7. Flowers

Jillian

I was mindingmy own business, hiding out in here, waiting for the Jags to leave, when he had to go and lose my brother's dog.

Freaked me the hell out that he tried to have a conversation with me, because he never does. In fact, the most he's ever said to me, and it wasn't just to me but directed to both Cora and I, was "This either of yours?"

Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. He knows. He knows I'm on that app, and he purposely matched with me.

Does that mean he thinks I'm hot, or does it mean he's a word-class asshole and decided it would be fun to bone his teammate's sister and then act like he doesn't know, when he actually knows. He freaking knows. Of course he does!

What a dick!

As Roman's sister, and not the girl who got fucked by his teammate, I should march over there and bitch-slap him for doing that to Rome. Fuck bitch slap. I wanna nut-chop him. Clearly, he's psychotic. And he lives with them … sort of. But yeah, he does.

Oh my God, poor Ellie. Was he trying to use her to fuck with my head?

I grab some shorts and a hoodie, because, bitch please, I'm not a girl you can fuck with, and neither is Ellie. I have to get her to make sure he doesn't pull some more crazy shit and she ends up getting hurt.

I know CeCe's not here, but I give zero fucks as I throw open the door and march my ass inside. "Come on, Elle; you and I are going for a walk."

"Hey, Nour made breakfast," AJ calls to me as I grab her leash. "Want something to eat?"

Grrr, I think as I hook her up. "No, we girls have shit to do."

Before any of them can say anything else, we're out the door.

Once down the driveway, I glance down at her. "I know you may think I'm nuts. A little on edge, yes. Nuts no. Don't let that freak you out, though. Me and you, we're good. Your mom and dad will be home soon, and I'll come up with a plan to make sure we don't have another bat-shit crazy man to deal with."

Okay, maybe I'm losing it, but I think she just arched a brow at me.

"Look, I'm no Gwen York, but I was raised with two brothers, which means I'm a badass in my own right."

Still, she doesn't look convinced.

"Trust me; I've seen some shit."

We stop and make sure no cars are coming before crossing the road. "We have to act cool, and in order to act cool, we need to be cool. Are you cool? Of course you are. Ellie's a good girl."

Her tail wags.

"You like that, huh? Good girl? You can trust it coming from my lips, but a man says that to you, it's best to be on high alert."

We walk for a few blocks, just looking around, and I give her some ear rubs. "I know this is crazy, but I have to tell someone, and since you don't talk, I'm pretty sure my secret's safe with you." I lean down. "I'm not a virgin anymore." I stand back upright, and we continue on our way. "For obvious reasons, I can't tell anyone else, so thank you in advance for being a captive audience." We stop and wait for the light to turn. "I wish I could say it wasn't all they say it is, and maybe more, but that only lasts for a few minutes, and then you're faced with the question: was it really worth it?"

She sits down and looks up at me, and I shrug.

"In any other situation, it would be. Yeah, sure, two thumbs-up. All I have to say is you should follow your gut—if you think you should back out, then do it right then and there."

She lifts her nose in the air and sniffs, so I do the same.

"Smell that? I think it's lavender. Maybe there's a park around here."

She pulls to the right.

"Fine, I'll follow you."

I immediately realize where we are—just a couple blocks from Wags vet clinic and O'Donnell's Pub.

"Damn, girl, you have great instincts. Follow them, Ellie Hart, and you'll be just fine."

As we pass O'Donnell's, I see CeCe's friend, Fawna, and wave as we walk by. I don't hang out and see if she waves back, because Ellie and I are on a mission to find where the smell of lavender is coming from.

"Hey, Jillian, wait up," I hear from behind and turn to see Fawna coming toward us.

"Good morning." I smile.

"This is going to sound insane, but I got a text from CeCe last night that she'd miss coffee with us this morning, and somehow, it came up that you used to bartend?"

"I worked behind a counter at a snack shack through high school."

"But you're going to help out with some events in Blue Valley?" she asks.

"I am. Pretty excited to be back?—"

"Any chance you're free tonight after the game? We had two call-outs, and I know it's going to be crazy in here."

"Yeah, sure, if you don't mind me flubbing my way through."

She squeals and hugs me. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"No problem." I smile. "What's the dress code?"

"Any chance you own and Jersey Jags attire?" She grins.

"I think I can find something."

"Perfect." She squats down and gives Ellie some much-appreciated attention. "Your auntie Jillian is a lifesaver."

Then she stands up. "All right, see you tonight." And then she all but skips away.

As we walk away, I look down at Ellie. "I'll take two of whatever she's drinking."

I expect that she'll lead me to cross the road and take us to Wags, but she doesn't. She keeps on trotting down the road and pulls me left.

As soon as we turn, I see the source of the amazing smell.

"Delivery day?" I ask Ellie.

From behind the truck comes, "For another month."

I should know better than to carry on a conversation with a strange man, but I don't. He's clearly having a shit day, and I can empathize with that.

"Let's hope not."

"The old man's closing the place down," the man with the round belly and white beard grumbles.

"You sniveling about it is not gonna change a damn thing, Frankie," an older man carrying a crate says. "Now move out of my way, or you'll be unloading this truck yourself."

He glances at me, and then down at Ellie, then back at me. "You know the Hart fella?"

I smile. "He's my brother."

"Kid's been keeping me in business. He's gonna have to go elsewhere soon."

"That must be why Ellie dragged me this way, and here I thought it was the lavender we smelled from down the street." I look up, see the sign, "Etta's Beautiful Bouquets," and know exactly why Rome comes here often. "Etta's a name you don't hear often anymore."

"Was my wife's name. She died. This is her shop." He glances at the driver. "Never was mine."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

He lifts his chin. "Come on, Ellie; your treats are in here."

She stands up and follows him inside, dragging me along with her.

Inside, it's … messy, disorganized, and has clearly not been taken care of for some time. I would safely bet it was after his wife's death.

"Has Rome ever told you our grandmother's name?" I ask, following him.

"Nope, not interested. One love is it for me."

Oh my God, he thinks I'm trying to set him up. That has got to be the cutest thing in the world. "Our grandmother's name was Etta. I'm sure that's not the only reason he frequents here, but I bet it's what drew him in."

"Probably not. Just put her name back up," he says, walking back over to us with two giant milk bones. "Took it down when she left me."

Left me.

"Hoping she won't be as pissed I let it go if I put her name back up."

"You selling it or?—"

"Nope. Place needs too much damn work. Isn't worth the hassle."

I look around. "It doesn't need anything more than a little organization and maybe a coat of paint."

"I don't have it in me after Mother's Day, and the kids all moved West. When the tenants upstairs move out, I'll let it go to auction." He looks around then back at me. "Now, what can I get you?"

"Some lavender and"—I look around—"jasmine if you have any."

"Not sure. Lena will be in soon. If you can get her to stop talking to the flowers, she might know where it's at."

Twenty minutes later, I walk out of Etta's with an arm full of lavender and jasmine that I found myself and an IOU because they don't take credit cards or anything other than cash and checks. Lena, a woman in her early seventies, did come in, and Burt was right; she totally ignored everyone except the flowers.

When we return backto the house, I am elated to find the boys are gone so I can take a shower and make something to eat. I also decide to start documenting my personal research project.

Ellie and I head to the RV to grab my bag and drop off half the flowers, bringing the rest to put on CeCe's island so when she comes back, she can enjoy the calm, too.

After putting the flowers in a vase, I grab a cup out of the cabinet to pour some much-needed coffee into and notice a note on the counter.

Ellie has already eaten.

Please ensure she's in her crate if you leave her.

She tends to find herself in trouble otherwise.

NU

I glance down at her. "Are you a troublemaker?"

Her little bottom shakes.

"Of course not. Boys are stupid."

Coffee in one hand, the strap of my bag still draped across my shoulder, I grab one of Ellie's toys, and then we head toward the downstairs bedroom to take a shower.

I shut the bedroom door behind us and look around to make sure there's nothing in here that she could possibly get into before heading into the bathroom, determined to wash the feel of his hands offme.

While undressing, I catch a glimpse of my ass in the mirror and gasp at the size of the bruise. "You have got to be kidding me."

After a long, hot shower, I stand in the bathroom, brushing my hair, enjoying the ability to stand here naked, airdrying. I didn't grow up in a houseful of prudes, but I did grow up in a house that was always full.

I wasn't looking forward to being a way from my family, but I was excited about having a place of my own. It feels wrong to be bent out of shape about my rain delay.

I am so lucky to have a mother who never wanted for anything but for her kids to feel loved and be happy. Mom got pregnant at seventeen, had Rome before she was eighteen, had Hudson two years later, and me two years after that. She's lived more than half her life working to raise us and has never asked for a thing.

I hurry out of the room to grab my phone and shoot her a text.

Me:

Tell me how happy you are.

Mom:

The gift you all have given me was the sixth happiest day of my life.

I reread the message before replying.

Me:

Huh?

Mom:

1 - Roman's birth, 2 - Hudson's birth, 3 - Your birth, 4 – Rome's, Hud's, and your graduation (both high school and college tie for fourth days), and 6 - this past Sunday.

Me:

I don't remember my birth, but I'm sure that was my favorite day.

Mom:

"Huh?"

I laugh as I reply.

Me:

I got to meet my role model, on the outside.

"Elle, are you …? Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

"Get out!" I scream as I run into the bathroom, grab a towel, hide behind the door, and peek out.

"Jesus Christ, I am so sorry. I was?—"

"Everything okay?" Blaze Bennett's voice comes from outside the room.

"Yeah, Ellie's in here. All good," Nour says, turning his back to me.

"Why are you still in here?" I whisper-hiss at him.

"Because I don't do drama on a normal day, and game day, it's all positive vibes."

"The hell does that have to do with me?" I snip out at him.

"Lavender and jasmine calm. You're stressed. Whatever I may have done to?—"

"Ew, no." I grab a tee-shit, throw it on, and then step into shorts. "I don't need to be shrinked by you or any other man, so"—I walk past him and point to the door—"kick ass, player. Now be a good boy and go find your Zen."

He shakes his head as he looks at me. "I don't know what your deal is, but you and I have never had issues before. If you're going through something and need help, you need to call someone you trust."

"You rattle off a hotline number, I'll nut you."

Ellie walks over and nudges my hand, and I look down at her. "You got my back, right?"

He holds his big old catcher's mitt in the air, his fingers easily the size of an average dick. His dick? An anomaly. "Nobody needs to have anyone's back."

I sneer at him, and his brows shoot up.

"Sage, white sage."

I gasp, "How dare you?"

He pinches the bridge of his nose then opens his eyes and looks me over, brow quirking as they fall breast level then move quickly to meet my eyes. He clears his throat and turns, saying, "My apologies."

"Ba-bye."

As soon as he leaves, I look down and confirm that, yes, my nipples are wowing out.