Lexi, Just a little something to let you know I’m thinking about you. Vincent She reread the note, not knowing whether to hold it to her heart or rip it to shreds. It wasn’t until the third read through that she noticed another line to the note, hidden under her thumb.
p.s. - Did I get the coffee right? Two creams, extra sugar?
He had dropped off the coffee. He had been at the office and left before she’d arrived. He was respecting her wishes, giving her space, but he also wanted to make sure she didn’t forget about him. He wasn’t running away. This time, he was waiting for her. She pulled the tissue paper from the box and peered inside. Nestled safely between the papers was a gorgeous glass vase. Her mouth hung open as she gingerly took it out of the box, and her breath caught in her throat as she examined it. It was tall and delicate with an intricate design along the bottom that reminded Lexi of
the waves of the bay.
The topic of Capri had come up only once between them, the day of their presentation to Julian Stone. Even with all the stress they had both been under at the time, Vincent remembered. He had been paying attention to her likes and dislikes even way back then. That was what he wanted this gift to tell Lexi, the message he wanted to convey, and she heard it loud and clear. If only he had paid attention to other things about her, then they might not be in this position.
She set the vase on the coffee table, sat back on the couch, and admired it, enjoying the way the sun reflected off of it, spinning thousands of colorful rainbows onto the walls of her apartment. The box still felt unusually heavy in her lap. When her hand dipped between the pieces of paper, she found another small bundle tucked securely against the side of the box. She carefully unwrapped it, revealing two spectacular hand blown glass flowers. There was no way to stop the tears that fell the moment she saw them, because she knew immediately what the fragile purple hyacinth and the single red rose meant—I’m sorry and I love you respectively.
On both Tuesday and Wednesday morning, another cup of coffee was waiting for her at work when she arrived, and each evening there was another package sitting beside her door, containing a new flower with yet another meaning. Her vase was quickly filling up and growing into a gorgeous glass bouquet. Occasionally there would be another treat added in the box like licorice or another favorite candy of hers, making her smile. She suspected he must have even gone so far as to enlist Sean and Leigh to help with the deliveries while he was out of town so he wouldn’t miss a day. That knowledge touched her more that she could say.
Late Wednesday night, Lexi stepped out of the shower and heard the phone ringing. She quickly wrapped a towel around her and snatched the phone off her bed.
“Hello?” There was a long silence so Lexi said it again with more force. “Hello?”
“L-Lexi?”
Vincent. The phone slipped out of her hand and smashed against the hardwood floor, skidding under the bed. “Shit, shit, shit,” Lexi muttered, completely flustered as she stuck her arm under the bed looking for the receiver. He was the last person she expected to hear on the other end of the phone. Her heart crashed against her ribs as her fingers wrapped around the phone, and she pressed it to her ear. “Sorry,” she whispered, readjusting her towel as she sat down on her bed and picked at the frayed edge of the cotton. “I dropped the phone. Hi, Vincent.”
“H-hi.” Vincent’s reply was as tentative as hers. “If this is a bad time …”
“No, it’s fine. What do you want?” The words came out harsher than she had intended, but she was on edge, wondering what could possibly be the reason for his call.
“Sorry for the late call, but I needed to talk to you.”
“I don’t have—”
“It’s about work. I promise.”
Lexi stared at her reflection in the mirror over her dresser, wondering if she should hang up on him. When her reflection shrugged, thinking “how bad it could be,” she decided to hear him out and sighed. “What is it?”
“Well, I would have E-mailed, but I didn’t know if you would check it before tomorrow or if you were in bed already, and I didn’t know if you’d get a text, so … I called.” He sounded downright uncomfortable, and Lexi gave her reflection a triumphant smile.
“Please spit it out, Vincent.”
“Elizabeth wants us to have a breakfast meeting with her tomorrow morning.”
Lexi’s eyebrow shot up in suspicion. “I talked to her right before I left work. She didn’t mention a thing about it.” If she had to sit across the table from Vincent, she knew her stomach would do that awful squeeze and she’d never get a bite down. “I appreciate the offer, but no thanks.”
“It wasn’t an invitation. It’s a requirement and non-negotiable.”
“Everything’s negotiable,” Lexi quickly replied, spouting off one of the first things Vincent had taught her.
He chuckled. “I know I told you that, but when it comes to my mother, well, that rule doesn’t exactly hold. I should have mentioned that earlier.” Lexi could hear the smile in his voice, and when she looked in the mirror she caught sight of her own smile. She missed this kind of banter with him.
“Well, hell.”
There was a noise that sounded like him shifting around in his bed, sheets rustling as he moved. “That’s a lot of swearing from you tonight.”
“I’ve had a lot to swear about lately.” As the words escaped her lips, they brought reality crashing back down around her. Her tone immediately changed, all hints of playfulness gone. “Fine, I’ll be there. When and where?”
“Um.” He seemed taken aback by her sudden change in demeanor. “Tomorrow, nine o’clock at Rocco’s Café. Do you know where it is? If not, I—i could pick you up.”
“I’ll Google it.” An awful silence fell between them. Lexi began to panic, not wanting Vincent to change the topic to her or something even more uncomfortable, them. “Thanks for the call. See you tomorrow.”
“Lexi?” Vincent’s voice tentatively called out just as she began to pull the receiver away from her ear. She brought the phone back, her head falling back onto her pillow.
“Yeah?” she sighed and her eyes closed tightly as she waited.
“I just, I wanted to tell you,” he stammered, and Lexi could almost imagine him lying on his bed, raking his hand through his hair. “Nevermind.