Page 70 of Petals of Blue: Part Two
"My throat is fine," I snarl. I'm hungry, overwhelmed, and annoyed with Felix's small smile. He doesn't know who he's messing with.
Roman steps toward me. "Blue?—"
I wave him off and plant my hands on Felix's chest to—who knows? Jostle that damn smirk off his face, maybe? Something is wrong with me. I shouldn't be reacting like this over bacon. Glorious bacon.
Felix grabs my wrists before I can do more than touch him. "Careful, sweetheart. Remember what I said about respect. Maybe I should add a scolding about communication, too."
Sucking in a breath to argue thathe'sthe one who's shit at communicating, my throat catches when a pair of large hands wrap around my waist and tug me back.
Pressed against Roman's hard chest, I deflate enough to rationalize again. Then Rome whispers in my ear. "You can't have bacon because we don't have any, Petal. Not because you aren't allowed to."
"Oh." Heat rushes to the top of my head, embarrassment making me feel a little sick. Looking Felix in the eyes, I apologize. "I'm really sorry. I don't know why I reacted that way..."
I trail off when Roman peppers a few kisses on my neck. To my surprise, Felix's face is soft when he smiles. Then I realize it had looked like that the whole time I was being rude.What is wrong with me?
"It's okay," Felix murmurs, coming closer. He kisses my cheek while I blink up at him. "We will get yousome bacon for tomorrow morning. But first I'm calling Jim just to make sure." He winks and leaves the room as he pulls his phone out of his pocket.
I sigh, feeling really awful about how I treated him.
"None of that," Roman scolds, wrapping his arms around me in a sweet hug. "He won't hold onto it. Neither should you."
My stomach chooses that moment to rumble angrily.
Roman laughs. "Come on. I made sausages."
That sounds good too. Then I reallywillcall Clara so I can start working on my issues.
Forty-Eight
DECLAN
It's day two of Blue living with us, and I'm starting to feel a little off. She's gotten so close to Jared, and while I'm so happy for them, there's some disappointment for myself too.
Felix inserts himself into everything she does. Just last night, when Blue wanted to take a bubble bath, he expressed a ton of concern over her healing fingernails. It was sweet, and I could tell Blue loved the attention to detail regarding her health.
She even agreed to leave the bathwater in there so Felix could drain the tub and she wouldn’t have to aggravate her wounds.
Roman is always feeding her, and she seems to gravitate toward Jared. Everyone has a role they're playing, and today I became chauffeur.
Since the guys and I are all back to work now, much to our dismay, Blue rode with me to the café. She and Violet are going to watch some movies while Blue swaps outfits around to bring back with us today.
The drive was too short for everything I wanted to say to her. When the time came, I choked and didn't say shit. It was awkward. The small smiles she gave me were nice, and I returned them, but no words would come out.
She asked if I was excited to get back to work. I said sure. Then she got a little grumpy about how Kevin isn't allowing her back in the office for a bit.
I made a few jokes about sneaking her in there to get her laptop so she could do a few things before her paid leave was over.
She laughed a few times as I rambled silly ideas. I panicked. It felt like the first time we were alone together, and I'm still beating myself up over my failed attempt at connecting with her hours later.
I'm frustrated.Why do I resort to making jokes when I'm unsure?
"You alright, man?" my manager asks, setting a water in front of me.
"What?" I blink and register what he said. "Yeah. I'm heading out, though. Thank you."
Gathering my things after saying our goodbyes, I see Blue walking toward me. "Hi," she greets, looking sleepy.
The bag on her back looks heavy, so I remove it from her shoulder and add it to mine in my hand. She blushes, which is nice, but I'm feeling strangely distant.
