All Chapters of Bouquet Of Deception : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

11EthanThe next morning, I awoke to the sound of my alarm blaring in my ear. My eyes shot open, and I immediately groaned, reaching for my phone to silence the obnoxious noise."Ugh... too early," I muttered, rolling over and rubbing my face with one hand. The soft hum of traffic outside was a reminder that the world kept moving whether I was ready or not.I dragged myself out of bed, cursing under my breath as I stumbled toward the bathroom. After splashing water on my face, I caught my reflection in the mirror. I looked like a disaster."Great," I grumbled. I tried to tame my wild hair as best I could, knowing it would never be perfect. It was one of those days where everything felt off, and I wasn’t sure if it was the lack of sleep, the looming wedding, or something else entirely.After quickly dressing in a dark jacket and black jeans, I grabbed my bag and headed to the kitchen, where Ava was sitting at the counter, casually eating cereal."You're still here?" I asked, raising an

13Ethan As I stared at the spreadsheet, my thoughts churned. Jonathan’s smug face, Samantha’s indifference, and those tampered numbers—everything felt like a slow-building storm. The errors in the Markham files weren’t mine, but the blame had landed squarely on me. If Jonathan thought he could sabotage me without consequences, he was in for a rude awakening.I opened the internal messaging app and typed out a quick message to Clara, my go-to for no-nonsense advice. **Me:** *Hey, can we talk? Privately?* **Clara:** *Sure, meet me in the break room in 5.* I glanced around the office. Jonathan was nowhere in sight—probably off basking in his petty victory. Good. It gave me just enough time to regroup. I grabbed my coffee mug, willing my expression to remain neutral as I walked to the break room. Clara was already there, leaning against the counter with her arms crossed and a curious expression on her face. “What’s going on? You looked stressed in your message,” she said, taking

15Riley’s POV The studio faded into the background as I walked out into the cold air of the city. My thoughts churned, still caught on Carson. Rogues didn’t just show up out of nowhere—especially not ones who reeked of calculation. Whatever his game was, I’d figure it out. For now, though, I had something else to focus on: Ethan. I checked my phone, rereading his text from earlier. He wanted to come over tonight to practice. Just thinking about spending time with him sent a warm flicker through the storm of tension in my chest. Practice might’ve been his priority, but I couldn’t help but feel a little selfish. The way he looked at me when he thought I wasn’t paying attention… the way his knee had brushed mine last night, lingering just long enough to make my pulse jump—he wasn’t as oblivious as he tried to act. And Ava? She’d caught on too. Her teasing only fueled my suspicion that Ethan felt *something*. Not that I was about to push him. Ethan had walls thicker than a st

17EthanThat night, as Riley and I spread out the wedding essentials across his coffee table, I found myself watching him more closely than usual. It wasn’t intentional at first, but something about the way he moved caught my attention. He was quick, deliberate, like he already knew where everything belonged before I even voiced a preference.“Pass me the cufflinks,” I said, holding out a hand.Riley didn’t even glance up from the pile he was sorting. He slid them across the table toward me, perfectly aligned with my fingers. “Already ahead of you,” he said, a small smirk playing on his lips.I stared at him for a beat longer than I should have. “How did you…?”“Intuition,” he replied, his tone light as he picked up a tie and began folding it. “You’re predictable, Ethan.”“Predictable?” I scoffed, grabbing the cufflinks. “I’ll have you know I’m full of surprises.”Riley snorted, giving me a sidelong glance. “Sure you are. Like the time you ‘surprised’ me by ordering the exact same c

19RileyI hadn’t meant for Ethan to notice. Hell, I hadn’t meant to do it. The coffee table incident was a slip, plain and simple—a stupid mistake caused by nerves and too much pent-up energy. But when I saw the way he looked at me, eyes wide and full of questions, I knew I’d messed up.Now, as Ethan sat across from me on the couch, his brows furrowed in that annoyingly determined way, I could feel the tension hanging heavy in the air. My wolf instincts, normally buried deep beneath layers of control, were buzzing—restless, heightened, and far too attuned to him.When he’d brushed my hand earlier, just the lightest touch, it was like a spark had shot through me. Not the kind of spark you’d get from static electricity—no, this was something deeper. Primal.And that was the problem.I couldn’t afford to let my wolf instincts take over, not here, not with him.“Better left alone,” I’d said. It was true—my secrets weren’t just mine to keep. They were a matter of survival. For me. For my