Page 122 of A Ticking Time Boss

“Yours?” But I grin as I reach up to wrap my arms around his neck. “That was a mighty list of compliments.”

He bends to kiss me, remembering last second that I have lipstick on, diverting to my cheek. “All true. Now, please, light of my life, can we leave?”

“You’re eager?”

“The sooner we get there the sooner we can leave,” Carter says.

I laugh. “Don’t let the Winters hear you say that.”

Carter looks over his shoulder. “Are they here?”

I roll my eyes. “No.”

“Then come on. There’s something waiting for you in the kitchen, too.” His hand slides down to capture mine, and he leads me out into the living room. Our living room, now. He’d been right about me renting my apartment for a short period. I’d been in that beautiful little space for a year and a half until the conversation about extending the lease came up.

We’d both decided it would be better if I moved in.

His apartment is ours now, with new art on the walls and plants I’d insisted on brightening the space. It’s home.

“Something waiting?” I ask. “Should I be worried?”

“No. You’ll like this.”

“Oh, I’m intrigued now.”

There’s a bouquet of flowers on the kitchen counter. It’s a simple thing, two slender white lilies in the center surrounded by leaves of deep green. Attached is a card.

“Read it,” Carter says. His eyes are trained on me.

“Did this just arrive?”

“Yes.”

I frown, reaching for the envelope. “Do you know who it’s from?”

“The porter said who it was, yes.”

I open the envelope. My eyes scan the simple sentence and the name beneath.

“Oh my God,” I say.

Carter grins. “It’s from your lover?”

“Yes. I mean, my instinct is to say no, but you won’t stop calling him that.”

“What did he write?”

I turn the card over to show Carter the scrawled words. Good writing, kid.

- Dean Allen.

“Kid,” Carter repeats. “He knows about my nickname for you?”

I laugh. “Might also be because he’s in his seventies. Everyone under the age of forty is a kid to him.”

“And sending my girlfriend flowers? I need to be on the lookout.”

I laugh, feeling giddy with happiness. “He read the article.”

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