Chapter Seven
The scent of the roses filled Presley’s nostrils as she breathed in their heady and sweet aroma. Seth hadn’t sent her flowers since Lulu’s birth but he’d pulled out all the stops making up for the lag in time. One dozen scarlet red roses in a lovely cut glass vase. She hoped he got a deal on them because they had to have cost a fortune.
That. Right there. I’ve become too practical.
Setting them on the dining room table in full view of the living room and kitchen, she stood back and admired them yet again. She loved Seth with all of her heart, but then he did wonderfully loving things like this and that love threatened to almost overtake her. Surely no one in the world was loved as much as Seth Reilly was?
“Mama got woses. They piddy.”
Presley lifted Lulu onto her hip so her daughter could get a closer look and even lean in for a sniff. “They are pretty, aren’t they? Daddy sent them to Mommy.”
Because he loves me and I rocked his world last night.
The sender of roses chose that moment to push open the front door, dropping his jacket on the floor along with his beaten-up leather messenger bag and empty thermos. Presley didn’t hesitate, launching herself into his arms and pulling him down into a hot kiss that promised much more after the kids were in bed. She wanted to make sure he knew how much she loved the flowers.
“Hey, that was quite the welcome,” he said huskily before kneeling down to give Ben and Lulu a hug. “What did I do to deserve it? Because I’ll do it every single day.”
“If you do it every day we might go broke,” she giggled, motioning toward the dining room table. “But I love that you did it today. Thank you, Seth, they’re beautiful.”
His eyes widened and she could see that even he was surprised at how gorgeous they were. He must have ordered them over the phone instead of in person.
“Um…wow…those are really something.”
She’d been so worried about her marriage but then he’d gone and done something this wonderful. Now she felt a little silly. “Thank you so much, honey. I love you.”
He walked over to the flowers and studied them, reaching out to touch a velvety petal.
“Was there a card?”
Shaking her head, she linked her arm with his and pressed her head to his chest. “There wasn’t. Did the florist lose it? What did it say? I bet I know what it said.”
“What do you think it said?”
Keeping her voice low, her gaze flashed to her two children quietly playing with their toys. The peace wouldn’t last long but she’d enjoy it while she could. “That last night was amazing.”
“It was,” he agreed, his fingertips brushing her cheek. “I–I’m glad you like the flowers, babe.”
“I need to check on dinner. We’ll eat in about ten minutes.” Pausing in the doorway to the kitchen she blew a kiss to her husband. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
All marriages hit bumps in the road but they were going to be fine.
* * * *
Hiding in the upstairs bathroom while Presley read a bedtime story to Ben and Lulu, Seth called Tanner.
“I’m going to take you up on your offer,” he said before Tanner could even greet him. “Tomorrow, right after my parents get on the road with the kids, I’m taking Presley on a vacation. The sooner the better.”
“You didn’t think it was such a great idea a few hours ago,” Tanner replied. “What’s changed?”
Still furious and terrified, Seth paced the small room like a caged tiger. All his energy had built up and he had no way to burn it off. “A dozen fucking blood red roses showed up at the house today. Presley thinks I sent them.”
Silence stretched out while Seth seethed, every second pissing him off more. He’d rip Harbaugh into pieces if he so much as looked at Presley.
“What did the card say?”
“No card,” Seth answered curtly, sweat pooling on the back of his neck. “She thinks I was being romantic. But we both know this was a warning like the gunshot today. He’s fucking playing with us. He’s been watching us, watching Presley. I need to get her out of here right away. I’d take her out of here tonight but it would raise her suspicions.”
“You could just tell her what’s going on.”
Tanner didn’t know all the facts. “I don’t want her stressed or upset. I’ll have to tell her eventually but right now we don’t know a goddamn thing about where Harbaugh is or what he has planned. I’d like to wait until we have more of a handle on all of this.”
“Have you bought the tickets yet?”
“Not yet but I’m going to. I’ll text you the flight number as soon as I know it. Will it be you or Reed tailing us to the airport?”
“Not sure. It could even be Dare or Griffin. I think you’re doing the right thing. Get out of there and blend in with the crowd. With any luck Danny Harbaugh won’t have any idea where you’ve gone.”
Seth and Tanner ended their call and he shoved his phone in his pocket. He headed down to the kitchen where his laptop sat on the counter and pulled up a travel site. He could smell the strong floral aroma and it made him slightly sick to his stomach. He wanted to toss them into the trash but there was no way Presley would allow that and he wasn’t ready to explain his actions.
Within minutes he had everything he needed – plane tickets, hotel, and ground transportation. They’d leave for the Billings airport right after he sent his parents on their way to Memphis.
“What are you doing, you handsome stud?”
No black lace tonight but she’d gone one better and was wearing one of his dress shirts, half unbuttoned, the hem brushing her thighs and showing off her fantastic legs. There was something about a woman in a guy’s shirt, and he was just Neanderthal enough to enjoy the possessive vibe of her wearing his shirt.
“It’s a surprise.”
The words came out choked but then he wasn’t known for being eloquent when his wife paraded around in front of him with amorous intentions.
Her brows flew up and her smile widened. “Another surprise? Seth Reilly, you are becoming almost spontaneous. What is it?”
If she only knew what motivation it had taken for him to be this spontaneous. When this was all over he’d leave it to her. She was far better at it and it only stressed him out to try.
“A trip,” he replied. “A sort of second honeymoon while the kids are with my parents.”
Clasping her hands together in delight, her eyes glowed. “A trip? Where are we going?”
This was the tough part. Presley was a curious person but he needed to keep the destination under wraps until they were at the airport gate. The less people knew the better. He didn’t want to put anyone in extra danger because they had information on Seth and Presley’s whereabouts.
“It’s a surprise, baby,” he chided. “You’ll know when we get to the airport tomorrow.”
“Airport,” she breathed. “It’s far enough away that we can’t drive. Hmmm…that leaves a bunch of options on the table. But wait, how will I know what to pack?”
He hadn’t even thought about that. “It will be nice weather, even hot. We might go to a fancy restaurant. Does that help? If you don’t have what you need you can shop when we get there.”
“Okay, it has stores and restaurants. That means we’re not going camping.”
Not after the last time he’d taken her and she’d almost been eaten by a bear. Even animals couldn’t stay away from Presley.
“Not camping,” he said firmly. “Someplace I think you’ll like.”
“I’m sure I’ll love it.” Her smile fell and she groaned, burying her face in her hands. “But I can’t leave. Not right now. It wouldn’t be fair to Eliza. We have so much work to do on the shop.”
Shit, he’d forgotten all about that, not that he would admit that to Presley. She already thought he didn’t take her ambitions seriously enough.
“I’ve got that covered,” he assured her, thinking fast. “I bet Eliza and Alex would love a few days off too. When we get back I can help in the evenings so you can catch up. Ben and Lulu will be with my mom and dad. It will all work. Trust me.”
She was considering it, biting her lip in thought. He held his breath as she decided, knowing that failure was simply not an option here. They were going if he had to kidnap her and tie her to the airplane seat but it would be better if she went willingly.
“Let me call Eliza,” she finally said. “You’re probably right that Eliza and Alex would like to spend some time together. But if she even hesitates to say no–”
“Trust me,” Seth said soothingly. “She’s going to love the idea. Everybody gets what they want. It’s perfect.”
For the second time in their relationship, Seth and Presley were going into hiding. Hopefully they’d be better at it this time, because Danny Harbaugh wasn’t going to give up.