I finished my shower and stomped into the bedroom to dress for work. Sometime between putting on a bra and picking out a shirt Richard called down the hallway that he was headed out. I responded with a courtesy grunt but nothing more. Once I finished getting dressed, styling my hair and applying a natural makeup look I made my way to the kitchen. If there would have been a punching bag in the room, I would have socked it across the jaw. Not a single thing in the kitchen had been touched. The coffee pot was full, the grapefruit still sat out and even the toast was popped in the toaster.
I understood that he was on his way to breakfast but he didn't do a single thing. Little gestures such as this one made it a huge turn off to try again after things went so wrong the first time. And now, I had completely lost my appetite. Just out of spite I threw everything into the trash and dumped the coffee down the sink. I prayed Richard would come home, go to throw something away and notice what I did. The words 'childish' and 'petty' crept into my thoughts, but I didn't care. I was pissed and this time, I felt I had every right to be.
My bad mood continued as I entered my car, got stuck in traffic and almost got sideswiped by a dump truck. Days like this I should just do society a favor and crawl back under the covers, but that would do no good since Richard would be there. I parked my car and as I walked into the salon I was ready to bite anyone's head off who glanced at me wrong. I couldn't have been more than two steps inside when I saw the most incredible flower arrangement sitting on top of the receptionist's desk.
My eyes bulged out as an arrangement of at least two dozen flowers-a combination of pink roses, pink stargazer lilies, and purple lisianthus-brightened the room. Tyler was standing behind the reception desk, reading what I assumed to be the card it came with.
"Holy flowers!" I finally said, "Those are stunning."
"I know they are! The florist just delivered them here!" He exclaimed, hardly hiding his excitement.
"Are they for you?" I asked and he let out a sigh.
"I wish, there's actually no name."
"Seriously? Who would send a bouquet like this and not sign a card?"
Tyler shrugged and held out the piece of paper he had been studying. "No idea, but have a look."
On one side was the florist's business name and on the back were two simple lines that read:
Please talk to me, GR.
Xox
"Any idea who GR is?" Tyler asked and suddenly my cheeks flushed a fierce shade of red that I hoped Ty didn't notice.
"Yeah," here I thought maybe Richard would have sent flowers as a way to apologize for the horrible way our morning started. I had even been softening to him already, trying to decide what the best way to apologize would be.
Now I realized I was an even bigger idiot than I thought. Not only were the flowers not from my fiancé but they were from the man I had convinced myself I was better without. Richard hardly understood that he did anything wrong while Stefan was already trying to find a way to make things right.
"Who is it?" Tyler asked excitedly, at the prospect of solving the mystery of the beautiful flowers.
"It's me."
He raised an eyebrow and looked me up and down skeptically. "How do you know? Are you just trying to claim these flowers for yourself?? You're Greyson Desmond, so your initials are GD not GR."
"Yeah, my first and last name would be GD but my name is Greyson Rose Desmond-so, GR."
He didn't believe me just yet. "Your name is Greyson Rose?"
"Yeah, why? Didn't you know that at all?" I asked, hardly able to tear my eyes away from the breathtaking sight.
"Um, no. I don't know why I would either, no one calls you Greyson Rose."
"One person does." And I decided right then that Tyler didn't need to know that one person was none other than Stefan Harrison.
Tyler swiped the note from my hands once again, his eyes growing even larger than before. "Who!?" He asked excitedly, while he checked the card again for a name he might have forgotten.
"Oh my Lord! Those flowers are beautiful!" Kacie's voice came from the opposite direction and for the first time Tyler and I looked away from the bouquet.
"Aren't they stunning?" Tyler asked her.
"Uh yeah," Kacie nodded her head still dazed. "When did they get here and how did I not see them before?"
Tyler waved a hand dismissively in the air. "Oh you had just gone to the back, they haven't even been here for more than five minutes."
"Who are they even for?"
I glanced up from the desk and caught Tyler's smug look. He prided himself on knowing everything about everyone in this salon. Now that I've claimed to have a nickname he didn't know about, it was clearly getting under his skin. "Greyson Rose."