Page 102 of On the Line
“I…what?” Berkley asked dumbly. “Why?”
“Because I’m going to surprise her.”
“Jesus Christ,” she said. “You idiots and your surprises. And tell me, Mitch. How the fuck do you know where she lives? I’m assuming by now you’ve learned she moved.”
“I…used my real estate connections?” Mitch said, knowing as the words left his mouth that Berkley would never buy it.
And he was right.
“He told you, didn’t he?” She said, resigned.
“Don’t be mad at Brent,” he said. “He just wanted to help me get my girl back.”
Berkley was silent for long enough to make Mitch antsy.
“I’m not mad at him,” she finally said. “But Lexie is going to kill me. And I have to ask…are you sure about this?”
“More sure than I’ve ever been of anything,” he said without hesitation.
“I love you, Mitch, you know that. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t go to bat for Lexie right now. She’s my best friend, and you really hurt her. With that said…she misses you. She rarely talks about it, but I know she does. She hasn’t dated anyone seriously since last summer, and even that was more a fling than anything. I think you two are the real deal, but be prepared for a fight because she’s not going to make it easy on you.”
“You do knowshebroke up withme, right?”
“And you’re the one who left without saying goodbye.”
“Fair enough,” he said diplomatically, unwilling to argue the point further.
“Look, I know how things went down with you two. That she pushed you away. But with how her parents treated her, youhaveto know that leaving the way you did was going to fuck with her.”
Mitch winced. He would never forgive himself for that, for treating her like someone disposable, exactly as her parents had for her entire life.
“I know. And I’ll spend forever apologizing for it.”
“That’s all I’m asking.”
“So are you going to help me or not?”
“Of course I am,” she said, and they hatched a plan.
Three hours later, Mitch found himself at a local florist, hoping to pick out the most obscene bouquet of flowers he could manage.
“What says I’m sorry, I love you, and I miss you all rolled into one?” He asked.
The two women standing at the counter, who had been staring open-mouthed at him since he walked in and nearly knocked over an expensive-looking vase filled to the brim with an assortment of flowers, exchanged a look.
“Oh dear,” the elder of the two said. “If you don’t mind waiting, we’ll whip up just the thing for you.”
Mitch smiled, turning on the charm. “Perfect. Money is no object, either.”
The women shared another glance and Mitch’s smile turned brittle. He should’ve kept his mouth shut and asked Berkley for help, because these women were surely about to take him for everything he’s worth.
Twenty minutes later, after a sizable chunk had been deducted from his checking account, Mitch walked out of the shop carrying a bouquet big enough to partially block his line of sight as he strode down the street toward his Suburban.
As he drove toward Lexie’s new apartment, his mind flicked through all possible outcomes of this encounter.
Would she fall into his arms and confess that she had never stopped loving him?
Would she punch him in the face or kick him in the balls?
