A Fortunate Arrangement

She had just put the key into the lock when she heard a car turn into her driveway. In the split second between hearing the sound and turning around, her heart leaped in her chest and possibility bloomed like the roses she loved.

But it was short-lived, because when she turned around, she saw that it was not Austin. It was a courier lugging a huge box up the walk.

“Felicity Schafer?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“This is for you. Please sign here.”

She did, and he set the large brown box inside her front door.

Who in the world would be sending her a package? Maybe it was something for graduation. That’s when her heart took a second leap of faith and imagined it was from her father.

But it wasn’t.

When she opened the box, there was a card, which she didn’t open right away. It took a moment to figure it out, but the pieces in the box were for a greenhouse. Inside the larger note there was a piece of paper with a number for her to call to make an appointment for someone to assemble it for her.

It should’ve been the most wonderful moment. It should’ve made her happier than receiving the most fabulous piece of jewelry or the most coveted designer bag. But it didn’t. Written on the note card in Austin’s own handwriting was a message that broke her heart.

I’m sorry, Felicity. I crossed the line. It will never happen again. I hope Monday we can carry on as before.

This proved her theory that love was definitely real, but once acknowledged, a clock started counting down to the end. She never dreamed it would end before it had a chance to begin with Austin.

Chapter Twelve

Austin had contemplated calling Felicity Sunday night, but he decided it would have made things worse. It would’ve felt too personal. As it stood, things were already personal enough. So, it was for the best that he waited to talk to her again Monday morning at the office.

He didn’t like it. Not one bit, but that’s the way things had to be. For her sake.

After his early-morning conversation with his dad, Austin had needed time to think and get his head together. Miles might be able to keep them apart by threatening Felicity’s promotion, but his mandate wouldn’t change the way he felt about her.

For the first time in a long time, he was falling in love.

He was in love with Felicity, but for her sake, there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn’t get in the way of her promotion. He had to let her have this opportunity.

He stepped off the elevator at Fortune Investments and into the hallway that led to their office. He was arriving at his usual time and he planned to act like it was any other day. If he sensed she wanted to talk about things, they could do that in his office—just as they would talk about anything on any given day.

His heart thudded as he rounded the corner and saw her sitting at her desk, typing on her computer. It thudded, then it settled into a dull ache.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning.” She didn’t look up from what she was doing.

Okay. Apparently, this was going to be more difficult than he’d anticipated. On both of their parts. She was wearing a red dress that managed to look sexy and all business at the same time. His need for her was a visceral ache.

And he needed to stop noticing what she was wearing. How had he done that before? Back before everything went haywire and he realized that she was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Was it any wonder that he was in love with her?

There had to be a way to work this out and the only way to do that was to level with her. Even though his father had acted like a jackass about the situation, tossing around ultimatums and mandates, Austin wouldn’t betray him by telling Felicity point-blank what Miles had said after he’d found them together. He’d have to keep the conversation more general. He’d have to tell her that due to company policy, it wasn’t possible for them to work together and be together.

“Do you have a moment to talk?” he asked.

She kept typing, her gaze glued to the computer monitor. For a moment, he thought she wasn’t going to answer him. But then she stopped and looked up, her eyes focused on a point somewhere over his shoulder.

“Yes. I’ll be in in a moment.” Her tone was strictly business. He didn’t blame her.