But apparently the same couldn’t be said for her co-workers’ significant others. All five of them had had some sort of floral arrangement delivered to them this morning – Alicia a vase of long-stemmed red roses; Marisol a colorful arrangement in a white wicker basket trimmed with red satin ribbon; Shelby had received a whimsical bouquet of bright yellow sunflowers and a heart-shaped balloon; Kevin’s gift from his latest – and much older – boyfriend was an elaborate gift basket that included flowers, expensive chocolates, champagne, and a Teddy bear. He had already passed the box of candy around, and set the stuffed toy on the low wall of his cubicle divider.

Gina had been the last of the group – except for Tessa, of course – to receive her flowers, but the wait had been worth it. A lavish arrangement of a dozen different varieties of flowers dominated half of her desk space, and Tessa took a deep, appreciative sniff of their heady scent. Whoever Gina’s new boyfriend was, he apparently had a lot of money as well as good taste. And a romantic streak a mile long.

Tessa forced herself to focus on the new spreadsheet she was working on, refusing to feel sorry for herself, or think about the fact that she was the only one of the group who didn’t have flowers on Valentine’s Day. It wasn’t the least bit important, she argued with herself, and would have been totally impractical if Peter had sent her flowers. Money was especially tight right now since he hadn’t been paid for over a month, and had also needed to buy a new battery for his laptop. Wasting their precious funds on something as frivolous as a bouquet of roses would have been ill-advised, and Tessa would likely have set her foot down if Peter had even suggested such a thing.

She glanced up at the precise moment that Ian Gregson came striding past on his way to the elevator lobby, her breath catching in her throat a bit as it always did when he was nearby. He was wearing her very favorite suit this morning – an elegant black pin-stripe that Gina was positive had been tailor made for his tall, muscular frame. With it he wore a crisp white shirt and a dark red tie, and he was so handsome, so suave and debonair, that Tessa could only gape in mingled admiration and something that felt a lot like lust.

She wondered rather morosely if there had been a special woman that Mr. Gregson had sent flowers to this Valentine’s Day. According to the frequent and detailed gossip she couldn’t help but overhear from Alicia, Gina, and Kevin, Mr. Gregson dated a lot of different women, though it didn’t appear that he was in any particular hurry to settle down with just one. Tessa envied the woman – whoever she was – who was lucky enough to be his Valentine this year. The very fortunate female would be certain to receive not just a beautiful bouquet, but likely be treated to an expensive dinner and possibly an extravagant gift like jewelry.

She thought about the last few birthday and Christmas gifts that Peter had given her – a cookbook, an umbrella, a pair of fuzzy slippers, a crockpot. Nothing that could be considered the least bit romantic, the sort of gifts one might give their mother or a co-worker. But, she told herself firmly, no material things could ever compare to the real gifts Peter had given her when she was a girl of sixteen – those of friendship, protection, and family. A thousand bouquets of flowers wouldn’t have meant nearly as much as what he had done for her.

Gina and Alicia perked up with interest as Mr. Gregson walked past, their voices chiming in unison, “Good morning, Mr. Gregson.” He gave them a brief, almost brusque nod before continuing on his way.

Alicia gave a little sniff of displeasure. “I see His Hotness isn’t in a very good mood this morning.”

“Probably needs to get laid is all,” joked Kevin in his usual crass manner. “I’m guessing a stud like him gets cranky if he doesn’t get off at least three or four times a week.”

Marisol shook her head. “His flight from Washington D.C. was delayed a few hours so he must have arrived home pretty late. And he was here this morning at his usual time. I’m sure he’s just tired.”

Tessa’s cheeks grew flushed at the image Kevin’s words called to mind, but thought that he was probably right. A man as virile and thoroughly male as Ian Gregson undoubtedly had a voracious sexual appetite, an appetite that needed to be appeased on a frequent basis. She wondered rather dreamily what it would be like to have a man like him for a lover, and knew instinctively that he would be a master at pleasing a woman. He would know exactly how and where to kiss and caress, how to arouse a woman and bring her to a stunning, powerful climax with very little effort. Her eyes drifted shut briefly as she tried to imagine how his lips would feel on hers, claiming them in a deep, hungry kiss. Or how those large, capable hands of his would feel as they cupped her breasts, caressed her buttocks. She bit down on her bottom lip to stifle a whimper as she pictured herself in bed with him, her arms and legs entwined with his as he made love to her with exquisite skill, coaxing sensations from her highly aroused body that she’d never dreamed existed. And then he would –

“Everything okay there, sweetie pie? You got a headache or something?”

Tessa’s eyes flew open in alarm at the sound of Kevin’s voice, and she was quick to reassure him. “No, everything’s okay, thanks. Just, um, trying to focus on this new spreadsheet. It’s pretty complicated.”

Kevin gave a delicate little shudder. “Ugh, sounds like hell. Have I told you lately how happy all of us are that you’ve taken that crappy job off of our shoulders?”

She smiled. “Not for at least a week. And I’d better get back to it. Sorry if I drifted off there for a minute.”

He patted her on the shoulder. “No worries. Hey, you want to catch lunch with me today? I can switch my hour with Shelby, I doubt she’d mind. You – well, it’s a crying shame that a hot babe like you doesn’t have a date on Valentine’s Day. Or a husband who didn’t remember to order flowers for her before he took off to the far corners of the world. Not to mention that I’m pretty sure they have a thing called the internet in Sri Lanka. Dude could have ordered flowers for you online.”

Tessa gave a careless little shrug. “It’s not a big deal. We’ll just celebrate when he gets home. And this was a really big story for Peter. He was doing research like crazy before he left, probably didn’t even realize that he was going to miss Valentine’s Day. Some things are more important than a bouquet of daisies, you know?”