and admired the exquisite arrangement. “Bill, these really are gorgeous.”
“I’ll say,” Amy agreed, leaning over to inhale one of the blooms. “We always loved roses, didn’t we, Lettie? Remember snitching some out of Mr. Feazell’s garden?”
“How could I forget? He said he was going to have us arrested.” Lettie fingered one of the blooms.
Bill chuckled. “Arrested? Old Man Feazell? You’re kidding.”
“Nope,” Amy said, shrugging. “He was sure enough mad, but we were young and didn’t know any better.”
“Guess he figured if we had the fear of incarceration in us, we’d stay out of his rose garden,” Lettie said. She could still see the weathered man in his overalls shaking his fist at them in warning.
“Worked, didn’t it?” Amy said, inhaling another bloom. “We never went back.” She straightened from the table. “Oh, and speaking of not coming back, I won’t be coming back here tonight, Lettie. Did I tell you that already?”
“No, you didn’t,” Lettie said, cocking a suspicious brow at her conniving sister.
“Brenda asked me to hit Cowboys with her again tonight. We’ll be out pretty late, and since the place is close to her apartment and our office, I figured it’d be easier for me to stay there.”
“Did you?” Lettie didn’t buy a word of it, and from the knowing look on Bill’s luscious face, he didn’t either.
“Yep,” Amy said, unaffected by their stares. “Just wanted to let you know so you wouldn’t worry. Guess you’ll have the place to yourself. And I’ll bring those things by your office tomorrow morning.”
“Things?” Lettie asked.
“Yeah,” Amy said, pointing toward her purse, where two slim phones protruded from the side pocket.
Lettie swallowed. How could she have forgotten about her clients? Or about the fact that Amy was, once again, taking her calls? “Are you sure that’s not a problem?”
Amy grinned, turned toward Bill. “Will you take her out and help her have some fun? And try to convince her that her little sister has grown up and actually enjoys helping her out, for a change.”
“Will do,” Bill said, wrapping an arm around Lettie, while Amy grinned triumphantly.
“Good,” Amy said, stepping forward and motioning them to the door. “Then you guys should head out.”
“Yeah, we should,” Lettie agreed.
“Our reservations are for seven,” Bill said, grinning at Amy as though thanking her for her considerate departure plans.
“All right.” Lettie moved toward her sister and hugged her tightly. “You’re too much,” she whispered as Amy giggled.
“By the way, if you need to use any of my things tonight,” Amy said, pulling away from Lettie’s embrace, “feel free. My apartment is your apartment, you know.”
Lettie bit her inner cheek to keep from laughing. She knew exactly which “things” Amy referred to, the bulging bag of sex toys in her little sister’s bedroom. She also caught the apartment jab.
“My apartment is your apartment.”
Amy was so gonna pay for this.
“Y’all have fun,” Amy called as they headed out the door.
They entered the elevator, and the old contraption steadily worked its way toward the first floor.
“You do look amazing,” Bill said.
“I’d have to say the same for you.” He looked every inch the GQ guy in the suit, like a man who knew what he wanted and went for it. A man in control. She wondered if what he wanted, for longer than a week, was her.
Putting an arm around her waist, he led her from the building to his car, then opened her door.
It felt incredible to be pampered by Bill, and Lettie decided to enjoy the feeling for the short time she had it. In a few days, Erika would be back, and she’d risk ending all of this when he learned the truth. But for now, Lettie would cherish every moment.
She took a deep breath and gathered her composure as he closed her door and walked around the car. If she eventually lost him because of the truth, so be it. But she wouldn’t—couldn’t—live the rest of her life knowing she wasn’t honest to Bill.
“I love the roses,” she said as he climbed inside.
“It isn’t the first time, you know.” He leaned across the seat and fingered a blond tendril dangling in front of her ear. His fingernail grazed her cheek and sent an arrow of eagerness to her core.
She’d worn her hair up to match the formal appearance of the green cocktail dress she’d borrowed from Amy. At the time, she had no idea Bill would don a suit, but it didn’t surprise her they were in sync on appearance. They’d certainly had quite