Page 4 of Wallflower in Bloom

“The strip club fight.” Violet slapped a hand over her mouth. Crap. “I mean, paparazzi”—she rolled her eyes, trying to sound sophisticated and worldly—“such a nightmare.”

“Right.” Jack took a breath. “No paparazzi are hiding in the bushes of Fairwick Falls, so I thought I’d lay low here a bit earlier than anticipated. But I don’t want to send Rose here to hospital.”

‘To hospital.’ Omgomgomg. I cannot. I am simply dead.

Jack sent her his most winning smile, and Violet thought she might be having an aneurysm of happiness.

Or maybe a brain orgasm.

“Could we trouble you for a place to stay tonight? I’ll find another accommodation in the morning.”

What.

Holy. Moly.

On a stick.

Deep-fried in my wildest dreams.

She sucked in a short breath so she wouldn’t freak out. “No problem-o,” she said, giving him finger guns.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to erase the word that just came out of her mouth.

Chill, Violet. Just be normal. He’s just a guy who needs a bed.

Too bad you have more than one.

“I’d love to have you stay.” I’ll just scrub my entire DVR first, so you don’t know what a creepy fangirl I am.

“Right. Let me go get Todd.”

Did he bring someone with him? “Did he need two rooms?” Violet asked in confusion.

“Todd is the cat, Vi.” Rose rubbed her temples.

“Short for Toddrick,” Jack called as he jogged to his car.

The hottest man she’d ever dreamed of, and a cat named Todd.

Of course this was her life.

Violet turned slowly to Gray with a grimace. “I am so mad at you for not telling me your ‘friend’ is a huge TV star. I’ve watched every episode of his show.”

“I don’t watch all that soapy shit.” Gray wrapped his arm around Rose’s waist and shrugged. “I forget he’s a big deal now, not the scrawny model I met twenty years ago. Didn’t even know you would know who he was.”

“You could have said no. Instead of no problem-o,” Rose said with a wry, knowing smile.

Violet jabbed at Rose’s side, causing her to laugh. “I’m not telling the hottest man god created, the star in all my fantasies, that he cannot stay at my house with an adorably old—oh! You’re back.” She slammed her mouth closed.

Jack walked up with a cat carrier and a large suitcase. “Toddrick, meet Violet, our landlady for the evening.”

Violet peered into the cat carrier, and a large, muscular tuxedo cat glared back at her. His ears were pinned back, and he looked scared.

“Poor guy. New things are hard. I get it.” Violet stuck her lower lip out. She peered up and saw Jack’s beaming face looking down at her.

It was at that moment she realized she had on her ugliest, oldest gardening gear after being in the greenhouse all day.

“You have, um….” Jack said, pointing to her hair. “May I?”

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