Billionaire’s Trust(12)

“I appreciate you being here for me and wanting to do the right thing for the baby, but I don’t expect you to… be with me."

“Maddie,” I began. “There’s time to talk about things like that later. Right now, just get some rest.”

She watched me as the words came from my lips. Were they what she expected to hear? I had no clue since I hadn’t anticipated her statement. As I finished, she broke her gaze from me and returned it to her lap.

“Okay,” she whispered.

She leaned back into the pillows, and as she did, I slid my hand underneath my suit coat. Grabbing the delicate flower by its stem, I extended the rose to her. Upon seeing it, Maddie raised her hand to her mouth, covering it with tissue. Tears formed once again and trickled down her cheek. Unable to speak, she nodded and took the flower from me. Maddie lifted the bloom to her nose, inhaling its subtle fragrance.

She smiled.



MADDIE

Sliding the key into the lock of the front door to the apartment, Grey turned it and it clicked open.

“Wait here,” Grey said, as he did a half-turn over his shoulder.

I wrinkled my forehead in confusion. Leaning away from him a bit, I raised an eyebrow at him. “Why? What are you up to, Grey?”

He smirked as he turned to walk inside, but didn’t bother to reply. Grey disappeared out of sight for about a minute or so, before once again appearing in the doorway in front of me.

“Okay,” he began. “Come on in.”

Still skeptical, I kept frowning as I walked towards the entrance, but just as I approached it, Grey grabbed hold of my arm. “No, wait.”

I froze in place, my body now divided between the hallway and the foyer of the apartment.

“Uh! Grey!” I said, confused and now a bit frustrated.

“Shh!” he demanded. “Here, give me your hand and close your eyes.”

I pursed my lips as I looked at him.

“Come on,” he said. “You’ll love it. Trust me."

I shook my head and did my best to fight off a smile. Grey had never surprised me with anything before and I wasn’t exactly crazy about surprises, in general. The last thing I needed was for him to think I enjoyed it. If he did, God only knows what my life would be like.

“Fine,” I grumbled as closed my eyelids with reluctance.

With a gentle tug, Grey pulled me along. As I entered the door to the apartment clicked shut. It’s funny, I’d walked down the hallway hundreds of times, at least, but I still wasn’t sure I wouldn’t trip or bang into the wall by accident.

It’s amazing how even removing one sense can heighten the others in its absence. The pressure and warmth of our interlocked hands heated my palm as I held his tight. The echo of Grey’s loafers clopping along the marble floor as he walked ahead of me sounded much louder than normal. And most notable of them all, when we’d walked far enough to reach the living room, a subtle floral aroma hit me. We stopped and as we did, Grey released his grip and circled around behind me, covering my eyes with his hands.

“What do you see?” he asked.

“Uh!” I exclaimed. “I don’t see anything. You’re covering my eyes.”

Grey chuckled. “Come on. Sure you do. Use your imagination. Tell me what you see, Maddie.”

I inhaled a deep breath and thinned my lips in concentration. As I sucked in the last of my breath, the floral aroma I detected a few moments before now overpowered me.

“Flowers?” I guessed.

Grey grunted in agreement. “What kind?”

I shook my head and smiled. “I don’t know! I’m terrible at this. Grey, can’t I just see, please?”

“No,” he chided. “You have to name them or you don’t get your surprise."

I felt my brow wrinkle beneath the pressure of his palms on my forehead.

“Flowers aren’t my surprise?”

“Don’t change the subject, Maddie,” he said as he leaned in towards my ear. Kissing it gently, he continued in a voice barely above a whisper. “What kind of flowers do you see in your mind?”

Over the next minute or so, I ‘um’ed’ and ‘ah’ed’, as I rattled off the name of every scent I detected including lilac, rose, sage, jasmine, magnolia and geranium. With each one I called out, Grey kissed me on the cheek with soft, tender smacks. As I finished, he moved his fingers away from my eyes after a final press of his lips to my skin. Sunlight brightened the insides of my eyelids as I felt him step away.

“Okay,” he began. “Go ahead.”

My eyes fluttered open and as they did, a kaleidoscope of color filled my vision. In all directions and covering almost every flat surface in the entire apartment were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of flowers. Gasping at the beauty, not to mention the outlandishness of it, I covered my mouth in disbelief.