It reaches the first floor and I step out, my eyes seeking her out. She’s not hard to spot. Her brown hair stands out, rich and full. A silky blouse sits above a form-fitting skirt that hugs her hips and reaches down to her shapely calves.
She’s so beautiful my throat closes. I take measured breaths to center my head.
I came here for a purpose. To see for myself that she’s with him. The ex who broke her.
I tear my eyes from her lovely frame and look beyond her.
A man stands before her. He’s brown-haired with blond highlights in the short waves, wide shoulders trapped in a jacket and boots on his feet.
As he speaks to her, he raises a hand to play with the tips of her hair. Maddie catches his hand and doesn’t let go. He twists his wrist and curves his fingers around hers. They’re holding hands now.
Maddie gestures with her free hand. Something she says makes him laugh and he pulls closer to her. Their angles shift and I’m getting their profile views now.
They look just right together.
Both are from the city, both have lives to get back to. Maybe what happened was just a minor hitch in their relationship. He’s most likely here to win her back and they’d go back to being in love and… I’d lose her forever.
She was never mine. What am I thinking?
But she was once his. His eyes are warm and searching. I know that look. It’s done by a man who wants a woman. A man who wouldn’t back down until he’s had her.
And Maddie…
I pull my gaze away. I know what I’d see. She’d be into it for sure.
I back away and spin to the elevator. My finger burns as I long-press the button. I want the quiet of my office to get my head in the right place. To forget whatever stories I built about us in my head.
Everything we’ve had is a tryst. Just fun. Nothing more.
I can’t get to my office fast enough. Once in, I shrug off my jacket and drape it over the back of my chair, then I head over to the window and look out over the city.
I pull in measured breaths. My mistake was forgetting who I’ve always been. Giving into feelings, pretending I’m someone who can be cared for—foolishness. I’m done with that.
In mere days now, Maddie can leave and everything would go back to the way it’s always been.
I exhale, glad to have my head back in the right place.
The door yawns open and heels click on the floor.
The resolve I’ve built cracks with every sound.
I shut my eyes, pushing down the hurt rising in my chest.
“You called for me?”
Her voice shakes me to my core. It undoes everything, releasing the hurt. It fists my heart and seeps into every part of my being.
How can she sound so calm when she knows what she has done?
Fuck, I’m unraveling.
“Chance?”
Her voice is sweet, soft torture.
I swallow, struggling to get myself under control. She made no promises to me. I can’t expect her not to do as she pleases. And if it pleases her to get cozy with her ex, then so be it.
I turn around. I’m smacked by her confused expression.
