The Shifter Romances The Writer

That probably wasn’t super healthy either, but screw it. After all those years with Thomas, who could blame her for being attracted to a guy who treated her like she was a sexy, desirable woman?

She stripped off her workout clothes and stepped under the hot spray. The water beat down on her, the heat easing the muscles she’d just worked out.

What if the only reason she was attracted to Alex was because he was nice to her? Other than the fact that he was unbelievably sexy. The man was hot with a capital H. Or could her attraction be because he was so different than Thomas? Would she be attracted to any guy who was nice to her? Wasn’t there always a rebound guy? That could be all this was. She was getting excited about a nice guy simply because she hadn’t been around a nice guy in a long time.

She leaned her head under the spray and realized that was exactly why she wasn’t ready to get involved again. She couldn’t trust her emotions right now. Everything was still so raw and on the surface.

Being friends with Alex was fine, but that was absolutely where things had to stay.

By the time Undrea arrived, Roxy felt mostly back to rights. She left the woman alone with the tank and went off to the kitchen to fix some coffee.

Undrea walked into the kitchen as Roxy was putting the creamer back in the fridge. “The water’s perfect. I’m going to add some pajama wrasses, and we’ll see how they do for a week or so.”

“Sounds perfect. After all, I’m basically in my pajamas all day.”

Undrea laughed. “I do try to match the fish to their environment. Be right back.”

“Okay.” Roxy sipped her coffee. That tank was going to be amazing when it was done.

Undrea came back a few minutes later with a large bucket and good-sized box under one arm. “Did you know there’s a rose on your car?”

Roxy frowned. “A rose?”

Undrea nodded. “Yep. It’s tucked under your wipers.” She smiled. “You must have a secret admirer.”

Roxy made herself smile back while her belly went cold. “I’m sure that’s what it is. I’ll go get it.”

Undrea headed to the office as Roxy went outside. Sure enough, her driver’s side wiper pinned a single long-stemmed red rose against her windshield. There was no note that she could see. She checked the ground to make sure it hadn’t blown off, but it wasn’t that windy, and she already knew who it had come from.

Thomas.

The how was just as obvious. He must be in town. And he must have come by last night, seen her car in the driveway and done this. The why was a lot less clear. Did he think this kind of crazy was going to win her back?

Because in her mind, their marriage had been over a long time ago. Sure, he still needed to sign the papers to make the divorce final, but nothing was going to change her mind. Certainly not high school stunts like this.

She grabbed the rose and marched it over to the trash receptacle, stuffing it in the big green can.

The garage bay where her hybrid would eventually be parked was still filled with boxes of stuff she needed to unpack. Apparently, this was the universe’s way of telling her to get on it. Because there was no way she was parking the Vette outside to make room for the hybrid.

She shook her head at Thomas’s nonsense and went back inside.

Undrea stood at the end of the hall. “The fish are getting accustomed. I’ve got a drip line set up in the bucket. Should take about thirty minutes to an hour and they’ll be ready to go in. I’ve got another job to check on a couple houses over, but I’ll be back in time to get them swimming.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you when you get back.”

Undrea left, and although Roxy really wanted to watch the news while she finished her coffee, she decided to get some work done before Undrea returned. Because there was always something to do. And she needed to take her mind off of Thomas’s latest stunt.

But first she checked out her new fish in the big five-gallon bucket where they were getting used to the water in their new home. They were gorgeous—deep blue with brilliant orange stripes. She grinned, totally ready to see them in her tank.

Happy, she sat at her desk and got to work. She began by making a to-do list for the week, which was daunting in its length. Then she started answering the fan emails that had accumulated in the last few days. Twenty minutes later, she was working on another email to her assistant about the giveaway for the week.

She was halfway through the creation of a new teaser graphic when her doorbell rang. She got up from her desk and looked out the office window. Undrea’s van.

That had been a quick half an hour, but checking the time told her it had been more like forty-five minutes.

She glanced at the bucket holding the two wrasses. It was getting full. She hustled to let Undrea in.

Within minutes, Undrea had the colorful pair swimming in the tank.

Roxy clasped her hands to her chest. “They’re gorgeous. I could be happy with just the two of them.”

Undrea laughed. “Then you’re really going to like it when it’s fully stocked, but it’s good you like it with those two in there because it’ll be at least a week before I come back to add more.”

“And all I have to do is feed them?”

“Yep. The folder I gave you has all of that info, but you can always call me if you have any questions.”

“Great. Thank you so much.”

Undrea collected her bucket and dripline. “No problem. See you in a week.”