Page 28 of Melissa's Mates (Blissful Bets)

“Yeah, it sure looks like the best feeling. Look at yourselves. You’ve both got bags from sleep deprivation blackening under your eyes. Best feeling, my ass. No mate for me.”

Channing glanced over at Connor and narrowed his eyes while grinning. “Yeah, okay Londyn, no mate for you, we get it. But I was wondering if I paid you, if you could do me a favor?”

Both men looked at him skeptically. “Depends what it is, I guess.”

He once again looked at Connor. “I want to send Melissa some flowers. Could you personally deliver them for me and make sure she gets them?”

“I could do that. When?”

“It’s half passed ten, now. We’ll give it a few more hours. Let the girls get some rest.”

Eyes narrowed at him, and Connor smiled, understanding. It was time to test fate with his new friend, Londyn. Maybe it wouldn’t work, but then again, what if it did?

Chapter 11

Melissa woke up stiff. Her eyes felt swollen as shit, and her throat was on fire. Damn, even in sleep she couldn’t escape her men. Lifting Julie’s arm, she made her way to the restroom. Turning on the cold water, she washed her face.

“Damn, we slept forever.” Julie leaned on the door, looking at her in the mirror. “How are you feeling? Are you hungry?”

Melissa dried her face. “Not really, but I think maybe it would be best if I ate.”

“Okay, we’ll have to go get something. I’m not much of the shopper. Not anymore, anyway. If you want, we can go to the store after we eat, and we’ll buy some food. I used to be a really good cook.”

Turning around, she took the brunette in her arms, hugging her tightly. “Thanks, Jules. I don’t know what I would do if it wasn’t for you. Everyone kept telling me not to fight the,” Melissa paused. “You know, just to let it happen, that’s all. I couldn’t do that.”

“Fight what?” Julie looked at her suspiciously.

“Love.”

Fear made her head pound. Damn, that had been a close one. Her mouth needed a padlock for things like this. How was she ever going to keep this secret with her curse?

A knock had the girls tense at the exact same moment. Julie lifted her hand. “You stay. I’ll see who it is.” Ignoring her, Melissa followed.

“Who is it?” She yelled through the door while looking out the peep hole.

“Londyn. I have a delivery for Melissa. My friends Connor and Channing said she was staying here.

At the mention of their names, Melissa’s heart accelerated to dangerous proportions. Julie looked at her in shock. “How did they know where I live?” she hissed in a whisper.

Melissa shrugged as Julie opened the door. Moments of silence caused her to walk forward. Her friend was just standing there quietly. “Hello, what’s going on?” Melissa snapped her fingers, and Julie spun around, startled.

“Sorry, I don’t know what happened.” She grabbed the flowers and slammed the door in the delivery guy’s face. The paleness of Julie’s tanned skin alerted Melissa right away.

“What in the hell is the matter with you, Jules? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“No ghost. The guy just...I guess I got lost in his tattoos. I don’t know, I…Never mind. How in the hell did your men know where I live?”

Melissa shrugged and took the large bouquet of roses as Julie peaked through the peephole. “I don’t know. But the flowers are beautiful, aren’t they?” Inhaling deeply, her throat tightened. Just knowing they knew where she was made her want to go back to them. They had cared enough to find her; that alone made butterflies rush through her stomach. No one had ever attempted to make things work once she’d left.

“I know that love-sick look. Enough of this. Let’s get dressed and get some food. I’m starving. “

Melissa trailed her finger along a silky petal and just nodded. She wondered what they were doing. Where were her men? Were they here in Corpus, or were they still at her house? Holding her hand to her chest, she tried to contain the pain mixed with a tinge of happiness. At least the ache wasn’t as bad today. Maybe she could move on with her life. Or did she really want to?

* * * *

Connor flipped open his cell phone at seeing Londyn’s name appear on the caller ID. “Hey, how did it go?”

“Just fucking great. I got the flowers snatched out of my hand and the door slammed in my face. I’m assuming the brunette who wanted to rip my head off isn’t your Melissa.”

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