take this one.” I gestured to the card.
“You don’t have to buy it. You can have it as a gift.”
“I insist on paying. I’ll sign it and give it to my landlord in LA when I move out. Actually, I’ll take all the plants. Soften the blow of a month-to-month rent check she’s not going to be getting from me anymore.”
“Journey. No.” She shook her head.
Lotus’s hair was long and loose today. I wanted to bury my hands in it like I had before. My cock stirred inside my board shorts from the memory. I wanted to take her to the nearest bed, get her naked, and have her all over again.
“Why not?” My question was gruff.
“Because this is three hundred dollars’ worth of stuff that you don’t need.”
“I do need it. Though, on second thought, I probably won’t give all of it to my landlady. I have violets to replace when I move into a new place here.” When Lotus shifted and looked uncomfortable at my reference to our night together, I added, “If I can find a place here.”
“The apartment below ours is available to rent,” Cork said, his brows drawing together. “It’s bigger than ours. It’s a two-bedroom with a front-facing balcony, and it has a view of the pier.”
“It’s nine hundred square feet. Nineteen fifty a month. It costs a lot more than ours too.” Lotus frowned. “We can’t afford it.”
“He might be able to.” Cork tilted his head toward me.
“I could swing that.” After signing with Outside, I wouldn’t even have to dip into my savings. “I’d like to have a look at it. I could use extra room for an office studio. And a view of the ocean would be nice. Can you show me where it is?” I asked, looking straight at her.
I knew where her apartment complex was. I’d never forgotten where I’d said good-bye to her all those years ago.
Her gaze sliding to the ocean, Lotus scrunched her brow. She seemed to be wrestling with something within herself.
“Sure,” she said, and her brow smoothed as she refocused on me. “I’ll show you where it is.”
“Thank you,” I said, my voice carrying above the cry of the gulls and the roar of the surf. “But can you do me another favor?”
She tensed but nodded.
“After we total up my receipt, can you and Cork help me load these beauties into my vehicle? I tend to be clumsy with plants, when I’m not careful like I should be, or when I lose my temper. I inherited anger issues from my dad. But I should’ve known . . . I should know not to handle something so beautiful,” I stared hard at her, “and delicate in the wrong sort of mood. I apologize for that. I mean, I apologize in advance if I should do either of those things in the future.”
Her brows rose, her eyes bright now. “I accept your apology.”
She got me, got what I was really trying to apologize for was the way I’d reacted with her after Saber called.
“I think we both got the wrong idea about the other.” Her cheeks turned pink. “But today’s a new day, right? A fresh start. I’d be glad to help you get settled. Cork will too.”
She smiled at me. It was genuine and brilliant, a gift beyond what I deserved, though I couldn’t recall the last apology I’d made.
I was a gruff asshole who didn’t usually stick around long enough to get into situations where apologies were necessary. But I would have given Lotus a hundred of them, just to see her pretty face light up like it was right now.
Lotus
I WAS SO screwed. Journey rented the apartment directly below mine. He took one look at it and put down a deposit.
I couldn’t blame him. The rental market in Ocean Beach was notoriously tight, and the apartment was a steal. It was priced accordingly, because though well-kept like ours, it was outdated. The entire complex was a tribute to the 1970s when it was built, but Mrs. Nowak was a good landlord, the location couldn’t be beat, and the view from his unit was stellar.
“There’s a laundry room, a pool, and a weight room.” My brother bounced on his toes. “You could work out with me and Lotus, if you want.”
“That sounds great.” Journey turned his brown gaze on me, and I flushed, imagining being near him with all his raw masculinity simmering and his impressive muscles flexing. “Surprised your sister has time to