Nicole lay propped up on the sofa. It had only been a couple of weeks since her accident, and she was still in quite a bit of discomfort. Not only were her wrist and ribs still bothering her, so was her back. She reached over to the table for her prescription pain medication and pulled a pill out of the bottle. She popped one into her mouth and took a sip of water.
Nicole saw Davis before she heard him. He was hidden behind an enormous bouquet of pink, red, and white blooms. It was quite possibly the most massive arrangement she had ever seen. Her eyes had been so glued to the flowers that Davis’s booming voice caught her off guard. “These were just delivered to you.”
She pressed her hand to her chest. “Wow.” Nicole looked at the bouquet in awe. “I didn’t hear you come home. My. God. Davis, you didn’t have to do all of this for me. They’re beautiful.” For the first couple of weeks, he had been much more attentive and mostly worked from home until the past few days. Initially, he went into the office for a few hours, but today, he’d left early in the morning and was only now returning after 7 p.m. She supposed old habits die hard.
He sat the flowers down on a nearby table. “I didn’t buy these. They are not from me.”
She was curious to find out who they were from. “Is there a card?”
Davis plucked it from the bouquet and then walked over to Nicole. He was eager to ask her who this Rome guy was, and to hear what was on the card too. “Yeah, there is a card.” Before he handed it to her, he bent down and planted a long and hard kiss on her lips. If she needed to be reminded about who she belonged to, he would be more than happy to remind her.
His kiss left her breathless. They hadn’t had sex since before the accident. Her mind was willing but her body—not so much. Nicole was spread out on the sofa, so he sat down at the opposite end next to her feet.
She moved agonizingly slow for Davis’s liking as she took the card out of the little envelope and read it. His hard gaze was unnerving. He stared her down since she had the audacity to read the damn thing IN SILENCE.
Nicole,
Sending flowers for an extraordinary woman, as an apology, and to wish you a speedy recovery.
Rome
“Who are they from?”
She cleared her throat. “They are from the donor who is helping us build Angel House. If you want, you can toss them in the garbage.”
Davis had already been feeling uneasy; now alarm bells were ringing. “Odd. A man gives you ten million dollars, and you want to throw out his flowers?” His eyes burned holes through her. “What the hell does the card say?”
“He didn’t give me anything. He gave that money to Angel House. There is a big difference. Why are you acting like you’re jealous?”
“I’m not acting like anything. I’m a concerned husband. Will you read the damn card—out loud?”
“You’re being ridiculous. If you want to know what’s on the card, you read it.” Nicole handed it over to him.
Davis had no problem with that. His eyebrows knitted together. “Extraordinary woman? Apology? For what?”
“We had a disagreement at the meeting, and I guess the flowers are his way of saying he’s sorry.”
“Do I need to handle this Rome with a phone call or an ass-kicking?”
Nicole couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Neither. I dealt with it. He and I have one goal, and that’s to make Angel House a success.”
Without a word, Davis stood, walked over and picked up the flowers, then started to walk away.
“Where are you going?”
He looked back over his shoulder. “Where are the kids?”
“Upstairs with the babysitter. Why?”
“I’ll go get them. They’ve never been to a bonfire, have they?”
“Davis? What are you about to do?”
“I’m taking the kids outside to play in the backyard. I think they might enjoy watching daddy set these damn things on fire.”
*****
Nicole was wired. The medication she had taken earlier still had her buzzing, and it was already after midnight. She lay in bed unable to fall asleep. Good thing Davis was still working on his laptop, otherwise, her tossing and turning would have kept him awake.
He glanced over. “Can’t sleep?”
She sighed. “No, not really. I don’t know how it’s possible to be exhausted and full of energy at the same time.”
Davis had so much he needed to share with Nicole, but she was still recovering from her accident, and he hadn’t wanted to worry her. Tomorrow was going to be a very important day for him and his company. He had no idea how long he would be gone and had already asked if their date night babysitter could come back and stay until he got home, or until the kids were in bed, whichever happened first.
Davis knew he should have talked to Nicole about everything by now but wasn’t sure how to bring it up without causing a shitstorm of an argument. He leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. “Is that one new?”
“What? My scarf? Yes. Jane bought it for me when I was in the hospital.” Nicole touched the satin material that she had wrapped her hair up with, then lay her head against his shoulder.
“Nicole?” Her beautiful
