Free A Man's Promise by Brenda Jackson

beautiful bouquet of flowers delivered to her that morning. She had been totally surprised when Tess had walked into her office carrying them. The card attached had simply said, “Remember my promise.”
    She pushed away from her desk, walked to the window and looked out. Caden was not playing fair. He’d sent her a dozen roses. All white. Her favorite. He’d known that and was using it to break her down, and she didn’t want that.
    Shiloh glanced back at her desk and wished the bouquet wasn’t so beautiful and that what he’d written on that card hadn’t made her remember his promise. A man’s promise to the woman he claimed to love. When Tess had placed the flowers on her desk and she’d read the card, she had been tempted to tell Tess to keep them because she didn’t want them. But then she figured there was no reason she should not enjoy a dozen beautiful white roses. The bouquet wouldn’t change a thing.
    Just like it didn’t matter that she was still plagued with memories of how Caden had looked the day he’d paid her a visit here at the boutique. Why did he still have to look so ruggedly handsome in a smooth sort of way? It didn’t make sense. How could a man look both rugged and smooth? She wasn’t sure, but Caden managed it. And then there was that sexiness he exuded so well. Her heart rate increased whenever she thought about it.
    Feeling frustrated, she welcomed the ring of her cell phone, a ring she recognized right away. It was Valerie. Moving away from the window, she went to her desk to answer the phone. “How did you know I needed my mind refreshed?”
    She heard her friend laugh. “Not sure. Do you?”
    “Desperately. Caden sent me flowers. White roses.”
    “Oh, a man after my own heart. He doesn’t plan on giving up without a fight, does he?”
    Shiloh nibbled on her bottom lip as she studied her flowers. “I guess not.” Valerie had met Caden and she was the one to encourage Shiloh to go to that concert during the time she was in college. Valerie had been able to see through Samuel right from the start.
    “I want to get over him, Val,” she said in a soft voice.
    “I’m hearing the words, but I’m not convinced.”
    “You should be. I have a date this weekend.”
    Valerie laughed. “Any reason you don’t sound excited about it?”
    “Probably because it’s a blind date. Actually, that’s not quite correct. Apparently, I’ve met the guy. At least that’s what Sedrick claims. He’s a doctor at the hospital where Sedrick works, and Sedrick swears he introduced us. I don’t remember.”
    “Hmm, that’s not good if he wasn’t worth remembering.”
    She wasn’t going to tell Valerie she thought the same thing. Instead, she said, “Sedrick says he’s a nice guy, and I’m taking his word for it. Sedrick can be overprotective, and he wouldn’t hook me up with just anyone.”
    “Then you should have nothing to worry about. Where are you going, and what are you wearing?”
    She told Valerie it would be a double date with her brother and his girlfriend, Cassie, and her and Wallace. Sedrick was selecting the place, and once he told her, she would know what outfit to wear. They spent another ten minutes more talking about how plans were shaping up for the grand opening. Valerie and her husband were arriving from Boston a couple of days early to help out with last-minute details.
    After Shiloh ended her phone call with Valerie, she leaned back in her chair and stared at her flowers, remembering the first time Caden had given her white roses. There had been three of them...on her sixteenth birthday. Her father had spies at the high school, namely the principal, Mr. Waverly, and one of the teachers, Mrs. Joyner, who reported back to him on her behavior. Caden had sent the flowers to her best friend at the time, Cindy Brooks, to give to her. You would have thought Cindy had handed her a million dollars that day.
    Bringing her thoughts back to the present, she checked the clock on