add more if you need it. I’m sorting through the game tape we have so far and should have another batch for you by the end of the weekend. I’ve read through all the updated paperwork from the nutritionist…”
She trails off and glances up, and there’s a tiny smile on her mouth, which makes the corner of my lips tip up before I even know why.
“I’m sorry, Chord. No Pretzel M&M’s in the plan, I’m afraid.”
I let my smile stretch a fraction wider. I appreciate her joke, but I like the shape of my name on her lips even more. “But you got them anyway, right?”
She lifts one shoulder, shifting her tee down her arm and exposing a gray bra strap. Now I’m wondering if she saves her colored lingerie for the bedroom, and my cock likes the idea.
“Right,” she agrees. “There were just a few other things to sort out today. Invitations to summer events you might want to attend.”
“I don’t,” I reply, rougher than I intended, but gruff is my go-to when I’m uncomfortable, and talking about making a public appearance while I’m also dealing with a hard-on is all sorts of uncomfortable. “You can RSVP no.”
Her posture stiffens again, and I try to relax.
“Okay,” she says. “Aside from that, there’s just one or two other things. You have an email from a warehouse in the city. Whatever you’re storing down there needs more room, and they want to upgrade—”
“I’m satisfied with whatever they suggest. Upgrade or move or whatever.” I don’t want to talk about the warehouse or answer questions about what’s in it.
“No problem.” She slips her hands under the table again and curls her shoulders forward. “I’ll return their email today.”
Stop being a fucking asshole.
I take a sip of coffee as a kind of reset. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Violet suddenly stands and looks around like she’s searching for an excuse to leave, and I curse myself for giving her attitude.
“I’m sure you’ve got a full day planned,” she says. “I don’t want to keep you.”
She walks away and sets her coffee cup in the sink. My breakfast is only half-finished in front of me, but I follow, keeping a tight enough grasp on common sense to stay on this side of the island where I can still see her face.
“I’m going to go for an early run then I’ll get in a few laps.” The conversation is starting to time out, and I’m not ready to let her go yet. I scramble for a topic of conversation, and the first thing that comes to mind is the morning I found her on the Silver Leaf hiking trails. “Do you, uh, run?”
“Me?” She smiles to herself as she rinses out her coffee mug. “No, I don’t run.”
I want to see that smile again. “Swim?”
Violet glances up at the ceiling and considers her answer, and whatever she thinks of teases the corners of her lips again. “I… float.”
I can almost see her petals unfolding, and I round the island to get a little closer. “Float?”
“Yeah. You know, like on those inflatable beds?”
“Sure. I get it.”
She shakes her head and gives me a shy glance. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not much of an athlete.”
“You couldn’t disappoint me.”
The words are out before I can stop them, and we stand there in an odd kind of silence, Violet blinking at me like she’s sure she must have misheard me, she’s just not sure how.
“Right, well.” Violet picks up a towel to dry her hands and gives me a tight smile. “I guess I’d better—”
A buzzing ring sounds from the pocket of her jeans. She whips it out and checks the screen, but I don’t miss the way her body tenses, and her throat bobs with a swallow as she swipes to accept the call and holds the phone to her ear.
