he Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 135\u00a0<\/p>\n
voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t send you any flowers, Athena. What\u2019s going on? Do I need to step up my game?\u201d he said with a laugh, but I could hear the curiosity in his\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart began to race as I realized my mistake. If Derek hadn\u2019t sent the flowers, then who had?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Derek, I need to call you back,\u201d I said quickly, ending the call before he could respond.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sat there staring at my phone, my mind racing. Who else would send me flowers with a note calling me girlfriend? Who else would know that reading\u00a0<\/p>\n
the note would make me smile?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Movement in my peripheral vision caught my attention, and I looked up to see Tristan standing near my window, looking directly at me. The moment our eyes met, my heart started beating so fast I was sure he could hear it from across the office.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He nodded at me in greeting, that same confident smile playing at his lips, before heading toward his office.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As he walked past, I heard his voice in my mind, completing the phrase from the note: \u201cHave a wonderful day, girlfriend.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My mouth fell open slightly as the realization hit me. Tristan Hayes had sent me flowers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan, who had never shown romantic interest in anyone apart from Jess.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I thought he\u2019d change this morning like he always did, thought he\u2019d wake from his sleep and realize he\u2019d spoken what he shouldn\u2019t have said to his\u00a0<\/p>\n
sister.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He really was that serious about winning my heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sat there staring after him, my coffee growing cold in my hands, trying to process this new development. He was really doing it. He was actually trying to court me, to prove that his feelings were real and lasting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The question now was: how did I feel about it?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Part of me was thrilled that he was making such an effort. The teenage girl inside me who had pined after him for years was practically glowing with\u00a0<\/p>\n
happiness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the adult woman I\u2019d become was more cautious, more aware of how much he\u2019d hurt me in the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I picked up my phone and called Derek back, knowing I owed him an explanation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Hey,\u2018 he answered immediately. \u201cEverything okay?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry about hanging up on you. The flowers\u2026 they weren\u2019t from you. I think I know who sent them now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAh, Derek said, and I could hear the understanding in his voice. \u201cSomeone is making his move, isn\u2019t he?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems that way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell then, I guess I really do need to step up my game. Can\u2019t let whoever he is win without a fight, can I?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
15:19 Sat, Jan 10 G MR\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 135\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite everything. I found myself smiling. \u201cDerek, you don\u2019t have to\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I do, Athena, I care about you, and I\u2019m not giving up that easily. May the best man win.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After I hung up, I sat back in my chair and looked toward Tristan\u2019s office. He was sitting at his desk, apparently focused on his work, but I had the distinct feeling he was very aware of my attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n
71\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was going to be interesting. For the first time in my life, I had two good men competing for my affections. Two men who both cared about me, who both wanted to make me happy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The old me would have immediately chosen Tristan without question. But the new me, the woman who\u2019d learned to value herself and demand better treatment, wasn\u2019t going to make it that easy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If Tristan wanted me, he was going to have to prove it. And Derek\u2026 well, Derek was going to have to prove he was worth choosing over the man I\u2019d loved for half my life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Let the games begin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 135 he Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate\u00a0 Chapter 135\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-second-gear-of-love-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26292\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}