Page 121 of Caged

“Thank you, sir.”

He clapped me on the back. “Roses.”

“Sir?” I asked, before realizing he meant bring her roses. I remembered her saying her favorite color was daffodil yellow, but daffodils weren’t right for the occasion. If I did this right, I’d have plenty of opportunities to shower her with her favorite flower. “Right. Thank you.”

“Clocks ticking, Sheppard.”

I took off at a sprint, but the pain forced me to slow to a walk.

I had one hour to get my head on straight so I didn’t fuck this up again.

And buy roses.

Maxwell was the kind of woman who could scare weak men, but I wasn’t a weak man. A stupid one, sometimes. A stubborn one, definitely. But a weak one, never.

And yet, she scared the shit out of me. All because she made me feel everything when I want to feel nothing.

On the drive, I argued with myself. The fear-fueled coward listing all the reasons this was a bad idea, while the warrior in me told me to man up and fight for the woman I loved.

When my brain asked, “Can you trust your emotions?” My heart told it to shut the fuck up.

As I argued with myself, the voices in my head sounded more and more like my parents. My mom telling me to trust my heart. My dad telling me to listen to my mother.

“If I do this, there’s no going back,”I said to no one. Things would be unbearable in the office if I poured my heart out and she didn’t feel the same.

But it’d be worse if I didn’t try.

What will happen if we think we’re in love, but it’s not real?

We’d destroy each other. One of us would have to leave. And while I was willing to be the sacrificial lamb, I couldn’t imagine a scenario where she’d feel comfortable working for my family.

Once again, my parents’ voices filled my head, giving me their opinions. My mom’s gentle voice reminding me, love is always worth the risk. My father’s matter-of-fact voice telling me to man up.

Making up my mind, I parked and entered the flower shop. I asked for a dozen yellow roses in a vase, and a box of chocolates. When the florist asked me what I wanted on the card, I said, “I’m an idiot.”

It was a little embarrassing how quickly those words came to me.

“Excuse me?” she asked.

“Trust me, she’ll understand.”

She shrugged and wrote the message.

I’d grovel; probably a lot. But before I did, I needed to own up to my mistakes.

Of course, I could only do that if Cate gave me the time of day.

I half expect her to slam the door in my face when she sees me.

Chapter 46

Cate

How dare he show up and hurl accusations at me?And in front of my father. I’d planned on calling him as soon as I set up my new phone, but no, he had to storm in here with his smoldering eyes and broad shoulders and shitty attitude.

Did he really think so little of me?

Because I wanted to be alert when I went shopping, I decided to wait and take my pain pills when we got home. Which meant everything hurt, and tensing my muscles in frustration only made it worse.I should’ve listened to my father.

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