Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 90164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Brooks moves down to chat with Millie as I take the next customer. He’s a man I haven’t seen before, just a little taller than me with black hair and brown eyes and a little scruff on his face. There’s nothing particularly striking about him.
“Hey there,” I say with a smile. “Where are you visiting from?”
“Oh, I’m not.” There’s a southern accent in his voice. “I just moved to town a few weeks ago.”
“Welcome to town. You’ll like it here. I’m fairly new, too. What can I get for you?”
He places his order and gives me the name Clay to write on his cup, and then I move on to the next customer.
Millie and I work well and efficiently together, and before I know it, it’s almost noon when we finally have a lull.
“Busy morning,” Millie says as she wipes down the counter. “Makes the time go by fast.”
“Super speed,” I agree and glance at the door when the bell dings.
Summer Quinn, the owner of the floral shop, comes in, carrying a huge bouquet of blood-red roses.
“Hi, Erin. Delivery for you.” Summer grins and passes me the note. The envelope has the logo for Paula’s Posies on it. Summer bought the shop from Paula years ago but never changed the name of the business.
“I didn’t think you delivered on Sundays,” Millie says.
“Just half of the day through the summer,” Summer replies. “Open the card, Erin. It’s super sweet.”
You look beautiful today.
That’s it.
It can’t be from Remington because he hasn’t seen me today.
“I guess my brother can be sweet when he wants to be,” Millie says.
“Hmm,” is my only reply to that. “Hey, Mill, do you mind covering things for a sec? I want to make a call.”
“No phone sex while you’re at work,” Millie replies with a wink as Summer snorts with laughter. “Sure, no problem.”
“Thanks.”
With blood rushing in my ears, I hurry back to the break room and quickly dial my dad’s number. Of course, he’s likely off doing something fun on a Sunday and doesn’t answer.
So, I call again.
This time, he picks up and sounds annoyed. “Hey, baby, can I call you back in about an hour?”
“No.” I swallow back the panic and fight to sound calm. “I need to speak with you right now.”
“Okay, no problem.” He pulls the phone away from his mouth. “Gentlemen, I need to take this. I’ll be right back.”
I hear rustling, and then he’s back.
“What’s wrong?”
“Maybe nothing.” I pace the room as I break out in a cold sweat. “I need to know if you’ve been notified by the court that the asshole who stalked me years ago has been released.”
“I haven’t been, no. I can reach out to your uncle Matt and see what he can find out. Why do you ask, Erin?” His voice has taken on a hard edge, and I know the alpha is firmly in place.
“It might be nothing at all. I mean, odds are that I’m just overreacting.”
“You don’t usually overreact. What happened?”
“I just got flowers at work, and the card is very much like what he used to send me. Word for word.”
“Maybe you have a secret admirer, and it’s a coincidence.” I can picture my dad pacing, pushing his hand through his hair.
“It could be,” I agree and make myself take a deep breath. Having a panic attack isn’t going to help anything here. Hell, for all I know, I might be sounding an alarm for no reason at all. “But my gut doesn’t think so, and I need to know if he’s out of prison, Dad.”
“I’m on it,” he assures me. “I’ll call you back when I know anything, but it’s Sunday, so there probably won’t be news until tomorrow.”
“Damn weekends,” I mutter. “Okay, thank you so much. I’ll have my phone on me all day tomorrow.”
“Good. And watch your back. Don’t go out by yourself. I know you can take care of yourself, but let’s not take any chances, okay?”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’ll be careful.”
“Love you. Talk soon.”
He hangs up, and I have to sit in a chair because I’m so light-headed. Finally, when I’ve calmed down, I walk back out to Millie and find that Summer has gone.
Without a word, I grab the roses and take them directly over to the trash and throw them away.
“Uh, are you and Rem fighting or something?” Millie asks.
“No. They weren’t from Remington.” I’m embarrassed that tears want to push their way out of my eyes, and Millie’s smile turns to a concerned frown.
“Whoa, what’s up?”
Thankfully, there’s no one in the coffee shop right now, so I lean on the counter and cross my arms over my chest.
“Do you remember when I told you that I’d once had a stalker, and that’s why I wasn’t on social media?”
“Yeah.” Her eyes go round. “Oh, shit.”