Page 119 of Securing the Pucking Rebound

It’ll be fine.

Calm the fuck down.

With nervous energy coursing through me, I begin pacing, my eyes flicking to the clock every few seconds. I’m not sure whether I want time to speed up or slow down.

What I do know, though, is that if she doesn’t get out here soon and put me out of my misery, I may vomit.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” I chant as I turn my back in the hallway again.

I only make it three steps before her voice hits my ear.

“What’s all this?”

My heart lurches into my throat, stopping me from responding. Hell, it stops me from fucking breathing.

I spin around, desperate to see her reaction. And the second my eyes land on her face and take in her wide smile, everything settles.

“This,” I say, sounding much stronger than I was feeling a few moments ago, “is dinner. I hope you’re hungry.”

“I-I—” she stutters before swallowing thickly as she looks around my frame to see exactly what I’ve done.

My nerves return, and I bite the inside of my cheek as I wait to hear her thoughts.

“You did all this for me?”

I shrug. “It was nothing, really. I’d have made dinner for myself anyway, so⁠—”

“You cooked?”

“Uh…yeah. I cooked.”

She moves from her spot and walks toward the table before reaching a hand out and delicately touching the petals with the tip of her finger.

My breath catches in my throat, because when my eyes drop, I realize that she understood the reason I left one of my hoodies on her bed not so long ago.

She’s wearing my goddamn name and number. My eyes drop to her bare, curvy legs, and I can’t help but wonder what, if anything, is beneath it.

As discreetly as I can, I adjust myself in a way I hope it’s not obvious that my boner is trying to burst out of my pants.

“Marigolds,” she murmurs, making my heart thump against my ribs.

“They remind me of you,” I tell her honestly.

Her breath catches, and I wonder if she’s remembering the same thing I am. Mom had them all over the ranch.

“Little burst of sunshine,” I say, wrapping my arms around her waist and pressing my lips to the top of her head.

When she twists around in my arms and looks up at me, tears are clinging to her lashes. The sight of them scares the shit out of me, but then I notice her smile.

“Thank you,” she breathes. “No one has ever done anything like this for me before.”

“You like it?”

“Are you kidding? It’s incredible. And dinner smells amazing. I can’t believe Calvin Keller cooked me dinner and bought me flowers. What universe is this?”

I chuckle. “Just don’t tell anyone. It’ll seriously ruin my rep.”

“Deal,” she says, stretching up on her toes to brush her lips against mine.