Charity Case - The Complete Series - Piper Rayne Page 0,148

teasing him now, but I just wanted to lighten the mood. I’m so not used to us being this serious.

I step back and start scooping the ice cream into the blender. He comes up behind me, his hands gripping my hips, his chest pressed to my back, his dick pressed against my ass.

“You’re playing with fire,” he whispers.

“I like matches.”

“I don’t have any extinguishers.” He picks up the chocolate sauce and squirts it into the blender.

“Good.”

His forearm flexes as he adds the milk. I close my eyes and inhale a deep breath to try to rein in my sexual appetite. Dean always did have the best forearms. A pitcher’s forearms. It seems at least that much hasn’t changed.

I put the lid on the blender and press the ‘ON’ button.

We go on making our milkshake as though he never opened his vulnerable side to me. As much as I hate myself for not letting him go there, I just couldn’t risk it. If he did, then I’d have to and I’m not ready for that. Not ready to discuss the totality of everything that tore us apart. There’s something he still doesn’t know.

More than all that, I’m not ready to fall completely back in love with him again…yet.

Chapter Seventeen

On Monday when I arrive at the office, Victoria and Hannah are both in the office before me.

I glance at the clock when I walk in.

“No, you’re not late. Hannah’s early.” Victoria smiles and I see another picture is adorning her desk now.

“Who’s in the new picture?” I ask.

She picks it up and it’s her, Reed, Jade, and Henry on the SeaDog at Navy Pier.

“Cute.”

I head down the hall, hearing two sets of heels following me.

“I have no funny dating story for you guys this morning,” I say. I have a feeling our Monday morning divorcee dating stories are about to fizzle out unless Hannah hops on the dating bandwagon.

“We know,” Hannah says.

They file in, Hannah taking a seat and Victoria standing at the door on the off chance she has to grab the phone. Our usual positions.

I stare at the tall crate on my desk. “What is this?”

“Delivery was waiting outside the door this morning.” Victoria’s face morphs into a sappy love look like she’s watching someone experience their happily ever after once more.

“And you guys don’t think I need privacy to open it?”

“Not really.” Hannah glances over her shoulder at Victoria and then back my way, shaking her head. “Come on. We’ve been making bets.”

I drop my bags on my chair and untie the ribbons around it. The wood creaks open and a plant, an alive plant lives inside.

“I’m going to kill it.” I pull it out and place it on my desk.

Victoria steps into the room and I know that mom instinct of hers wants to know exactly what it is, so she can google it.

I pluck the card out.

It was nice going down memory lane with you this weekend. Thank you for the opportunity to make new ones.

Love Dean

As much as my heart pitter patters, I don’t cling to the note and press it to my chest like some love-sick teenager. I place it neatly on my desk and lean down to sniff it.

“Jasmine,” Victoria says, and I roll my eyes.

“Seriously, Vic.”

She shrugs. “I could smell it when I brought it in.”

I can tell she’s lying.

“Poor Jade,” Hannah and I both say in unison.

“When you two have a daughter, you can judge.” She waggles her finger between the two of us. “A plant is not a diary.”

“I don’t remember the card saying your name on it,” I say in jest.

“It wasn’t hard to figure out, okay? I searched the company name and voila, there were only a few options that came in that crate.”

Hannah and I laugh at our neurotic and impatient assistant who is always one step ahead of us. I guess we know why.

“So?” I cock one eyebrow at Vic.

She smiles but says nothing.

“Tell me,” I force her to tell me what she found out.

“Jasmine is the flower of memories.” She bites her lip and I shake my head.

“Yeah, I figured it from the note, but just wanted to make sure you were on the ball.”

The phone rings and Victoria says, “You know you love that I have my PhD in Google.” She leaves the room.

After she’s gone, Hannah stays in her seat, her legs crossed, her hands clasped together with her elbows on either armrest. “Nice weekend?”

“Yeah.” I place the crate next to the trashcan, sliding