Page 102 of Finding My Charming

His voice shook, and I could tell he’d been hurting as much as I had. “I know flowers don’t make up for walking away from you without an explanation, but I figured it was a start.” He swung his other arm around and showed me a grocery bag. “I was told if the flowers didn’t do the trick, this would be the next best bet.”

He pushed the bag into my hands, so I took it and peeked inside. A brand new carton of chocolate-chip ice cream and a bottle of hot fudge sat at the bottom. I narrowed my eyes at him. “You have insider information.”

He let out one chuckle and shook his head. “Not exactly the first words I was expecting to hear from you, but it’s better than the door slamming in my face, so I’ll take it.”

“Who told you?”

“I asked Ari for your mom’s number. It took a lot of groveling and apologizing for her to even consider it, but she caved. I had to repeat the process with your mom, but once I promised her I wouldn’t leave again or not answer your calls, she told me the best way to get on your good side.”

I smirked for a second then bit my bottom lip to stop. I wasn’t going to welcome him back with open arms just because he’d brought my favorite ice cream and flowers.

“I knew I saw chocolate-chip in there yesterday. Mom probably threw it away, so you would seem even more like a hero.”

“That was her own doing, not mine!”

“And the flowers?” I wanted to know who’d spilled the beans about that one.

“After Ari yelled at me for a solid ten minutes before giving me your mother’s number, she told me that if I wanted even the slightest chance, I would have to come bearing coral dahlias, then she hung up. I thought she made something up just to send me on an endless quest, but when I asked my mom, she told me they were a beautiful flower, and any girl that loved them had great taste.”

I extended my arm to take the bouquet from him. Now that I had both gifts, I had the perfect opportunity to slam the door in his face, but something was stopping me. No matter how much Dallin had hurt me, I still loved him, and I thought he loved me too. There’d be no way of knowing unless I chose to let him in again. He had suffered the wrath of Ari for me and called my mom, who I bet was no happier to hear from him. He’d done all of this for me. The least I could do was listen to what he had to say.

I stepped out of the doorway and gestured with the flowers for him to come in. He shut the door behind him and followed me silently back to the kitchen. I set the ice cream on the counter. Still holding the flowers, I went on a hunt for a vase.

As embarrassing as it was to admit, this was the first time a guy had ever brought me flowers, so I didn’t have a single clue where a vase would be. I checked under the sink in a last-ditch effort and jumped when the water turned on.

Dallin was standing to the side and reaching over to fill a tall vase with water.

“Where did you find that?”

He smirked. “My mother keeps hers above the fridge, so I checked there, and it looks like our moms have something in common.” He set the vase on the counter in front of me and reached for the flowers that I released to him without thinking. He cut the wrapping with a pair of shears and laid them on the counter.

How did he find scissors too?

Before I could ask him how he knew my house better than I did, he was taking each stem and cutting the ends at a forty-five-degree angle. After a few minutes of stunned silence, a beautiful arrangement slid toward me.

“How did you know to do all that?”

He chuckled again. “Relax the scowl, Elle. My mom is big into having fresh flowers in the house and does a bit of gardening. I just picked it up from watching.”

“My mother owns a flower shop, and I barely even know how to do that.”

He stepped forward, coming closer to me. The hesitant smile on his face did little to make me feel better. Part of me was screaming to run into his arms and live happily ever after, but the other, more cautious side was telling me to escape until he explained himself. That side won.

I turned and walked around the island so I was on the other side of the room. The bowl I’d grabbed earlier was still waiting to be filled, so I focused on doing that rather than the look of disappointment on his face.

Despite my attempt to turn all of my attention on each precise scoop of ice cream, I felt him move closer to me. The bowl was overfilling when his arms wrapped around me from behind. I was locked in with nowhere to run.

“Elle, please listen.”

I didn’t have a choice. He’d got me in the one position I’d been trying to avoid.

What if he says all of the right things and I believe him, then he just runs away again? My heart wouldn’t be able to take it.

“I know I made the worst mistake, but I was in shock.”

He shook his head against mine, and I closed my eyes. Talking about it hurt more than I’d expected. A single tear escaped. I bit my lip to keep any more from falling and giving me away.

“I didn’t handle things right. I had too many questions, and I still do, but what I want to focus on is how I feel about you. Your unique family shocked me, but your admission made me realize how deeply I feel for you. I wasn’t ready for that.”