CHAPTER 7

DAVIS WALKED THROUGH THE FRONT door of his home, and it looked like a floral shop. He smiled knowing he had contributed quite nicely to the hoard of red roses that were placed throughout the house. As word spread about Nicole’s accident, friends and acquaintances made their contributions as well. Davis was just about to go find her when the doorbell rang. He doubled back to answer it, and when he pulled them open, a delivery man stood, carrying another bouquet of flowers. Davis was immediately put on guard. It was after 7 p.m. What company delivered flowers this late? Was he being paranoid?

The young man sat the arrangement down on the ground. “I have a delivery for Mrs. Nicole Chatham.”

Davis’s response was gruff. “From who?”

The driver looked down at his clipboard. “The paperwork says Rome.”

“Rome?” Davis racked his brain, but he couldn’t place the name as he spoke his thoughts aloud. “Mr. Rome? Who the hell is that?” He hadn’t been expecting an answer.

“Sir, I’m not sure, but I think Rome is his first name. There was not a last name listed on the order.”

“What floral company delivers after hours?”

“We’re not a floral company but a specialty delivery service. This delivery is time sensitive.”

One of Davis’s eyebrows lifted in question. “Really now? And why is that?”

The driver was anxious. “Mixed within the roses and orchids are Kadupul flowers. They are native to Sri Lanka. They were specifically chosen for this bouquet. The flowers are so rare they are considered priceless and have already begun to die. The lifespan is very short; they live only a few hours after they are picked. Getting paid for this job depends on me delivering them alive.”

Curiosity piqued, Davis wondered. Why would Rome send my wife flowers like that? It was a huge arrangement and designed to make a statement. It took up half the space of the double doors and easily stood as tall as to his knees. He didn’t try to hide the scowl that began to appear on his face. It deepened as he bent low to inspect the arrangement. After determining there was nothing dangerous inside of them—except maybe the flowers themselves—Davis stood. He nodded for the man to pass the clipboard over to sign and then reached into his wallet to tip him.

After Davis settled up with the driver, he picked up the monstrosity of flowers and kicked the door closed with his foot. He walked toward the living room eager to bring them to Nicole and find out who the hell was this character Rome.

Nicole lay propped up on the sofa. It had only been a couple of weeks since her accident, and she was still in quite a bit of discomfort. Not only were her wrist and ribs still bothering her, so was her back. She reached over to the table for her prescription pain medication and pulled a pill out of the bottle. She popped one into her mouth and took a sip of water.

Nicole saw Davis before she heard him. He was hidden behind an enormous bouquet of pink, red, and white blooms. It was quite possibly the most massive arrangement she had ever seen. Her eyes had been so glued to the flowers that Davis’s booming voice caught her off guard. “These were just delivered to you.”

She pressed her hand to her chest. “Wow.” Nicole looked at the bouquet in awe. “I didn’t hear you come home. My. God. Davis, you didn’t have to do all of this for me. They’re beautiful.” For the first couple of weeks, he had been much more attentive and mostly worked from home until the past few days. Initially, he went into the office for a few hours, but today, he’d left early in the morning and was only now returning after 7 p.m. She supposed old habits die hard.

He sat the flowers down on a nearby table. “I didn’t buy these. They are not from me.”

She was curious to find out who they were from. “Is there a card?”

Davis plucked it from the bouquet and then walked over to Nicole. He was eager to ask her who this Rome guy was, and to hear what was on the card too. “Yeah, there is a card.” Before he handed it to her, he bent down and planted a long and hard kiss on her lips. If she needed to be reminded about who she belonged to, he would be more than happy to remind her.

His kiss left her breathless. They hadn’t had sex since before the accident. Her mind was willing but her body—not so much. Nicole was spread out on the sofa, so he sat down at the opposite end next to her feet.

She moved agonizingly slow for Davis’s liking as she took the card out of the little envelope and read it. His hard gaze was unnerving. He stared her down since she had the audacity to read the damn thing IN SILENCE.

Nicole,

Sending flowers for an extraordinary woman, as an apology, and to wish you a speedy recovery.

Rome

“Who are they from?”

She cleared her throat. “They are from the donor who is helping us build Angel House. If you want, you can toss them in the garbage.”

Davis had already been feeling uneasy; now alarm bells were ringing. “Odd. A man gives you ten million dollars, and you want to throw out his flowers?” His eyes burned holes through her. “What the hell does the card say?”

“He didn’t give me anything. He gave that money to Angel House. There is a big difference. Why are you acting like you’re jealous?”

“I’m not acting like anything. I’m a concerned husband. Will you read the damn card—out loud?”

“You’re being ridiculous. If you want to know what’s on the card, you read it.” Nicole handed it over to him.

Davis had no problem with that. His eyebrows knitted together. “Extraordinary woman? Apology? For what?”

“We had a disagreement at the meeting, and I guess the flowers are his way of saying he’s sorry.”

“Do I need to handle this Rome with a phone call or an ass-kicking?”

Nicole couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Neither. I dealt with it. He and I have one goal, and that’s to make Angel House a success.”

Without a word, Davis stood, walked over and picked up the flowers, then started to walk away.

“Where are you going?”

He looked back over his shoulder. “Where are the kids?”

“Upstairs with the babysitter. Why?”

“I’ll go get them. They’ve never been to a bonfire, have they?”

“Davis? What are you about to do?”

“I’m taking the kids outside to play in the backyard. I think they might enjoy watching daddy set these damn things on fire.”

Nicole was wired. The medication she had taken earlier still had her buzzing, and it was already after midnight. She lay in bed unable to fall asleep. Good thing Davis was still working on his laptop, otherwise, her tossing and turning would have kept him awake.

He glanced over. “Can’t sleep?”

She sighed. “No, not really. I don’t know how it’s possible to be exhausted and full of energy at the same time.”

Davis had so much he needed to share with Nicole, but she was still recovering from her accident, and he hadn’t wanted to worry her. Tomorrow was going to be a very important day for him and his company. He had no idea how long he would be gone and had already asked if their date night babysitter could come back and stay until he got home, or until the kids were in bed, whichever happened first.

Davis knew he should have talked to Nicole about everything by now but wasn’t sure how to bring it up without causing a shitstorm of an argument. He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. “Is that one new?”

“What? My scarf? Yes. Jane bought it for me when I was in the hospital.” Nicole touched the satin material that she had wrapped her hair up with, then lay her head against his shoulder.

“Nicole?” Her beautiful eyes looked up at him. They were more brownish green than gray tonight.

“Hmm . . .”

Davis hesitated as if he were about to say something then changed his mind. “Tomorrow is going to be a long day, so I asked if Teena could come sit with you and the kids.” He felt it the moment her body tensed.

“You’ve started keeping later hours again. I had hoped things would change after my accident.”

“It has. This meeting is important.”

Nicole sat up. “Here we go again. Davis, every meeting is important. Every deal is important.”

“That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is.”

“I can’t do this with you right now. I’ve got to finish going over this information.”

“You are leaving me alone in this marriage. I refuse to go back to how things were before.”

“You’re not alone!” He was angry. “Please, don’t start up with that nonsense.” Davis rolled his head around his shoulders. “I will not do this with you.” If she couldn’t see how much he was devoted to her and his family, then Nicole was blind.

Nicole glared at him.

If she was already going to be pissed, he might as well put all his cards on the table. “We should think about hiring someone full time to help out with the kids. I was thinking about Teena. She has been a godsend.”

It had been nice having Teena around, but they had decided it would only be temporary until Nicole went back to work. Davis was changing the plan. “I guess you have it all figured out.” Nicole threw the covers back, got out of bed, and went into the bathroom. She couldn’t deal with Davis tonight. She just wanted to go to sleep and think of absolutely . . . nothing. Nicole opened the medicine cabinet and searched until she found it—a sleeping pill. She hoped it would send her off into la la land before she did something stupid like punch her husband in the throat.