“He’s still calling you?” Richard asked, cleaning up his paintbrushes in the bathroom sink. I leaned against the wall in the hallway, staring down at Graham’s name flashing against the screen.
“Yup.” I hadn’t seen Graham since he exploded at Richard’s gala five days ago, and he hadn’t stopped calling me since then.
“And he doesn’t leave a message?”
“Nope.”
“Block him. He’s the definition of a psychopath.”
“I can’t. What if something happens to Talon?”
Richard glanced my way with an arched brow. “You do know she’s not actually your responsibility, right? As in, she’s not your kid.”
“I know, it’s just…” I bit my bottom lip and stared down at the phone. “It’s hard to explain.”
“No, I get it, LuLu. You’re a giving person, but you gotta be careful, because a man like him is just a taker. He’ll take all he can from you and treat you like crap.”
My mind thought back on the dinner Graham and I had a week before, the night when he showed me a small, softer side of him I’d wondered about. The thing about Graham Russell was he lived almost completely inside his mind. He never really invited a person to see his inner thoughts or feelings. So, the night he exploded at the art show, it was a complete one-eighty from who I’d come to know him to be.
Instead of engaging in more talk about Graham, I shifted the conversation. “Do you really have to be gone for a week?”
Richard walked past me, out to the living room where his suitcases were lying open. “I know, I wish I didn’t have to, but now that I hit the museum, I have to keep the momentum going, and when you’re invited to a gala in New York City, you go.”
I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around him. “Are you sure girlfriends can’t tag along?” I joked.
He turned around with a smile and kissed my nose. “I wish. I’m gonna miss you.”
“I’m gonna miss you, too.” I grinned, giving him a light kiss. “And if you want, I can show you exactly how much I’m going to miss you.”
Richard grimaced and glanced at his watch. “While that sounds ridiculously enticing, I gotta leave for the airport in like twenty minutes, and I’m hardly done packing.” He unwrapped our bodies and went back to his suitcases to pack his brushes.
“Okay. Well, are you sure you don’t want me to drive you to the airport?”
“No, it’s fine, really, I’ll just get a Lyft. You’re training the new girl at work today, aren’t you?” He glanced at his watch one more time before looking up at me. “I think you’re already late.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Well, okay. Text me before your plane takes off, and call when you land.” I bent down and kissed him on the lips.
“Okay, sounds good—and, babe?” he called after me as I scooped up my keys to leave.
“Yes?”
“Block that number.”
“I’m sorry I’m late,” I said, hurrying into Monet’s Gardens through the back door.
Mari was going over the weekly orders with Chrissy, our new florist. Chrissy was a beautiful woman in her seventies who’d once owned her own floral shop. Teaching her the ins and outs of the shop was easy—she knew more than both Mari and me when it came to flowers.
When we mentioned that she was over-qualified for the position, she disagreed, saying she’d been a busy florist and shop owner for many years, but it was a lot of work for her to keep up with. She said her friends told her to retire, but her heart knew she needed to be surrounded by flowers for a bit longer and the position at our shop was perfect.
“No worries.” Chrissy smiled. “I already started arranging the orders for today.”
“Yeah, and she also taught me this new computer organization system—in other words, I think we hired a wizard,” Mari joked. “Is Richard off to New York?”
“Yup, sadly enough, but he’ll be back soon.”
Mari narrowed her eyes. “This is the first time you two have spent a week apart—are you sure you can handle the separation?”
“I’m planning to binge on comfort foods—kale chips and guacamole.”
“Sweetheart, no offense, but kale chips are not comfort food,” Chrissy sassed.
“That’s what I’ve been telling her for the past million years!” Mari said with a sigh as she walked over to unlock the front door and open the shop. “But okay, I’m going to take Chrissy with me to set up a wedding in Wauwatosa—do you need anything from us?”
I shook my head. “No. Have fun! I’ll be here when you get back.”
As they walked out of the back door, an older gentleman with a fedora walked in the front and was quick to take off his hat.
My chest tightened seeing him, and when his stare found mine, he smiled wide. “Lucy,” he said warmly, tipping his hat my way.
“Hi, Ollie. What are you doing here?”
He walked around a bit, studying the flowers in the shop. “I was hoping to buy a few roses for a special lady.” He gave me his charming smile and started whistling as he wandered around the shop. “Though, I’m not certain which ones she’d like. Will you help?”
“Of course. Tell me a little about her.”
“Well, she’s beautiful. She has these eyes that just pull you in, and when she looks at you, she makes you feel like the most important person in the room.”
My heart warmed hearing him talk so endearingly about the woman. As he continued, we walked around the shop, pulling a flower for each facet of her seemingly vibrant personality. “She’s gentle and caring. Has a smile that lights up a room. She’s smart, too, so smart. She’s not afraid to give a helping hand, even when it’s tough. And the last word to describe her…” he said, reaching out and picking out a deep red rose. “Is pure. She’s pure, untainted by the world’s cruelty. Just simply, easily, and beautifully pure.”
I took the rose from him, a grin resting on my lips. “She sounds like a wonderful woman.”
He nodded. “She is indeed.”
I walked to the counter and started to trim the flowers for Ollie as he picked out a red vase. The flowers were an arrangement of different colors and styles—a stunning collection. That was my favorite part of my job: when people came into the store and had no idea what they wanted. Roses were gorgeous, yes, and tulips were pretty, too, but there was something so creatively rewarding about being able to have free range and create a piece that expressed the artistic personality of the customer’s loved one.
As I tied a bow around the vase, Ollie narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re ignoring his calls.”
I grimaced for a second, fumbling with the ribbon. “It’s complicated.”
“Of course it is,” he agreed. “We are, after all, talking about Graham.” He lowered his voice and held his fedora to his chest. “Sweetheart, whatever he did, he’s sorry.”
“He was cruel,” I whispered, the bow not quite perfect enough, leading me to untie the ribbon to begin again.
“Of course he was,” he agreed. “We are, after all, talking about Graham.” He softly snickered. “But then again, he’s Graham, which means he didn’t mean it.”
I didn’t say anything else on the subject. “So, the flowers are $44.32, but I’ll give you the first-time visit discount, bringing it to $34.32.”
“That’s very kind of you, Lucy. Thank you.” He reached into his wallet and handed me the money. Then he placed his fedora back on his head and turned to leave.
“Ollie, you’re forgetting your flowers,” I called after him.
He turned back to me and shook his head. “No, ma’am. A friend of mine asked me to stop in to pick out those for you. I asked him some characteristics about you, and that is the creation that came to be.”
“Graham said those things about me?” I asked, my chest tightening a bit as I stared down at the arrangement.
“Well, he gave me one of the words, and I just kind of gathered the others on my own, based on the few moments we spent together.” He cleared his throat and tilted his head. “Listen, I’m not saying you have to go back, but if you do, you’ll prove him wrong.”
“Prove him wrong?”
“Graham lives a life where he believes everyone leaves. If his past has taught him anything, it’s that. So, a part of him feels relief that you left. After all, he was certain you’d disappear eventually, anyway. That’s why he can’t for the life of him stand me. No matter what, I keep showing up, and it drives him bonkers. So, if you in any way, shape, or form want to get back at Graham for hurting you, the best revenge is proving to him that he’s wrong, that not everyone is going to walk out. I promise you, he’ll act like he hates you for it, but remember: the truth lies within his eyes. His eyes will thank you a million times over.”
“Ollie?”
“Yes?”
“Which word did he give you? To describe me?”
“Pure, my dear.” He tipped his hat one last time and opened the door. “He called you pure.”
His brow was knitted, and his arms crossed when I approached him. “You came back,” Graham stated, sounding surprised as I stood on his front porch. “Honestly, I thought you would’ve come back days ago.”
“Why would you have thought that?” I asked.
“Professor Oliver told me you received the flowers.”
“Yes.”
He raised an eyebrow. “That was four days ago.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, it took you long enough to come say thank you.” His stern, dry words were not shocking, but still, for some reason, they shook me.
“Why would I thank you for the flowers? You didn’t even pick them out.”
“What does that matter?” he asked, brushing the back of his neck. “You still received them. You seem ungrateful.”
“You’re right, Graham. I’m the rude one here. Anyway, I’m only here because you left a message saying Talon was sick.” I walked into the house without being invited and took off my jacket then laid it on his living room chair.
“A small fever, but I wasn’t certain that…” He paused. “You came back because she was sick?”
“Of course I came back,” I huffed. “I’m not a monster. If Talon needs me, I’m here for her. You just didn’t leave a message before today.”
“Yes, of course.” He nodded. “Listen…”
“Don’t apologize, it seems too weak.”
“I wasn’t going to apologize. I was going to say I forgive you.”
“Forgive me?! For what?”
He shifted around, picking up my jacket from the couch and hanging it in the front closet. “For being childish and disappearing for days.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“I’m not one to joke.”
“Graham…” I started to speak then closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths to stop myself from saying something I’d regret. “Can you at least for a second accept some kind of blame for how you acted at the museum?”
“Blame? I meant every word I said to you that night.”
“Every word?” I huffed, shocked. “So, you’re not sorry?”
He stood taller and placed his hands in his jeans pockets. “Of course not. I only spoke the truth, and it’s a pity you’re just too emotional to fully accept it.”
“Your definition of truth and my definition of truth are wildly different. Nothing you said held any truth to it. You were just stating your opinionated thoughts, which weren’t asked for.”
“He treated you like—”
“Just stop, Graham. No one asked you how he treated me. No one came to you for your thoughts. I just invited you to the event because I thought it would be nice to get you and Talon away from staring at the same four walls. My mistake.”
“I didn’t ask for your pity.”
“You’re right, Graham. Silly me for reaching out a hand to someone, for trying to build a relationship of some sort with the father of my niece.”
“Well, that’s your fault. Your need to find life in everything and everyone is ridiculous and reveals your childish ways. You let your emotions drive everything you are, which in turn makes you weak.”
My lips parted in disbelief, and I slightly shook my head. “Just because I’m not like you doesn’t mean I’m weak.”
“Don’t do that,” he said softly.
“Do what?”
“Make me regret my comments.”
“I didn’t make you do that.”
“Then what did?”
“I don’t know, maybe your conscience.”
His dark eyes narrowed and as Talon started crying, I started in her direction. “Don’t,” he said. “You can go, Lucille. Your services are no longer needed.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” I told him. “I can get her.”
“No. Just go. It’s obvious that you want to leave, so leave.”
Graham was a monster born from the ugliest of circumstances. He was painfully beautiful in such a dark, tragic way. His words urged me to go while his eyes begged me to stay.
I walked past him, our shoulders brushing against each other, and I stood tall, staring into his dark eyes. “I’m not going anywhere, Graham, so you can stop wasting your breath telling me to go.”
Walking into Talon’s room, I partly expected Graham to try to stop me, but he never followed. “Hey, honey,” I said, reaching down to Talon and taking her in my arms. I knew it had only been about a week since I last saw her, but I swore she was bigger. Her blond hair was growing in, and her chocolate eyes smiled all on their own.
She smiled more, too, even with her tiny cough and somewhat warm forehead. I laid her on the floor to change her diaper and quietly hummed to myself as she smiled brightly at me.
I wondered if her father’s smile would look like hers if he ever took part in the expression. I wondered what his full lips would look like if they curved up.
For about thirty minutes, Talon sat in her swing, and I read her books that sat on her small bookcase. She smiled and giggled, and she made the cutest sounds in the world as her tiny nose ran. Eventually, she fell asleep, and I didn’t have the nerve to try to move her back into her crib. She looked beyond comfortable as the chair swayed back and forth.
“I’ll need to give her medicine in about an hour,” Graham said, breaking my stare away from the sleeping baby. I looked up at the doorway, where he stood with a plate in his hand. “I, um…” He shifted his feet around and avoided eye contact. “Mary prepared meatloaf and mashed potatoes. I figured you might be hungry, and that you wouldn’t want to eat with me, so…” He placed it on the dresser and nodded once. “There you go.”
He hurt my mind with the way he twisted my opinions about the person he truly was compared to the person he presented himself to be. It was hard to keep up.
“Thank you.”
“Of course.” He still avoided eye contact, and I watched as his hands clenched and released repeatedly. “You asked me what I was feeling that night. Do you remember?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Can I share now?”
“Of course.”
When his head rose and our eyes locked, I swore he somehow squeezed my heart with his stare. When his lips moved, I drank in every word that spilled from his tongue. “I felt anger. I felt so much anger at him. He looked at you as if you were unworthy of his attention. He insulted your clothing all night long as he introduced you to people. He discussed you as if you’re not good enough, and for the love of God, he gawked at other women whenever you turned your back to him. He was insensitive, rude, and a complete idiot.”
He dropped his head for a split second before bringing his eyes back to mine, his once cold stare now soft, gentle, caring as his lips continued to move. “He was a complete idiot for thinking you weren’t the most beautiful woman in that room. Yeah, I get it, Lucille—you’re a hippie weirdo and everything about you is loud and outlandish, but who is he to demand that you change? You’re a prize of a woman, rose petals in your hair and all, and he treated you as if you were nothing more than an unworthy slave.”
“Graham—” I started, but he held a hand up.
“I do apologize for hurting you, and for offending your boyfriend. That night just reminded me of a past I once lived, and I am ashamed that I let it get to me in such a way.”
“I accept and appreciate your apology.”
He gave me a half smile and turned to walk away, leaving me wondering what had happened in his past that upset him so much.