*✩ Boise, Idaho

✿ Reid's POV

I sign the documents and hand them over to my assistant. I turn to my laptop screen when I realize she's still standing there.

“Sloane?” I call out. “You can go now.”

She fidgets and I lean back against my chair.

“What is it, Sloane?” I ask.

“Mr. Dalton er... a special package came in for you last week.”

I clasp my hands and turn around in the chair to face her.

“And you're telling me this now because?”

She lets out a loud breath and points towards my best friend's office through the glass partition walls that fenced my office.

“Mr. Nielsen asked me not to say anything. But I can't keep it in anymore sir. If you find out from someone else you're surely going to fire me and I love working for you” she rants.

I slowly nod.

“You may go now, Sloane.”

She doesn't budge and I click my tongue.

“Fine, then I'll go,” I say and walk out of my office, making a beeline for my best friend.

He looks up from the file he's holding and smiles, but it falters when he sees Sloane behind me. He closes the file and gives her a look. I clear my throat.

“Hernan, Sloane tells me received a special package two weeks ago and you asked her not to tell me.”

He nods.

“That is correct, Reid.”

I fold my arms.

“Well since she's told me now, let me have it.”

“No,” he says.

“No?” I enquire.

“No” he repeats and walks off.

I follow him into his office.

“I already took care of it so there's no need for you to worry. Trust me, I'm your best friend.”

I chuckle.

“That's even more reason not to trust you, Hernan.”

He takes a seat in his chair and twirls a pen through his fingers.

“I said no Reid. You can go.”

“I pay for that chair you're sitting on. Do you want me to fire you?”

“Oh, stop. Your little threats aren't going to work on me.”

I let out an annoyed breath.

“Hernan—”

“Miss Wood's getting married” Sloane blurts out.

Hernan shoots her a lot.

“Sloane!” he scolds.

“Sorry. I work for him, not you” she squeaks out apologetically.

I press my lips together as they both turn to look at me.

“She's getting married” I repeat.

“More like engaged to be married, but it's the same th—”

I glare at Sloane and she shuts up.

“Reid—”

I scoff, cutting Hernan off and walk back into my office to grab my jacket before walking back out.

“Clear my schedule” I order Sloane as she trails after me.

“Where are you going?” Hernan asks, coming after me too.

“To talk to Anika” I reply bluntly.

“But don't you have to attend your goddaughter's party today in Meridian today?” he asks.

I stop in my track and Sloane nearly bumps into me. She adjusts her glasses and moves behind Hernan.

“Ellen will kill you if you don't go.”

Glancing at the time on my watch, I sigh.

“This isn't over,” I say to him.

He smiles and I turn away.

“Sir wait!” Sloane calls me back.

I stop again and turn around in annoyance.

“What?”

She holds out an envelope to me and I arch a brow.

“The package,” she says.

I take it and rip it open.

“Aah, an invitation card. Perfect” I say through gritted teeth.

“Way to go, Sloane” Hernan nudges Sloane, making her step away.

I turn around and walk outside my office just as the valet brings my car around. I step in and speed off. My phone rings and I answer it.

“I'm on my way Ellen,” I say.

“Reid? The pastry chef Otto hired isn't here with the delivery yet!” she panics.

“Why would you trust that man to do anything?” I ask, overtaking the truck moving slowly in front of me.

“He's my husband Reid, and they're supposed to be the best bakery in town.”

I chuckle.

“Well, don't worry about it Elle, I'll see what I can do hm?”

“Reid” she whines.

The red light comes on and I stop. I lower my sunglasses to read the inscription on the back of the jeep that was in front of me.

'No one cares about your stick family'.

I look at the windshield wiper and it has a 'Fuck You' decal just at the tip of the wiper.

“Of course” I chuckle and recline in my seat.

“Are you still there Reid?”

I glance at my phone's screen and realize the call time is still running.

“I'm on my way right now,” I say and hang up.

The light turns green and I step on the gas pedal. The jeep in front of me moves slowly and I glance at the time in annoyance.

“Fuck this,” I say under my breath and drive to the wrong side of the road to overtake the car.

My cell phone rings again and I sigh, knowing it's Ellen again. I glance at the screen.

'Anika'.

I suddenly hit the brakes and pick up the phone.

Why is she calling me?

“Shit, shit, shit, shit!” I cuss, hitting the steering wheel simultaneously.

The phone continues to ring and I toss it in the passenger seat beside me and shake my head.

“No way,” I say to myself as I continue to watch it ring.

A vigorous tap rattles on my window and I turn. I look through the rearview mirror and see the driver's door of the Jeep I'd overtaken, open.

Must be him.

“Shit!” I cuss again.

I look out the window and see a floral skirt instead. I glance at the car behind me again and roll my eyes.

“Of course, it's a woman” I chuckle.

She's standing close to the door and I shake my head.

“If I open the door, it's going to hit her and she's going to make an even bigger fuss,” I say to myself. “Think Reid.”

An idea forms in my head and I nod to myself. Taking another glance at the skirt of the woman, I rev up the engine and it lets out a mighty 'vroom', successfully scaring her away from the door. I finally open the door and step out.

She stares at me and I try to smile politely at her but she just stares. She had long curly dark hair and the craziest shade of light amber eyes I'd ever seen. The floral print dress she had on, came with a small slit on the right side and quite a low v-neck. The fabric crossed at her waist, clenching her torso in and highlighting the fullness of her chest and curves.

I clear my throat.

“I didn't see you there. Next time, huh?” I nod at her and hold the car door to get back in but she cuts me off fast and slams the door shut.

Jesus!

“Are you crazy?!” she cries out. “You just tried to kill me and I don't even get an apology?!”

I sigh.

“Like I said, I didn't see you there. Next time.”

I try to move around her but she blocks my path.

“Oh no you don't!”

I huff.

“Okay fine” I give up.

She crosses her arms, causing her chest to jute forward.

Woah!

I blink and reach into my pocket to bring out his wallet. I pull out the remaining cash and begin to count.

This ought to take care of the damages.

I split the money and hands her the smaller half.

“Here, this is five hundred dollars. Is that enough to get you away from my car so I can leave? I have more important things to do.”

She frowns and I notice the beauty mark on the corner of her nose, right underneath her left eye.

“Fine, fine” I cut her when she opens her mouth to speak. “Here” I add the other half of the money. “We good?”

She chuckles and clicks her tongue. I chuckle too.

“You're a difficult woman aren't you?” I ask, pulling my card from my wallet.

I hold it out in her face.

“You see this? This is a black card” I tell her. “How about I lend it to you for half a day huh? Go on a shopping spree, change your hair... or your car...” I glance at the Jeep and chuckle as the 'Fuck You' decal on the wiper comes to mind. “Do whatever you want with it okay? Just step away from my car right and it's yours.”

“You are a disgrace to all men in Armani suits” she nods her head at him.

“Is that supposed to be an insult?”

She sucks in her bottom lip and I spot the almost invisible dimple in her cheeks.

“You nearly kill me and instead of apologizing, you're throwing money at me?! What kind of person do you think I am huh?! Is it because I'm a woman of color?”

I give her an amused look.

That explains the hair.

But she didn't look like a woman of color.

“You're not a woman of color so don't try to play that card with me. And that accent is fake” I say to her.

“Oh!” she throws her hands up in despair.

I hear my phone ring and I'm reminded of where I'm supposed to be.

“Look, I didn't see you okay? But maybe if you went around driving without frosted windows, you'd see better.”

She furrows her brows at me.

“Are you seriously trying to blame me right now?!”

I shrug and put my wallet back inside my pocket.

“You're the one with frosted windows so” he reply with a smug.

She's about to probably say something nasty when her eyes widen at the sight of her backseat windows. She slowly takes a step toward the car.
She brings her hand to her face only to bring it back down and it's covered in blood.

How'd I miss that?

“You should get that checked,” I say with a little chuckle.

I don't wait for her to answer and just hop into the car. The engine roars to life and I speed off. I watch her stand there through the rearview mirror, till she grows smaller and smaller and eventually disappears from my sight. I shake my head.

“What a woman.”

I drive up to the mansion and Ellen and her husband are pacing up and down in front of the house.

“Where have you been Reid?!”

“I got here as fast as I could,” I say to her.

She sighs.

“Otto” I give him a stiff nod.

He looks up from his phone at him.

“Oh, hello Reid. Didn't see you there.”

“Mm,” I reply.

“What are we going to do Reid? What if they don't show up?”

“Calm down Ellen. Everything's going to be fine.”

She takes in a deep breath and rubs her temple.

“Did you know Anika is getting married?” I ask.

She opens her eyes and exchanges a look with Otto who'd stopped pacing. I nod and purse my lip.

“Of course you did.”

She gives me a guilty look.

“Let's go inside” she gestures.

I nod and follow her into the house. It hadn't changed one bit. The guests had arrived and the waiters were passing champagne around.

“How'd you find out?” she asks, handing me a glass of champagne.

“Hernan” I answer, taking a sip of the bubbly. “He asked my assistant not to tell me but I found out anyway.”

She sighs.

“How do you feel?”

I shrug.

“How do you mean?”

She chuckles.

“Reid, you just found out that the woman you'd been with for eight years is getting married to another man, and they sent you an invitation card. It's okay to be upset or jealous you know?”

I chuckle.

“I'm not jealous Ellen.”

“Sureee” she drags. “So you're thrilled then?”

I chuckle again and give her a look. She gives me the same look back and I down the rest of the champagne.

“I'm going to say hello to the birthday girl,” I say to her and walk off.

“You can't run away from your problems forever Reid” she calls out after me.

I lift my hand in the air as I walk off. I glance through the crowd and my eyes land on her. I smile.

“Well, don't you look absolutely beautiful tonight.”

She stops pacing and turns to me.

“Uncle Reid. You came.”

I chuckle.

“Like I'd miss my favorite goddaughter slash niece's birthday.”

She smiles.

“I am your only goddaughter slash niece” she whispers.

She wraps her arms around me and I hug her back.

“Nervous?” I ask as she pulls away.

“Yeah, Tyler said he wanted to ask me something but I haven't seen him since and his phone's off so” she sighs.

I smile down at her.

“You're really in love with him aren't you?”

She looks away, a little embarrassed.

“I know you don't like him uncle Reid, but he's a good guy. And I know he loves me just as much as I love him.”

I put my hands in my pocket and nod.

“I've never doubted your judgment ever since you were in diapers so why would I now?”

She laughs.

“Okay, so where's my present?”

Oh shit! I knew I forgot something.

She gasps dramatically.

“Is it a puppy?”

I chuckle.

“You know your father's allergic to dogs, Maeve.”

She shrugs.

“It's never stopped you from riling him up, Reid,” she says in the same tone.

I chuckle and shake my head at her.

“Oh, c'mon uncle Reid. Tell me!” she whines. “Is it one of those—”

“Actually Maeve, it's—”

The lights suddenly go dim and the spotlight falls in the middle of the room. A man steps into the spotlight and starts to play the saxophone. Maeve's eyes go wide and she jumps up to hug me.

“You hired a saxist?! Thank you uncle Reid!” she shrieks.

I struggle to find my words and just pat her back. She grins at the saxophonist and begins to dance along to the song he's playing. The guests begin to clap as the saxophonist changes the song to something more upbeat and I chuckle at Maeve as she tries to do the wave dance.

The night draws on and my phone rings. I step out of the room to answer it.

“What?”

“Oh it's been hours already, get over it, Reid.”

I put a hand in my pocket and scratch the corner of my eyebrow.

“Haven't you done enough Hernan?” I ask.

“I kept it from you so you wouldn't get upset.”

“Well do a better job next time,” I tell him.

I hear applause coming from the room and I turn to see Tyler getting off one knee, slipping a ring on Maeve's finger, and sweeping her into a kiss.

You've got to be kidding me.

“Are you even listening to me, Reid?”

I nod.

“Sure” I answer, not taking my eyes off the two.

Marriage? They were still too young. I groan and shake my head.

“Why aren't you picking up Anika's calls?”

I finally look away from the couple and turn.

“Is that why you called?”

“She called the office, asking for you Reid. I had to lie to her saying you were at a party.”

“I am,” I say, glancing at my watch.

“Standing on the sideline isn't a party bro.”

“What's important is that I came and my goddaughter has seen me okay?”

I move further away from the house to the backyard patio.

“Could you ask Sloane to pick up a birthday slash engagement present for Maeve?”

“She's engaged?!” Hernan cries out in shock.

I nod and turn my back to the house.

“To the sommelier... unfortunately” I sigh.

“Isn't she a little too young?”

I nod.

“She turned twenty-one today.”

“She must really be in love then.”

I shrug.

“I think he's just after the money,” I say.

Hernan chuckles.

“Are you always this negative? It could be true love buddy. True love.”

I shake my head.

“There's no such thing Hernan. Wake up” I chuckle.

“Oh, you're just saying that because you haven't found the one. She could be standing right behind you.”

I suddenly feel a pickling on the back of my neck and turn.

You've got to be kidding me.

“I'm going to have to call you back,” I say to Hernan and hang up.

I fold my arms and look at her.

She hasn't taken care of the cut?

“Are you stalking me?” I ask.

She smiles and playfully shrugs.

“Probably.”

I unfold my arms and slip my phone into my pocket.

“You know that's a crime right?”

“The same way you know attempted murder is” she replies in the same tone I use.

I laugh.

“You're not still mad at that are you?” I chuckle. “I offered you money, you refused. I offered you a back card which you also refused. Or did you follow me here because you changed your mind?”

The cut looks deep.

I pull out my wallet again and fish through it for the card.

“You're crazy,” she tells me.

“Says the one who's stalking me” I chuckle and I hold out the card in my face.

“I'll offer it one more time. Here you—”

She reaches out to slap the card out of my hand, but my grip is firm. I smirk.

“Nice try. But I know people like you. You think you're so tough but I can make you come crawling to me with a snap of my finger” he whispers into her face.

I can.

She smiles.

“You forgot to mention one very important thing about people like me” she sighs dramatically. “We find pleasure in the little things life offers us.”

I chuckle, not stepping away from her.

“Oh, is that a low-class motivational quote? Where'd you read it from? Pinterest?” I laugh.

Her smile disappears and she glares at me.

Damn!

“Go to hell,” she says to me.

Before I can comprehend what happens next, something cold and sticky is smeared all over my face. I feel something flat get pushed into my chest and my back card snatched out of my hand.

“Pinterest that, you asshole!”

✯✯✯✯✯✯

“I'm not even going to ask” Ellen sighs as I take off my jacket.

I wipe my face with the tissues she sets on the table.

“How did you get the cupcakes all over you like that?” I hear Tyler chuckle. “You must have been really excit—”

I glance up at him with a glare and he swallows the rest of his words.

“I'll go get your jacket laundered,” Ellen says. “Tyler come with me.”

I watch her drag him away. He pauses at the doorway and mutters something to Maeve before following Ellen. Maeve gives me a little smile as she approaches me. She takes a seat in the patio chair opposite me and fiddles with her ring.

That's the size he could buy for her?

She catches me looking and sits up straight.

“I didn't know this was what he wanted to ask me, uncle Reid, I swear.”

I nod, grabbing another tissue.

“But you said yes” I state.

She sighs.

“Uncle Re—”

“It's okay Maeve, you don't have to explain anything to me. It's fine” I tell her.

I squirt some water from the spray bottle onto the tissue and wipe the chocolate stains on my shirt. She chuckles.

“How did you get the cupcake all over you like that?”

I chuckle.

“It's quite the mystery actually” I answer.

“I met the baker and she was wonderful.”

I look up and arch a brow.

“Really?”

Maeve nods.

“Long curly hair, a little bit of an attitude” she describes. “She just swooped in and saved me from Agatha. She even got a compliment from her.”

“Really now?”

“Not really a compliment but since it came from Agatha, yes.”

I chuckle.

“She even gave me her business card. I told her we'd definitely call her to make our wedding ca—” she stops smiling and shakes her head. “Nevermind.”

I sigh and pat the seat beside me. Maeve gets up and settles down beside me.

“Are you happy Maeve?” I ask.

She fidgets with her ring and slowly nods.

“I know it's too soon uncle Reid. I have one more year left in college and Tyler got employed two months ago. We're not going to get married right away. I want to make a good life for myself because I'm not planning to live on mom and dad's money forever. So we're going to have to work hard before we get married.”

I nod.

“And I know you don't approve of Tyler because you think he's—”

“Maeve” I stop her.

She takes a deep breath.

“I already told you, I trust your judgment. If you're sure about him then that's all. I've got your back, because all I want, is for you to be happy. That's all.”

She grins and throws her arms around my neck. I hug her back and she pulls away with a laugh.

“I think you've found a new hair conditioner” she laughs, picking out a few rainbow sprinkles out of my hair.

I chuckle.

“Hey, did you say you got the baker's business card?” I ask.

“Yeah, here,” she says, pulling it out of the pocket of her white jumpsuit.

She hands it over to me and I turn it around in my hand.

“Sweets by Lee” I read out loud.

Maeve chuckles.

“I know, it's not very creative” she admits and stands up.

I look at the telephone number and the address of the shop on the back of the card.

“Hey, isn't this your black card?” Maeve asks.

I turn and she's picking it up from the ground. I chuckle and shake my head and I take another look at the card in my hand.

What a woman.

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