TWENTY-EIGHT
Owen
It’s the first Monday back at work since we got home Saturday, and I still haven’t seen or heard from Meadow.
I spent the entire weekend fighting the urge to blow up her phone—or worse, show up at her apartment unannounced. The only thing that stopped me from hunting her down was knowing she needed time to herself… And that I’d see her at work today.
Meadownevermisses work, not even when she’s sick, which I’ve told her a million times is ridiculous. She never gives herself time to rest.
My plan is to ask her to lunch, or maybe get a drink at the bar we often frequent after long days. And if she declines… Fuck, I don’t know what I’ll do. Maybe follow her to her car after work and literally sit on her hood, hold her hostage until she agrees to talk to me.
One thing is for sure: she can’t avoid me here. Not when we work on the same floor.
All I could think about last night, as I tossed and turned in bed, was seeing her today.
My weekend was pure fucking hell.
I could barely eat, sleep, watch TV, or bring myself to function. Focusing on anything other than Meadow has been damn near impossible. I just stared at blank walls, replaying our trip and what I planned to say to her today.
After maybe thirty minutes of sleep, I woke up with a rush of adrenaline, feeling like a kid on Christmas morning, knowing I would see her today.
I refuse to let my head hit the pillow tonight without talking to Meadow. Her avoiding me ends today.
The drive to work was a sobering reminder that we aren't in Turks and Caicos anymore. The sky that was so blue last week is now gray, with thick snow falling from the clouds. I shivered in my jacket on the elevator ride up, my body protesting the cold after a week of basking in the sun.
My pulse kicks up as the elevator dings to a stop. I push a hand through my damp hair, still wet from melted snowflakes, and step out onto the floor.
I inhale a deep breath and push through the glass doors of the office, my gaze immediately sweeping across the cubicles.
The office looks exactly the same as it always does. Phones are already starting to ring, people move in and out of the breakroom with their morning coffee, and quiet conversations drift between cubicles as everyone catches up from the weekend.
The officelooksthe same, but only Meadow and I know how much everything has changed.
I’m so used to walking straight up to Meadow’s desk, watching her roll her eyes as I greet her with some cheesy line before asking her to grab coffee with me. We usually catch up in the breakroom while we pour our cups, getting our fill of each other before the day starts.
I want that back more than anything.
I want that and so much more.
Instead of grabbing a coffee with her at work, I want to wake up to her—roll over in bed and hold her in my arms. Kiss her cheeks, nose, and lips while telling her how beautiful she is. Start the day by slipping inside her warm body, feeling her come apart around me as she recites my name in breathless moans.
Seven days in Costa Cay wasn’t enough.
That was just the beginning, and if we’re lucky, we’ll have a lifetime of watching sunsets on the beach together.
I just need to help Meadow get out of her own head. I need her to know that she’s it for me, and as long as she feels the same way, I’m not going to let her walk away.
Maybe she’s used to people not fighting for her, but that ends today. I’d go to war for Meadow Riley—put my life on the line—if she asked me to.
My nerves skyrocket as I scan around the room for her.
When my gaze lands on her empty desk, my throat swells.
Where is she?
It’s fifteen past eight…Meadow is always here on time.Always.There hasn’t been a single day since I started working here that Meadow wasn’t here before me.
Her chair is tucked neatly beneath her desk, her computer screen dark and keyboard untouched. Her purple coffee tumbler is nowhere to be seen, and her keys and badge aren't sitting on her desk. There’s no sign that she’s been here at all this morning.
