Moonstruck at Midnight, the first of 5 books in the Moonstruck Series, was published independently on May 2021. It was later picked up by a major publisher (Grupo Planeta) and is currently being translated to Spanish. My books are available for purc...
"THESE ARRIVED FOR YOU, Miss Murphy," Annette informed me. She elegantly angled her head at a dusty pink peony flower arrangement decorating the foyer table.
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Caleb stood behind me right by the door with his bodyguard stance firmly in place. Annette handed over a white envelope with Guillermina written on it. It had to be from my father or the Embassy staff.
Happy Birthday, Billie!
I would've loved to celebrate your 20th birthday with you. I'm sorry I've been MIA these past few weeks. I was hoping I could explain next week over dinner and make it up to you? I hope you enjoy the flowers and the rest of your day.
Sincerely Yours,
Thomas
"They're beautiful," Annette said, her lips quirking into a smile. "That is one lucky guy." She'd surely read the note beforehand. It was protocol.
Someone needed Annette's attention, so she excused herself and left. My stupid smile must've given away my excitement. I even forgot Caleb was standing behind me.
"Who's the lucky guy, Miss Murphy?" he asked with a poker face. I mimicked his facial expression and tried to reply as casually as I could that Thomas had sent them. "Is there anything else you need, Miss Murphy?" I guess I didn't try hard enough. If I was thrilled about the flowers, then Caleb was whatever the exact opposite of that was.
"Come on. It's just flowers," I said, failing at the try to act casual about it thing again.
"I need to talk to Aaron," Caleb said with a forced smile. "I'll see you later, Red." I sighed as he rushed down the steps toward the parking area.
Reading Thomas's note got me all giddy and excited. I wanted to jump up and down and let everyone know about it. There was nothing I could do to prevent the cluster of feelings from leaking out of my face. And I guess Caleb didn't enjoy Thomas sending me flowers as much as I did. He had just told me minutes before how he preferred Thomas didn't contact me. But was he jealous? Annoyed, maybe? I couldn't read him.
I walked up to my room. My legs had that after-run ache in desperate need of a hot shower to soothe them. I blow-dried my hair afterward and climbed into bed wearing my bathrobe, allowing myself to relax before I had to meet my father at the Embassy for a surprise.
Twenty minutes later, I got dressed and walked out the front door with a big smile on my face after seeing the flowers again. Caleb was now clean-shaven and dressed in his usual black suit. Back to being Agent Caleb Cohen.
I couldn't keep myself from beaming as we drove around the block toward the Embassy. But the curiosity was eating at me. I wondered what happened for Thomas not to seek me out in the previous weeks. Not that he owed me any explanation, for sure.
It was sweet of him, though, to remember, as I had only briefly mentioned how I would be leaving Paris on April 12th, the day after my birthday. Unfortunately, I didn't have a way to thank him for the flowers. They were beautiful.
