What a Girl Wants by Kate Perry

up with. It was good. It’d work.
    It had to work.
    *
    On today’s agenda to win Lillian’s attention back: buy her flowers.
    When they’d first started out, he used to buy her flowers every week, even though they couldn’t afford the expense. She’d loved them, so he’d skipped lunch once a week to have money to take some home.
    He couldn’t remember the last time he’d bought her flowers, now that he thought about it. Once a year his assistant used to send Lillian flowers for Valentine’s Day.
    The thought made him wince.
    Not that Lillian had ever complained.
    But why hadn’t she? It made him wonder if she cared, and that she might not terrified him.
    He pulled into their driveway and parked in the garage. Her car was there, which made him both relieved and nervous.
    Picking up the bouquet from the seat next to him, he walked into the house. He’d had the woman put together a bouquet that was bright and colorful, with blue the color of Lillian’s eyes and pink like her skin and yellow and orange like her disposition. It was a cheerful bouquet.
    “Lillian,” he called out as he stepped inside.
    There was no answer.
    Frowning, he did a quick sweep of the first floor. She wasn’t anywhere, not even in her studio or the kitchen.
    Walking up the stairs, he went to their bedroom and heard a watery splash from the attached bathroom. When he walked in, he stopped abruptly, shocked to see Lillian in the bathtub, soaking. Her hair was up, and a thick layer of bubbles covered her completely, leaving nothing to view but everything to imagination.
    Her toes peeked out from the other end, propped on the edge of the tub, and she had her phone in her hand, elbow propped on a towel at the edge. She looked sexy and alluring, someone he wished he knew but knew was too elusive.
    Completely unlike his wife.
    She even had a mysterious smile on her face like she had a secret, or like she was reading a text from a lover.
    He scowled. She wouldn’t.
    What did he know? And, frankly, he wasn’t one to judge.
    Still, he wasn’t going to stand for it. He rushed into the bathroom and glared at her.
    She glanced over the top of her phone without lowering it. “Did you need something, Edward?”
    He hated when she called him that. He shoved the flowers away from himself. “I got these for you.”
    “Thank you,” she said politely, as if he’d offered her a napkin instead of his heart. “Just set them on the counter. I’ll put them in water later.”
    He laid them on the counter gingerly, as if they were breakable. When he turned around, she was engrossed in her phone again. “What are you reading?” he asked, mentally wincing when he heard how abrupt his tone was.
    “A book,” she replied.
    “On your phone?”
    She glanced up. “I love reading on my phone. I use it exclusively these days.”
    He hadn’t noticed, and the accusation was loud and clear in her statement. He knew he should say something but wasn’t sure what that was.
    “Did you need something, Edward?” she asked with exaggerated patience.
    Yes, but he couldn’t put it in words—not words that didn’t make him sound weak. “I just brought you flowers.”
    She nodded. “Yes, you did. And now you’re looming.”
    “Are you dismissing me?” She acted like she didn’t want him there—he was invading her private time.
    “Did you want to say something to me?” she asked in a careful tone.
    Why should he say anything? He crossed his arms. Why should he try like this when she wasn’t going to make any effort?
    Her expression fell as though she were disappointed. “I guess I am saying you can go then.”
    Cursing under his breath, he strode out of the bathroom, straight to his office. He slammed the door and paced.
    Once he cooled down he realized he’d taken the wrong approach. Conflicts needed to be settled on neutral turf. Taking people offsite had always been the way he’d dealt with interpersonal issues in business. He needed to take Lillian