Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
For several seconds, I sat in silence, reeling, trying to grasp what had just happened.
Nope.
I didn’t have time to figure it out. I just needed to make it right.
I stood up and walked around the desk, reaching for the door. I’d hopefully be able to catch Joanne before she made it out of the parking lot. I’d hopefully be able to talk some sense into her. But… what was I going to say?
I froze, hand still on the doorknob.
Was I rushing outside just to rehash the same ugly, bitter argument we’d just had? That hadn’t ended well the first time, and it would probably just get worse if I forced a second round without a plan. So, what then?
I didn’t have any better answers to her questions than I’d had before. Just my insistence that the situation wasn’t what she thought it was. But… wasn’t it?
Wasn’t I talking about selling the business? Even though I hadn’t sought the guy out, hadn’t I technically met with Mike? And then delayed telling Joanne until some future date?
This was exactly why I hadn’t wanted to rush into anything, though—both with the business and with Joanne. It made an easy decision to sell the business complicated. Worse, it made a tough decision—to walk away from everything I might have had with Joanne—nearly impossible.
Slowly, I walked back around my desk and sunk into the chair, making it squeak and groan under my sudden weight.
There were just no easy answers. Once again, my father had left me alone to face the world, to face a problem that I wasn’t prepared to deal with.
I felt the fact that I had to make a decision at all to be a slap in the face—almost a big fuck you from the grave. It had been bad enough that Dad hadn’t been around—at least not emotionally—when I had needed him as a teenager. But now? He’d abandoned me again, leaving me stuck between a rock and a hard place, during a time when I could really use some advice.
If only Henry had taken better care of himself.
Or hadn’t opened the flower shop in the first place.
If only he’d been there at any fucking time in my life.
“Fuck!”
I slammed the palm of my hand against the desk, almost welcoming the shooting pain that it sent up my wrist. Maybe it would numb some of the other feelings I was experiencing, or at least provide a substitute for the other pain. The one in my heart.
I pressed my palms against my eyes to stop the hot prick of tears that threatened to overtake me. I didn’t want to cry. I didn’t want any of this.
Except for Joanne.
She was all I wanted in the end.
The time I’d spent with Joanne had made me momentarily forget about moving away, about any potential money from selling the shop—I’d even put aside most of my hurt and bitterness left over from losing my dad.
Now, though? Joanne hated me, thought I was a liar and a coward, two things I had never, ever been up to this point.
I was in the NFL, for God’s sake. I’d seen tons of conflict and hard games and willingly faced tough hits over the years in places I didn’t know and could barely pronounce… only to have my life derailed by a goddamn flower shop and a hot girl.
A hot, sexy, sweet, smart, funny girl.
A woman I was going to regret ruining my chances with for a long time if I couldn’t find a solution.
That’s what I needed. A solution. A plan of attack.
A plan and… money.
I picked up my phone and scrolled through my contacts until I found the name of the one person in town who could possibly help me: Will Whitley.
I didn’t even hesitate to dial, and even though I didn’t know how my friend and banker might help, I already felt better just by thinking about it—just by doing something about my situation.
“Hey, Brady.” Will’s voice was quiet and shaky, and I could immediately tell something was… off. “Can I call you back? This isn’t the best time…”
“Sure, but—” I grimaced. It wasn’t the best time for me, either, so I totally understood where Will was coming from, but… this was important. “I’m sorry, man. I don’t wanna interrupt, um, whatever it is you’re doing, but… I really can’t wait until later.”
There were a few long moments of silence on the other end of the line, then finally a soft sigh.
“Okay.” Will sounded tired. Defeated. Whatever it was he was dealing with, it had clearly drained him of his usual lively, upbeat personality. Any other time, I would be able to sense the smile in Will’s voice, to feel the other man’s happiness, even through the phone. Now, though, it was completely gone.
“What can I do for you?”