Page 8 of It Must Be Fate

“I’ve seen the bouquets he’s sent her in the past and they haven’t been your traditional dozen red roses. If we want this to work, we need this bouquet to put Rogue’s to shame and that’s no easy feat.”

“I like your thinking,” Thayer says with an assertive nod.

“Okay, Nera, what’s my art direction for this photo?” Bellamy asks, standing hands on hips in front of the bouquet. “Do I just send a pic of the flowers and say thank you, baby?”

“That’s the trend,” Thayer confirms.

“I think we should put you in the photo. I mean you look so adorable right now,’ Nera says.

She really does. She’s wearing a cute lemon-patterned pj set, her hair is up in a messy bun and her cheeks are flushed pink because of the alcohol.

“Here,” Nera continues, grabbing Bellamy’s hand and forcing her to sit back on the ground. She poses her legs and pushes a strand of hair behind her ear. Then she hands her thebouquet and directs her on how to hold it. She steps back to look at her handiwork. “I’ll take the photo from about this angle. The framing looks great with the background and lighting. Just one more thing…”

She leans back towards Bellamy and fingers one of the slim straps of her top. Nera pulls it down so it falls on her arm, revealing her bare shoulder.

“That finishing touch is going to finishhimoff,” I point out.

Nera laughs and then takes a few snaps.

“Don’t move, B,” she instructs. “Six, Thayer, what do you guys think?”

She holds up the phone between us and we look over her shoulder.

“I think if you turn down the brightness, this one has the best framing.”

“Oh my god, you lookstunninghere.”

“This smile is even better.”

We show her our favorite and she agrees. She’s smiling broadly at the camera, mirth in her eyes and on her lips like receiving the flowers delighted her.

“Okay, so just ‘thank you for the flowers, baby, I love them’ with a kiss emoji? Is that it?” Nerves rattle her voice as she places the phone on the table between us.

“Yup!” Thayer answers. “It’s going to be funny. He’ll huff and puff and get over it. Come on press send.”

She shakes her head. “I can’t do it.”

“I’ll do it,” Nera says helpfully, leaning over and pressing the blue arrow.

I watch the message leave the text box.

“Oh mon dieu.”

“Oh my god,” Bellamy echoes.

“It’s going to befiiiin—”

Thayer doesn’t get to finish her sentence because Bellamy’s ringtone interrupts her.

Four heads snap down at the same time and watch as Rogue’s name flashes across her screen.

Simultaneous panic hits each of us.

Bellamy’s wide eyes find mine. “What do I do?”

I pick up the phone and hand it to her. “Answer it!”

“Why didn’t I think about the fact that he’d call? What do I say?”

---