Page 44 of Surrender (Angels Halo MC Next Gen)

I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth, debating what to do. I loved lotus. It was what my hair products were scented with. They were easily my second-favorite flower. This lotus was exquisite, and I loved it on sight.

But keeping it felt wrong.

Flirting with my stalker wasn’t right on so many levels. For one—hello,stalker. Not that I could judge. Leaving me a few notes and flowers was child’s play compared to all the things I’d done to violate Elias’s privacy over the years. And two—I was flirting with the person. I flirted with everyone, but this was different. I liked it. Too much.

Not just the thrill of toying with the stalker. But in a short time, I’d begun to look forward to those creepy little notes.

My red orchid still sat on my drafting table. I had picked up a bottle of plant food spray for it on Thursday that I kept in one of my desk drawers. I should have chucked the pretty flower in the trash, but it looked so beautiful sitting there. And the lotus…

No, I couldn’t throw either of them away. Just the thought of tossing them out made my heart race.

Instead, I searched my phone for how to care for the new floral addition to my office as I sipped my coffee. Part of me felt sorry for the poor, unfortunate soul. Stalking was a sickness. An obsession. An addiction, really. What I felt for mine was empathy. Plain, but definitely not so simple.

A tap on my door had me calling, “It’s open,” without fully lifting my gaze from my phone. Jos stepped in, sniffing the air. “What is that smell? It’s divine.”

“I’m starting a floral collection,” I told her as I placed my phone on the desk.

“Pretty. Maybe I’ll put a few of those out front. It will brighten up the place and make it smell nice at the same time.” She took one of the seats in front of my desk. “I have a meeting in twenty minutes. Want to sit in?”

“Absolutely,” I answered enthusiastically.

My interest in architecture might have started because of my obsession with Elias, but I’d discovered early that I loved every aspect of it. From the moment I’d decided what my career path would be, I’d started shadowing everyone in my family’s construction company. Not just the architects, but their assistants, office managers, even the receptionists. My plan wasn’t just to make Elias fall in love with me because we had similar interests. I wanted to help run Barker & Reid and make the company as successful as possible.

Jos had back-to-back meetings, all of which I sat in on. I took a few notes throughout so I could refer back to them or pass them along to Elias. Ninety percent of Barker & Reid’s clients were male, but Jos handled them all with perfect professionalism. Her grandfather had started grooming her to take over the company when she was a kid, but it wasn’t until Reid was a toddler, and the old biker had passed away, that she’d come back to Creswell Springs.

At the time, everyone had thought Tanner had died. It was weeks later that they’d found him, close to death, broken, flesh rotting, in the basement of an enemy. I was thankful they’d found and saved him. Because without Tanner, there would be no Elias.

Jos’s ability to run the construction company so effortlessly was no doubt a result of having Tanner as a husband. He was a handful at times, as were a number of the clients who had to be walked through many of the steps that came before, during, and after construction of a project.

Throughout each meeting, Jos included me in the conversations. To her, I was an equal, which was a far cry from how Mom tended to treat me. Anya Vitucci was a great mom—to my brother. Iknewshe loved me. But she was so focused on teaching me how to protect myself, she forgot to turn her affection for me back on.

After the second meeting concluded, we walked the client to the front. As soon as we opened the conference room door, we heard the phones going off incessantly. Crystal, who had been tapping away on her phone, noticed us and picked up the receiver. “Barker & Reid…”

Jos’s eyes twitched, but she offered the client a smile and shook his hand. “We will have those numbers to you by end of business tomorrow.”

I offered my hand next. “I hope we get the chance to work together, sir. It was a pleasure speaking with you.”

Releasing my fingers after a respectable time, he grinned at us. “Jos, you would be letting a good thing go if you don’t keep this young woman on after her internship is over. She’s already charmed me into two more locations, and we haven’t even finished the first.”

My boss threaded her arm through mine. “Trust me, Arnold, I’m going to do my best to keep Sammy from leaving us.”

She wouldn’t have to try hard. Or at all. Because I didn’t ever want to leave her or Creswell Springs. But I especially didn’t want to leave Elias.

As the door closed behind Arnold, Elias came out of his office holding a ball of white fluff against his chest. I stopped in my tracks, my heart squeezing at the sight of the giant man with the tiniest white kitten I’d ever seen.

“What did you do?” Jos asked with a laugh when she saw her son.

“What?” His hand swallowed the fluff ball, but his touch was gentle when he stroked the kitten’s head, causing the little thing to purr in pleasure. “I found her on the side of the road near Aggie’s this morning. I couldn’t just leave her to get run over. Now she’s my buddy.”

I couldn’t seem to find my voice as I stood there, unable to tear my gaze from the itty-bitty baby feline and the gentle giant who held her protectively. “I’m going to the store now to grab a litter box and food. Maybe a pet carrier. And toys.” He gave me big, pleading eyes.

As if asking my permission.

“I called the vet already. They have an opening this evening at four thirty.” He pulled the kitty away from his chest and placed her in my hands.

My fingers curled around her protectively, and I tried not to let my heart melt.

I tried hard.

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