“Oh,” Scott said and I wondered what he was thinking. Was he regretting calling me now? Was he seeing that perhaps we weren’t very compatible? I felt sad at the thought, but wanted to be realistic. Maybe all we’d had really was sexual compatibility. Maybe what had happened with Helen had been good for us. Maybe it had saved us both from even more heartache.
“Eliza.” Lacey knocked on my door and I groaned.
“Hold on Scott, my friend Lacey is at my door.”
“Lacey, your best friend that lives with her parents?”
“Yes, but she lives with me now and she’s at my door.”
“When did this happen?”
“A few weeks ago.”
“A lot changes in a few weeks,” he said softly and I nodded.
“Yeah. Hold on okay?”
“Okay,” he said and I jumped off of the bed and hurried to my door.
“What is it?” I asked her quickly. “I’m on the phone like you told me to be.”
“You’ve got flowers,” she said and held a bouquet in front of her. “They just arrived.”
“From Scott?” My heart thudded. Maybe this was going to work out after all.
“No,” she said softly. “Not Scott.”
“What?” I could feel my face going white as I stared at her. “Please tell me these red roses aren’t from Aiden.” My heart dropped as I gazed at her. If they were from Aiden I’d scream.
“Not from Aiden,” she said and pursed her lips. “Check the card.”
“Who else would be sending me flowers?” I frowned and grabbed the card. I opened it and read, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” I made a face. “Someone likes quoting Shakespeare.”
“Read the rest.” Lacey urged me.
“But an Elizabeth that wasn’t Elizabeth Jeffries just can’t hold my heart.” I rolled my eyes, but continued reading the card. “I miss you, Shane.” My jaw dropped as I realized who’d sent me the card. “Bloody hell! Shane?” I looked at Lacey with a shocked expression. What was Shane doing sending me flowers? He’d been out of my life for two years now. I’d finally gotten over his cheating and my heartache.
“What are you thinking right now?” she asked softly, her eyes studying my face.“I want to know why he’s contacting me. The bloody bastard.” I stared at the card and the roses. “Why now?”
“I bet he regrets what happened.” Lacey said. “I bet he wants you back.”
“There’s no way,” I said. “Just no way,” I said confidently, but something in my heart didn’t feel so confident, not now that I was beginning to doubt my compatibility with Scott. “I gotta go back to my call.”
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll be in the living room if you want to talk.”
“Okay,” I nodded. “I’ll be out in a bit.” I turned around and walked back to the bed and picked up the phone. “Hey, sorry about that,” I said, trying to be cheerful.
“That’s okay. What happened?” he said lightly.
“I just got flowers,” I said, I wasn’t sure why I was telling him.
“Oh?” His voice changed.
“Yeah, from my ex-boyfriend, Shane.”
“The one that cheated on you and broke your heart?”
“Yeah,” I mumbled. “That one.”
“I thought you guys didn’t talk anymore.”
“We don’t,” I said, as my mind raced. Why had Shane sent me those flowers?
“So, he just decided to send them tonight? Out of the blue?” Scott’s voice was tense.
“Yes,” I said. I didn’t know what to say, and I didn’t know how to explain that Shane and I went back years. That we’d always had a bumpy relationship, but that I’d thought he’d always be there for me. I didn’t know how to tell him that as much as I hated Shane, I was still curious about what might have been. I didn’t tell him that Shane and I had a history of going back and forth. That I knew what I got with him. That I was scared to venture into new relationships because I was scared of getting hurt.
“You’re a woman of mystery, Elizabeth,” he said simply.
“Not really. I’m pretty much an open book.”
“Do you still love him?” he asked me softly.
“Who?” I said, biding for time.
“You know who.”
“I don’t know,” I said honestly, and the phone went silent. How did I tell him that Shane was the first man I’d ever given my heart to? That I’d thought we’d be together forever? How did I tell him about the nights we’d spent talking about our dreams of moving to Los Angeles and becoming movie stars? How did I tell him that Shane had made me feel like I was capable of being loved and beautiful at a time when I’d felt neither? And how did I tell Scott that when Shane had cheated on me, he’d crushed my heart and soul and made me lose any confidence that I’d felt? How did I tell him that a part of me still longed for the early easy days of my relationship with Shane because they’d been so perfect? Shane had made me feel so safe and secure in those early days. How did I tell Scott that I was scared of him and giving my heart out to someone new? How did I tell him all of that without ruining whatever new beginning we were forging right now? How did I tell him without him thinking I was too needy and had too many issues? I knew I had emotional issues. I knew I was high-maintenance in a way that most girls weren’t. I just didn’t think that this was the time to tell him. Not after everything that had already happened with us.