Two days later, I dress for work with special care, and take extra time doing my hair.

Today is the first day of our official contract.

It’s also the day the news breaks of Mason getting signed to the Springville Rockets.

So, all in all, kind of a big deal. And yeah, I’m nervous.

My early-morning slot goes off without a hitch, and in pretty much every respect it feels just like any other normal day. Until around eleven in the morning, when an absolutely enormous bouquet of roses shows up for me.

The arrangement is so large, it completely dwarfs the upper body of the skinny kid who delivers them to my desk. I sign for them and reach in my purse for a tip, but the kid shakes his head.

“It’s all taken care of, miss,” he says with a sheepish smile. I thank him, and he gives me a brief nod and goes on his way.

I turn back to my desk and try to figure out where I’m going to put the flowers so they don’t take up all the available surface area. There must be at least three dozen long-stemmed red roses here. Roses have never been my favorite flowers, but the arrangement is incredibly extravagant, and absolutely gorgeous. The scent is already wafting through the office. If Mason wanted to attract attention and make an impression, he could hardly have chosen a better way to do it.

I almost don’t even notice the small card that’s tied to a ribbon around the vase. I detach the envelope and open it.

“Happy anniversary doll!” it reads. “Love, Mason.”

In spite of how embarrassed I am, I actually snort with laughter.

“Holy buckets! Who are those from?”

I turn to see Mackenzie standing wide-eyed behind me.

Well, I think. I guess it’s go time.

“Um, my boyfriend?” I squeak. Yeah, that was convincing, Anna.

“What boyfriend?” Mackenzie shoots back, giving me a look of confusion. “Did you meet someone?”

I didn’t exactly practice my responses to these questions ahead of time. I’m realizing now that I really should have. It’s just my luck that the first person I’d have to tell is Mackenzie, whom I consider a friend and whom I definitely would have told if I’d been dating someone. And she knows it.

“Well,” I stammer. “The truth is, it’s someone I’ve been dating for a while.”

“Seriously?” She checks out the bouquet again, clearly impressed. “Well, whoever it is, he’s definitely not afraid to spend a little money. Do I know him?”

“Uh, sort of.” I murmur. “It’s ah, Mason Robichaud.”

“Mason Robichaud?” she repeats incredulously. “Like, Mason Robichaud the football player?”

I have to laugh. “Yep. Exactly like the football player.”

“Are you kidding me? Anna, how long has this been going on?” She’s flabbergasted. I can’t blame her.

“A while,” I say vaguely. Shit, we haven’t really covered any of this yet. I curse myself for not going over to Mason’s last night like he’d asked me to.

Mackenzie grabs the little card out of my hand and reads it. She frowns, and then looks back up at me. “How come you never told anyone you were dating him?” she asks accusingly.

“We wanted to keep the spotlight off of us,” I stammer. “You know how the media —”

“How long have you two been together?” she repeats, interrupting me. “How long have you been keeping all this a secret?”

“I met him, uh, just after he got out of rehab,” I say on the fly. That’s a good response, I congratulate myself. New start, new relationship, right?

“But, that wasn’t a year ago,” she argues, pointing to the card. “This says, ‘happy anniversary.’”

“It’s our, uh… monthiversary!” I blurt. Quickly, I calculate in my head. “Ten months. And…” I hesitate, but figure the news is probably already out, so I decide to just go for it. “Also, he just got signed to the Rockets for this season. So it’s kind of a big day.”

Thankfully, somehow that response seems to satisfy Mackenzie’s thirst for information a little.

“Wow. That’s fantastic,” she marvels, flashing me a look I’ve never really seen her give me before. “Well, that’s… Wow, Anna.” She laughs softly and shakes her head. “I’m really happy for you. And here I was, trying to think of some of Nathan’s friends to introduce you to.”

“Oh. Yeah. No need to do that,” I assure her. “I’m good. Mason and I, we’re… solid. It’s really serious, and stuff.”

God, I sound lame. But thankfully, Mackenzie doesn’t really seem to notice.

“Hey,” she says then, in a bright voice. “Maybe you and Mason could get together for a double date with Nathan and me!” She gives me a wide, excited smile. “Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

I’ve had two boyfriends in the time I’ve known Mackenzie, but she has never once suggested a double date before.

“Sure,” I reply uncertainly. “That, uh, sounds good. But maybe we could wait a few weeks? Mason’s going to be pretty busy until he’s gotten everything squared away with the team.”

“Oh, yeah, of course,” Mackenzie waves her hand. “That totally makes sense. We’re really busy right now, too. Well, gosh, congratulations again!” She gives me a little hug and then hurries off. Probably to call Nathan and tell him everything she just learned.

After Mackenzie’s gone, I have a couple of seconds of anxiety that I told her the news about Mason’s contract before it was public. But a quick online search shows me that I have nothing to worry about. The team has already issued the press release this morning.

I let out a little sigh of relief and grab my phone to text my fiancé about the flowers.

Dammit.

I really should have had it put into that damn contract that Mason isn’t allowed to call me ‘doll.’