Page 19

Kinda like me.

“I want my life back.”

“Take it, Pru. The only thing stopping you is…you.”

Zakhar

I met someone

.

The moment I read the first line of her letter I saw red. My hands tightened, crinkling the edges of the flimsy sheet of paper in my hold. Met someone? Over my dead fucking body. It had only been four days, ten hours, and twenty-six minutes since I’d driven away from the rehab. How the hell could she have possibly met someone in such a short amount of time?

Somewhere in my rage, I caught a glimpse of the second sentence.

Her name is Lennon.

“Shit,” I said out loud in my empty office. “Way to overreact, Zak.”

Taking a few calming breaths to get my thundering heart under control, I slouched in my chair and started to read again from the beginning.

I met someone. Her name is Lennon. We’ve become fast friends, which is strange because I’ve never clicked with someone as quickly or as easily as I did with her. She’s the chef at the rehab, and Zak, I swear, it’s the best food I’ve ever tasted.

Anyway, thank you. Your letter, well let’s just say it was an unexpected, yet pleasant surprise. Before I tell you a little more about me, I wanted to answer your question. No, you haven’t scared me away. What scares me is the way my eyes automatically seek you out whenever I enter a room, or the way my heart kicks up a beat at the sound of your voice. The way I feel is what scares me. Never you. You risked everything to save me, but what if I’m not worth the gamble? I’ve changed. I’m not the same person I was before.

Have I scared you away now? If not, keep reading.

My full name is Prudence Mary-Elizabeth Turner. Twenty-seven letters in total. When we were younger, Daria and I used to joke that my parents were trying to use every letter in the alphabet when they chose my name. In reality, Prudence and Mary-Elizabeth were my paternal and maternal great-grandmothers.

We grew up in Hastings, Nebraska, the place where Kool-Aid was technically invented. Crazy, right? The town even has a festival every year to celebrate. My parents, Joel and Reba, were partners in a large accounting firm. We weren’t hurting for money, but we weren’t filthy rich either. In our household, if you wanted something badly enough, you earned it. Nothing was given for free, including love. They weren’t bad parents, per se, they just weren’t overly affectionate, or even moderately affectionate. Basically, they provided us with the essentials we needed to survive the mundane.

Daria is my best friend. She’s the only one I’ve ever been able to rely on, until you.

I’ve got to get ready for my next therapy session, so I’ll end my letter by saying thank you, Zak, for risking your life to save me, but more importantly, thank you for wanting me.

See you soon.

Pru

“Did you hear me?”

“What?” I looked up from the letter to find Dimi with his hands braced on my desk.

“Jesus, you’re a goner. We have a meeting with Mayor Bloom in twenty minutes. Get your shit together.”

“That’s next week.”

“It’s not.” He tapped the Rolex on his wrist. “It’s in nineteen minutes.”

Damn, I missed Pru in more ways than one. She organized my schedule down to the minute. Without her, I was flailing like a turtle on its shell. Not to mention the fact Cynthia Bloom was much less handsy when my beautiful assistant was present to run interference.

“Fuck. Fine, but keep that viper at least five feet from me at all times.”

He let out a hearty chuckle. “She can’t be all bad.”

“You’ll see.”

Standing at the bar an hour later in Quantum, our five-star restaurant inside the resort, it was me who was laughing. The mayor pulled Dimi to the far corner of the restaurant the instant our meeting concluded on the pretext of wanting his advice regarding a couple of public relations matters. By the way his face heated with embarrassment, the only relations being discussed were the kind she wanted to happen between the sheets. I almost felt bad for him. Almost.