Royal Games(22)

While part of me was outraged that he’d done something I’d asked, okay, told, him not to do, another part of me was touched and grateful. I didn’t know which face to show. I was floundering. If I was nice, he’d think he had a chance still. But If I was mean, I’d be acting like an ungrateful, spoiled brat.

So instead I asked, “What are you doing? What kind of game are you playing?”

“Game? I’m not here to play a game.” Then he came and stood right in front of me. He couldn’t possibly have missed my sharp intake of breath. He stood so close we could have kissed if either one of us moved forward just an inch. Then I stopped breathing completely while he said, “The only games I play are of the video game variety. But if this were a game, I would win. I don’t lose.”



The rest of my day consisted of unkind thoughts about arrogant, conceited men who believed they could do whatever they wanted. It was like real life was some video game and Rafe thought he had a god mode cheat. It got worse when I started up my truck. The engine purred, and I realized he had done a lot more than just replacing the battery.

“I’ll pay him back,” I told myself, as a way to make things okay. He would be very far down the list, though, given that some of the other debtors had the ability to make us homeless.

He only had the ability to make me insane.

While working at the diner, I thought of what Amanda had said about how I was trying to make myself angry at him. Logically, he had done something nice and thoughtful. And I was mad at him for it? I couldn’t rationalize that he was implying I was too weak or was unable to do it myself. I was sure that never even entered his mind. He saw something that needed to be done, and he did it. That’s how Rafe was.

Part of me expected him to show up at the diner again, but he didn’t. Instead, just before my shift was supposed to end, I got a visit from Stuart.

That would be Stuart, the flower delivery guy, with whom I was on a first-name basis thanks to Rafe.

“Stuart! What are you doing here?”

He held a large bouquet of sunflowers. He didn’t have to say anything. I knew they were for me. I’d told Rafe once how much I liked sunflowers and how I missed them in the winter. And somewhere in his royal bloodline he had an ancestor who must have been part elephant, because he never forgot anything.

“You know the drill, Genesis.” He set the flowers down on the counter. “Enjoy!”

I did know the drill. The drill was he told me I had flowers, and I would tell him to bring them to one of the widows in Frog Hollow. “Wait!” I called after him. But apparently he had forgotten the drill himself, as he was already out the door and climbing back into his delivery truck. Stuck, I took the note out and read it.



Thank you for saving me today and preventing me from burning the house down.



—Rafe



P.S. I had Stuart deliver flowers to all the women on your list, so you can keep these.



Then I had to deal with dueling desires—I wanted to strangle him and kiss him at the same time. He needed to stop sending me flowers, but how could I not be touched that he’d had flowers delivered to all of the widows in our town? He had gone out of his way to make a lot of people happy. That kind of thing probably wouldn’t even have occurred to most men. They would have just been mad that I didn’t accept their gifts and then punished me by not giving me more.

Not Rafe. He had to go and be twice as thoughtful and considerate.

We technically weren’t supposed to use our phones while at work, but this required some feminine backup. I texted Whitney.



FLOWERS!!!!



She immediately responded, but she didn’t say what I had expected.



Send me a picture because Christopher hasn’t brought me flowers since we got married. I’m pretty sure I’ve forgotten what they look like.



Where was my female solidarity? I glanced around before I answered.



That’s not what you’re supposed to say.



My phone buzzed with her quick reply.



Sorry, just overwhelmed—and on top of everything else, I have to take Mere to a birthday party tomorrow morning at 7:00 that’s apparently being hosted by the devil.



After apologizing and telling her that we would talk soon, I put my phone back in my pocket. Laura came in to relieve me so that I could head over to the high school. I left the flowers at the diner. I’d let the customers enjoy them.

I didn’t want to admit that part of me wanted to take them home and keep them in my room. I knew that if I did that, though, Rafe would know somehow (even if I was sneaky) and then he’d misinterpret my actions to mean something that they didn’t.