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“I liked it too much.”
With a groan, he lowered his mouth to her and left a hickey on the sensitive spot between shoulder and neck. “Mine.”
Eventually, he pulled out, got rid of the condom, and fastened his jeans, staying close enough to touch, watching her and petting her while he did so.
As perfect and lovely as he was, though, they both knew he was lying. She wasn’t his. Not really. It was no secret this was the end.
She rolled onto her side, pulling her legs up to her chest. This feeling of the two of them being a couple was done.
She was alone again. When she got home, the house would be as empty as her life. Sure, she had friends who cared, but they preferred talking about fun things, rather than things that were real. She’d been the same, before her father had died, but everything changed after that. Being with Luke had changed her even more.
“Did I hurt you a lot, baby?” Luke picked her up off the rock and sat with her in his lap, cradling her like she was a child.
“No.” Yes, but not in the way he meant. And not on purpose.
She allowed herself to lean her head against his chest, feeling safe and protected in the moment, even with profound regret dragging her toward the abyss she’d so recently crawled from. She was too sad to cry.
Knowing she was in love with him and there was nothing she could do about it.
***
About an hour from home, Ophelia’s phone wouldn’t stop buzzing in her purse on the floor by her feet. She’d been avoiding numerous text message alerts for the last couple of hours, but now someone was calling her—over and over again. She halfheartedly kicked her purse, willing it to shut up, but it didn’t work.
Luke glanced at the floor and said, “What do you have in there? A vibrator?”
She sighed, knowing the inevitable was coming. “It’s my phone.”
“Aren’t you gonna answer it?”
Her response was to grunt and look out the window. Avoiding. She was good at that. She’d been doing it for months now.
“Sounds like someone really wants to reach you,” he said. “Are you sure it’s not an emergency?”
Pretty sure, but now she’d look like a bitch for not checking. With an eye roll, she leaned down and wrestled the phone from her purse. It was her mother, as she’d expected. Mentally, she braced herself, then accepted the call.
“I’m almost home,” she snapped. “Will you stop calling me please?”
“Well, it’s about bloody time!” her mom yelled back. “We have one day, Ophelia. One day to make the biggest decision of your life.”
Like she needed that reminder. Pressure swelled in her chest, making it hard to breathe. “I know.”
“We need to go over the accounts. Don’t go home. Meet me at the office. Daniel is already there waiting.”
Daniel was their accountant—a sweet man who’d always taken time to talk to her when she was a child instead of just breezing by like the rest of the company staff.
“I’m not . . .” Ophelia rubbed her forehead and eyed Luke, wondering how much she should let on. “I’m not ready to make this decision yet. Can they give us a few more days?”
“Ophelia . . .” Her mom’s voice tightened and Ophelia pictured her lips pressing together, her red lipstick a thin line, as they always did when she was losing her temper. “There is no decision to make. We are selling the company. Tonight. You’re acting like a child, which is exactly why you have no business running things.”
Ophelia winced. Had she been childish? Was that what this road trip was about? Running away? Maybe her mom was right for once. Maybe she was
too immature to run a company. But selling it, especially tonight, made her want to throw up.
No. She wasn’t ready.
Her vision swam with tears. “I’ll meet you at the office in just over an hour. I’m not promising anything.”
At her mom’s stuttered reply, she hung up before she could change her mind.
