Chapter 35
Jamie woke slowly, surrounded by the scent of Blake’s cologne on borrowed sheets and the ghost of warm skin that wasn’t there.
For a moment, he let himself pretend.
That Blake was still in the bed beside him. That last night had ended with whispered jokes and tangled legs, not a rushed suitcase and a kiss that lingered too long to be casual.
His phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Blake Sterling
Morning, beautiful.
Attached: a photo of Blake, squinting slightly in the London morning sun, hair ruffled, Big Ben in the distance behind him.
Jamie smiled so wide it hurt his cheeks.
He snapped a photo of himself still under the hotel covers, bedhead in full force, with his arm outstretched toward Blake’s now-empty pillow.
Jamie:
Trying to pretend this pillow is you. It doesn’t talk back, though. Major downside.
Blake’s reply came fast.
Blake Sterling:
Tell it I’m wildly in love with the guy wrapped in my sheets. See if that helps.
Jamie stared at the screen.
Heart thudding.
Smiling like an idiot.
And very aware – he was falling for Blake Sterling.
The flight back with the team was lighthearted. Jacob passed around terrible snacks, Camille slept in a scarf cocoon, and Trisha handed Jamie a crossword titled “Signs You’re In Love.”
Jamie had to hide his face behind his travel hoodie more than once.
When he got home, suitcase in one hand, keys in the other, Jamie barely noticed the package at first.
Until he looked down.
A massive glass vase full of deep red roses sat in front of his apartment door.
Not the standard dozen.
No.
There had to be at least fifty.
Lush, blooming, and utterly, devastatingly romantic.
Tied to the vase was a black envelope.
Inside: a single card.
Miss you.
– B
Jamie stood there in the hallway, key still in hand, heart somewhere up near his throat.
He didn’t move for a full minute.
Then he hugged the vase.
Yes, he literally hugged the roses.
Because love?
Love was showing up in a text before sunrise.
Love was remembering how he liked his bed made.
Love was red roses waiting by the door when he came home.
Jamie brought the vase inside and set it in the middle of the kitchen table.
He stared at it.
And whispered to no one, “I think I’m really in this.”