Dream On(73)

I clamp my jaw. Screw it. Some things are worth the risk, and helping Perry is the right thing to do. Plus, I have another idea that could help Perry’s case, and I’m the only one who can oversee it. I’ll just have to make sure I keep my involvement quiet so Frank doesn’t find out.

I swallow the lump rising in my throat. “Yes, I’ll help. But I can’t let Frank or anyone else at Smith & Boone find out about it.”

“Deal.” Devin smiles as he stands. “Thank you, Cass. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.” Striding toward me, he extends his arms as though about to wrap me in a hug. I push my finger against the center of his chest, stopping him.

“Let’s make one thing clear. This does not mean that we’re together. I accept your explanation for what happened, but I still don’t know if I can fully trust you after today. I need to take a step back from… us.”

“I understand.” He nods heavily, but when he glances at me, a spark lights his eyes. “I guess I’ll simply have to earn your trust back then.”

My stomach squirms. Honestly, I’m not sure whether I’ll ever be able to trust Devin the same way again. It’s too soon to tell. But putting our relationship on ice is definitely the right choice given all that’s happened. Plus, without the romantic obligations—and drama—I’ll be freed up to focus on helping Perry save his business. I can sort out my feelings later.

“We’ll see,” I finally say.

The dazzling smile he gifts me would have made me weak in the knees only a week ago. Now? I don’t feel anything except a faint strum of guilt. But I’m not making any promises at this point, so I’m not breaking any either.

Pushing back my shoulders, I nod once. “To start with, let’s talk to Perry.”

Devin’s expression shutters. “He definitely doesn’t want to see me right now.”

Picking up my phone from where I stashed it next to the wine bottle on the porch, I open my messages app and pull up the last text conversation I had with Perry. “Leave that to me.”





Devin drops me off in front of Blooms & Baubles an hour later. “The door to Perry’s apartment is around the side there.” He points to a narrow iron gate beside the store that I hadn’t noticed until now. Nodding, I step out of the car and shut the door. The clouds have cleared, and the sun cuts through the sky, making me squint.

“Hey, Cass?” Devin calls, and I bend down to peer at him through the open passenger-side window.

“Thanks again,” he says.

I force a smile. I’m not doing this for Devin, but I don’t want to tell him that. “I’ll let you know what he says.”

“I’ll be here.” He rolls up the window.

I walk up the familiar path to Blooms & Baubles. It’s after seven now and the sign in the window reads Closed. Instead of going through the front door like I usually would, I unlatch the side gate and follow the building around through a narrow alley until I reach an unlocked gray door toward the back, revealing an interior stairwell leading to a white door—Perry’s second-floor apartment. At the top of the stairs, I catch the savory scent of chicken and spices along with faint strains of music coming from inside. He’s definitely home.

Lifting my fist, I hesitate, thinking back to the text I sent Perry an hour ago: I heard what’s going on. I’m so sorry. Can we talk?

He never responded.

I can’t blame him. As far as he’s concerned, I’m his brother’s girlfriend, and his brother just royally screwed him over. He probably thinks I only want to talk to him to plead Devin’s case, which I imagine he doesn’t want to hear. If I were him, I wouldn’t want to talk to me either.

Disappointment lances my chest and I rub my thumb over my knuckles. Coming here tonight was a gamble, but I have to try. If Perry wants to save his business and his home, he needs to act now. And I won’t let him give up without a fight. I just hope he’s willing to hear me out.

Forcing some steel into my spine, I rap my knuckles against the door. A dog barks from somewhere inside—it must be The Colonel. I jolt. The Colonel. I can’t believe I remembered his name for once. The music switches off, footsteps approach, and the door swings open to reveal Perry standing in a dim hallway.

He’s barefoot and wearing his usual worn jeans and T-shirt, but his expression is completely foreign—the antithesis of the Perry I’ve come to know and like. The joy has winked out of his eyes like an extinguished candle, his cheeks are hollow, and his lips are twisted into a pained frown. “Oh, it’s you,” he says flatly. The Colonel saunters up from behind him and wags his tail when he sniffs my sneakers.

“Can I come in?” I ask.

“Is Devin with you?” Perry peers around my shoulder to the empty staircase behind me.

I swallow hard. “He’s outside.”

“Whatever excuse he sent you to make, I don’t want to hear it.” Stepping back, he begins to close the door, but I shoulder forward, blocking it with my foot.

“I’m not here to make excuses for him. What he did was wrong. He should have told you about your dad’s plan from the start.”

Perry knits his eyebrows. “Why are you here then?”

“Because I have an idea for how you can save Blooms & Baubles.”