Page 59 of Forsaken Trail (Runaway 4)

Three days. I’d finally cracked, said to hell with my pride and driven to the flower shop for just one drink.

Aria looked at ease and comfortable here. This was her domain. In just days, she’d made it her own. When I walked into a room, I could usually tell who was in charge. Last month, the shop had been run by Marty. Aria held the power now. And Christ, it was sexy as fuck.

She ignored me and kept working on the arrangement.

Plastic industrial buckets dotted the floor. Some had flowers. Most held discarded stems and leaves. The walls were lined with shelves, each crammed with empty vases in varying shapes and sizes. The long counter that ran the length of the room was littered with scissors and knives and twine and ribbon. Behind Aria, there was an opening to the cool room. The doorway didn’t have an actual door, just strips of thick plastic that draped from the frame to the concrete floor.

It was as messy and unorganized as it had been when I’d come down to finalize the purchase with the Backers. We’d sat at that very table, Clara at my side, and signed papers for this shop.

An hour later, while they’d probably been planning their retirement in Hawaii, my lawyer had been busy drawing up a different set of papers. An agreement between Aria and me, one that would ensure she’d never know exactly how much I’d paid for this shop.

“What are you doing here?” She took the scissors in her hand and cut the stem of a rose. The snap rang through the workroom like a sharp bite.

“You’ve been avoiding me for three days.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

I frowned. “I thought you wanted to have dinners together.”

“Then you bought me a car without asking.”

A car that had been in the exact same place since Monday. The Cadillac, red and gleaming, was what she’d been driving. It was currently parked diagonally on the street outside the shop beside my Jaguar.

Yesterday, I’d asked Clara what it would take to just buy the Cadillac. She’d informed me that their friend Londyn owned it and Londyn would never sell. Not everything has a price, Brody.

The car was a lot like Aria in that regard.

“I wanted you to have a vehicle. Something safe.” The BMW I’d bought her came with one of the highest safety ratings available for SUVs.

“People don’t just buy other people cars without asking.”

“You’re right. I should have asked.” That way she could have picked the color and style.

“And?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“And, what?”

Her nostrils flared. “You suck at apologies.”

“I’m sorry.” I meant it.

“And?”

“And . . . you can have a different car if you want.”

Her mouth pursed in a thin line. “And you won’t do it again.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh,” she mimicked. “No more buying me stuff.”

“Define stuff.”

“Anything with a price tag.”

I frowned. “That seems extreme.”

“You’re an extreme sort of man. I trust you can figure this out.”