Page 33 of Mine To Keep (Southern Wedding)

“Well, on the bright side,” she jokes, “we know Pops can get rid of him in the blink of an eye.” She winks at me. “No one will even notice.”

I chuckle. “I’m sure his daughter will.”

“He’s a dad?” She throws her hands in the air.

“Goodbye,” I say, hanging up the phone. The phone vibrates in my hand. Looking down, I see it’s from Sofia.

Sofia: Don’t think I’m not going to call you tonight.

Me: I’m sorry, the person you are trying to reach is unavailable, please try again later.

Sofia: Is that so? I should message Pops and ask him to track you.

Me: Please, he got us all microchipped when we were born. We are all on his monitor beeping the whole time.

I slip my phone into my purse when I step out into the parking garage. Pulling open the driver’s door, I hear the doors unlock before getting in. “It’s going to be fine,” I tell myself when I park my car at work. Looking around, I see his car is not here. “It’ll be a conversation,” I huff, grabbing my purse, “then we can carry on with the way things were.”

Stepping into the elevator, I hold my purse in front of me with two hands, waiting for the doors to open on my floor. I zigzag through people to get off and smile at the receptionist as I make my way to my desk. I’m one of the few people in the office, so I dump my bag off on my desk, going straight for the kitchen. I grab a white mug and make my coffee. “Morning,” I hear someone say from behind me and see Kevin standing in yet another custom-made suit.

“Morning.” I smile at him.

“How was flower shopping?” he asks, walking in and waiting for me to finish making my coffee to make his own.

“Good, we picked all the flowers,” I tell him.

“Are you going to the gala alone?” he asks, putting one of his hands in his pocket.

“I am,” I confirm, and he smiles.

“We should carpool.” He smirks. “I have a car service set up for that night.”

“Oh,” I say, bringing the cup to my lips. “Thank you for the offer, but I already have things set up on my end.” I start to walk out of the room. “I would check with Kayla and see if she has someone picking her up.” I plant the seed. It took me one lunch to see she was interested in Kevin, but he literally has no clue.

“Morning.” I spot Loren walking in with a vase of flowers tucked in one arm and her coffee in the other.

“Morning,” she says, smiling. “These are for you.” She motions to the flowers with her chin.

“For me?” I ask, surprised.

“Yeah.” She smiles. “The florist made them after you left. I left mine at home.” She walks over to my desk and places the vase of pink and white flowers with lots of greenery on it.

“They smell divine,” she says, and I lean down to smell them and smile.

“They really do. Thank you for coming with me yesterday. I don’t think I would have made the decision if I was alone.”

“Thank you for getting me out of the office,” she says. “It’s getting closer and closer.”

“I know.” I pull out my chair. “I’m getting really nervous I’m going to make a mistake and choose the wrong things.”

“I’ve seen all of your choices, and it’s going to be amazing.” She winks at me. “If they complain, blame me.”

I laugh as I turn on the computer and see Sofia has sent me a checklist of things to go through titled: Countdown to the Gala. I print out the paper, getting up and walking over to the machine before walking back. I spot Caine walking in, his eyes roaming the room as he sees me. We both head toward my desk and his office. With every single step I make, it matches the thud of my heart. It also feels like we’re both walking in slow motion. He’s wearing a black suit with a white button-down shirt. I know his sleeves will be rolled up to his elbows in the next ten minutes. His jacket discarded until he leaves. “Morning,” I greet, “I just went to get a paper out of the photocopier.” I point over my shoulder, trying not to sound as awkward as I feel, also hoping he doesn’t throw in my face that I quit yesterday.

He nods at me and then his eyes find the flowers. “What are those?” He points toward the flowers.

“From the flower shop yesterday,” I say. “You can’t see it, but these are the flowers we chose for the centerpieces.” He nods his head.

“Looks good,” he compliments. “Want to step into my office?” He motions with his head, and I swallow down the boulder forming in my throat. I watch him walk into his office, putting the piece of paper on my desk before following him in there. He’s behind his desk, looking down at something on it.

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