The Mrs. Degree (Accidentally in Love 2)

Took a day off.

Had to find a sitter for Skipper, albeit her brother.

Elias, who is not much of a romantic and is more of a playboy, had a few useful things but nothing I wanted to actually do. First, he suggested I send her flowers and a balloon bouquet—too basic. He then suggested I send those flowers to her job, which I didn’t think her boss would appreciate barring she wasn’t thrilled Penn took a personal day.

“What does she like, dude? Send her a gift card.”

“I’m not sending her a gift card. That defeats the purpose of sending her a gift.”

“How? A gift card is literally a gift. It’s called a gift card.”

I massage my temples with my thumb and forefinger. “Please stop saying the word gift. You’re not being helpful.” I don’t just want to show my appreciation. I want it to be romantic. And thoughtful. And brighten her entire freaking day.

“Sexy lingerie is out of the question?”

“This is why you don’t have a girlfriend. Your ideas suck.”

“That idea does not suck; maybe this is the reason you don’t have a girlfriend, did you ever think of that? You’ve spent the past seven years pining for this woman, and now you’re going to send her a sweater.”

“I never said anything about a sweater, asshole. All I said was I wasn’t going to send her lingerie.” There’s a time and a place for everything, dude; time and a place.

Elias sighs loudly over the phone. “Okay, well. Jerome Dupre just gave his wife a massive diamond band as a push present. You could do something like that.”

“What the hell is a push present?”

“It’s to thank her for having their baby, but I secretly think she picked them out herself and made him buy them for her so she could show them off to her friends.” Elias blows his nose. “She’s posted more about the ring than the actual baby.”

“A diamond ring?”

“Yeah, it would blind you. I don’t think it actually fits on her ring finger with her other ring. Have you seen the size of the middle stone?”

“Dude, what the fuck? No, I haven’t seen the size of the middle stone. I barely know who she is.” Why would I even care to look?

I can practically hear Elias shrugging. “Listen, as my clients, I’m obligated to follow all of y’all on social media on the off chance someone goes off the rails and posts something stupid, and I have to save you from yourselves.” He blows his nose again. “Charlene is one of those people who may need to dial it down or their house is going to get robbed.”

“Are you getting a cold?”

He sniffles. “Gee, what gave it away?”

“This is why women say men are pussies when they’re sick. You’re being so dramatic.”

Elias grumbles. “Leave me alone.”

“Is that any way to talk to your favorite client?”

He laughs. “Ha. I don’t play favorites. You should know that.”

“Yet another reason you don’t have a girlfriend…”

“Bye, asshole. I’ll talk to you later.”

I laugh when he cuts the call loose, staring at my cell, googling gifts and going back to a jewelry website. Maybe Jerome Dupre is on to something. Maybe I should try to find something here.

There is a store not too far from her house; it’s more than likely I’d be able to have it delivered today and not have to wait.

The famous aqua blue banner of the online store, with its shiny gold and silver objects, has me wondering if I would be able to choose something that wasn’t over the top yet simple enough not to overwhelm Penelope.

I look through the necklaces, then the bracelets.

I waste a solid hour of time I’m supposed to have been at the gym scrolling and scrolling until I’m damn near cross-eyed.

Satisfied with what I come up with, I write the item number and description on a piece of paper before turning my attention to a gift for Skipper.

This gift will be easy.

Horses.

Specifically, rainbow horses and ponies, my only conundrum is choosing between the hundreds of items that pop up online and getting it there today.

I hate waiting.

When I make up my mind about something, I want it, and I want it now, and I want those gifts hand-delivered before dinner time today.

I shoot Elias a text.

Me: Can you get in touch with Maggie? I need her to find a concierge in the area who can shop and deliver. Today.

Elias: Sure thing, boss.

Seven years ago, when I was a rookie and just starting out, I wouldn’t dream of contacting my agent about running my errands or buying gifts, but I’ve come a long way since then.

Maggie is Elias’s assistant, and every so often, I lean on her for things like this because I don’t have an assistant of my own like a lot of my teammates do. Or their wives.