29

Liliana

I had just arrived home from work and slipped off my heels when there was a knock at my door. Austin stood on my front porch, holding a bouquet of flowers. "These are a little wilted since I meant to give them to you at lunch to apologize for earlier," he said, raising his eyebrows. "But I managed to screw that up. And I have even more to apologize for now."

I was still angry about his behavior, especially how he acted possessive in front of Alistair. Going to lunch was supposed to be an apology for his insistence that I be reassigned. Acting like a fool didn't help his case.

"Come on in," I said, trying to smile as I took the flowers.

He followed me inside as I placed them in a vase of water. We sat down at the kitchen table.

"So, I guess you didn’t find the 'my girl' thing romantic, huh?" he asked sheepishly.

"I didn’t." What bothered me most was that if the roles had been reversed—if Alistair had told Austin to stay away from his girl—I might have found it appealing. At least a little.

I felt like that spoke volumes about our relationship.

"When he said that to me, about you being his first, what did he mean by that, Liliana?"

Austin's demeanor changed instantly. He had been contrite and apologetic at my door, but now his expression hardened and he sat up straighter.

I didn’t like the shift. In that moment, I decided to tell him the whole truth.

"We slept together the night before I moved to New York. After that, we didn’t have any contact until he showed up at my workplace and I was assigned to his account."

Austin's face flushed red with anger. He sat there for a moment, jaw clenched.

“You left that part out when you told me about your history,” he pointed out, his voice sharp.

“Yes, I did. Because it’s in the past. It just didn’t seem important since there’s nothing going on between me and Alistair now.” I laced my fingers together on the table. “We had a thing once upon a time. But that’s it. Nothing’s going on now aside from me working on the brewery account.”

He didn’t say anything, so I forged ahead. “In fact, we’re going to Colorado next week where I’ll present a pitch I need to work on. If it’s successful, the brewery will collab with Avalon Spirits. It’s a really great opportunity for me to prove myself.”

He almost choked. “You can’t go to Colorado with him!”

“You make it sound like I’m we’re going on a weekender alone. We’re going as a team, with Bethany and Benedict. The four of us. In separate rooms. On a business trip.” I emphasized each point.

“I don’t care if there are ten of you,” he snapped. “You can’t go. I’m not going to have you make a fool of me by going on a trip with your ex. I won't just ignore another man trying to stake some claim over you.”

“No one is staking a claim on anybody. He’s a client. We work together.” I rubbed my palms on my eyelids. “And he’s not my ex. We spent one night together. How exactly does this make a fool of you?”

“He knows. He knows exactly what he’s doing, and he’d happily taunt me that you were with him states away while I was here alone. You have to cancel the trip,” Austin spat.

My blood boiled at his demanding tone. "Absolutely not. This is a huge opportunity for me."

“You’re so ambitious you'd put your career above our relationship?”

His words stung. I had worked damn hard to get to where I was. I wasn’t about to feel bad about it.

"There you go again, making me feel guilty for prioritizing my job," I shot back. "What if the tables were turned? Would you put your career on the backburner for me?”

He flinched and pressed his lips together. I knew that he wouldn’t.

He tapped the table with his pointed index finger. “You can’t go, Liliana. I won’t be humiliated this way.”

I couldn’t believe how he was acting. I threw my hands up in exasperation.

“It’s a business trip. If that humiliates you, I’m not sure what to say.” I kept my voice firm.

Austin stood his ground. "If you go on that trip, we're through. I mean it."

I stared at him in disbelief. “It's not your call who I work with. I’m damn sure not going to sit here and listen to you give me some kind of ultimatum. Don't you dare try to control me like that.”

"It's him or me, Liliana," Austin said coldly.

I shook my head in disgust. "I won't be manipulated. Get out."

After a few seconds of staring at me, he slowly stood and left without another word.

I was tempted to take the flowers he’d brought and run them out to him. Tell him I didn’t want them. Tell him where he could put them.

I grabbed the bouquet and walked over to the trashcan instead, throwing them in with a huff.

How dare he try to tell me what to do. Again.

I felt no desire to smooth things over or comfort him. Any feelings I had for Austin seemed to be rapidly disappearing.

As I cooled down, I could see why it wouldn’t make a boyfriend happy to have his girlfriend going on a trip with someone she’d slept with. Even if it was for business. But we were going as a team. This was my career.

No, the trip was fine. Austin would just have to live with it.

I took a long hot shower to wash away the tension in my muscles after my spat with Austin. I settled on the couch with a glass of wine when I heard another knock on my door. It had better not be Austin coming back for another round.

I put my remote down from scrolling through shows and opened the door.

Alistair stood there holding a paper bag in his hand.

“Hey, I thought about calling first, but I wasn’t sure you’d respond. Thought I’d risk it and come,” he said, giving me his innocent boyish grin that probably worked like a charm on women. “I wanted to apologize again. In person.”

After my argument with Austin, I was mentally exhausted.

“Alistair, can we talk about this another time?”

His eyes glanced down my body and his lips turned up in a smile.

I looked down and realized I was wearing his burgundy hoodie. The one that he’d put around me when he picked me up at the diner years ago.

My cheeks heated at his recognition.

“I brought a peace offering,” he said smugly, holding up the bag.

It had ‘Marcella’s’ printed on the front. It was from the restaurant that he’d taken me to when Julian had canceled on me.

Brookie explosion.

I wanted to stay mad, but my resolve started to crumble.

“It’s still warm,” he said, cocking his head to one side, smiling.

I briefly considered grabbing the bag and shutting the door on his handsome face.

Then I remembered he was still the client and we had to work together.

I sighed. "Come on in."

He smiled down at me as he walked past.

He set the bag on the table and took out its contents.

“I brought ice cream too.” He winked.

“You’re lucky I was craving chocolate tonight.”

“Liliana, I'm really sorry about earlier today," Alistair said. "I know I was completely out of line. I shouldn’t have encouraged him. Especially in front of your workplace.”

He looked at me sincerely. I was still upset with him, but I was upset with Austin even more.

I nodded. "You were. Just don’t let it happen again."

A look of relief spread across his face.

I plated the dessert and pulled two forks from the drawer as Alistair went to toss the bag into the garbage. He stopped for a moment, probably looking at the big bouquet of flowers crumpled in it.

He chuckled quietly, “Austin come by?”

“Yup,” I sighed. “He did.”

Alistair turned to me with a big grin but didn’t say anything when I narrowed my eyes and shook my head.

He simply smiled and nodded slowly in response.

I didn’t feel like telling him about the big blowup. I really didn’t feel like talking at all.

Alistair joined me, handing me one of the plates, as I sat on the couch.

I took a bite and sighed in satisfaction. Alistair knew how to make me feel better.

He smiled, glancing at me. “Good?”

“Better than I remember,” I replied honestly. “So tell me about the collab. It sounds exciting from what Alex told me.”

“It’s with Avalon Spirits, in Colorado. Their brand aligns well with ours. I’ve researched other similar companies that have had successful partnerships at retail and I thought why not go for it.”

“I love it!” I said excitedly. “That would really expand the reach of the brewery’s current customer base,”

“Exactly,” he replied, pointing at me.

We sat and enjoyed our dessert while we chatted more about what we can include in the pitch.

He glanced down at me and smiled.

“What?” I asked smiling back.

"You kept it," he said, nudging my shoulder with his.

I shrugged, knowing he meant his hoodie. "It's warm and comfy."

It had served as my comfort blanket since I moved to New York. I slept with it practically every day for the whole first year. It was silly, but it made me feel better.

"You've had it for years," he pointed out.

I didn't reply, but I knew what he meant. I'd clung onto that hoodie all this time, a small reminder of him. He reached over and squeezed my hand as if he was reading my mind.

After we put away the plates and Alistair settled back on the couch.

“What are we watching?” He asked, getting comfortable. He started scrolling where I had left off.

“We aren’t watching anything,” I replied, taking the remote from him.

“You’re kicking me out after I brought you dessert?” He asked in disbelief, giving me sad puppy eyes.

I had to laugh at that. It was adorable.

“I appreciate you coming by, with dessert and all, but I kind of want to be alone tonight.”

“Okay. I understand.” He nodded and gave me a small smile. “We’ll meet soon to prep for the presentation.”

I got up to show him to the door. Before I can say anything, he pulled me into a hug. I couldn’t help but inhale deeply, melting into his embrace.