AllFreeNovel
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“Ugh, I don’t want to go back,” she says glumly.
“Well, obviously, it won’t be as amazing as spending every hour together here, but we’ll figure it out.”She hums into my chest, and I pause uncomfortably.“We’ll still see each other, Grace,” I say more than ask.
She lifts her head to mine. “Kiss me, Whiskey.”
I can’t turn her down. Even with the unease I feel, I can’t deny her request.
I feel the brush of lips against mine, and a blur passes by my sleepy eyes. Words are murmured that I can’t quite make out, and I reach to pull her closer to me and fall back to sleep. I wake a few hours later and reach for her again, but my hand only hits the empty bed. “Grace,” I murmur, opening my eyes and looking around for her. I wipe the sleep from my eyes and am met with an empty room. Although in my gut I know she’s gone, I jump out of bed and check the bathroom and the closet before accepting the truth.
Where the fuck did you go, Grace?
I pull at my hair and stare at the phone. I don’t even have her number to call her. I lift up the receiver and call the front desk. “Hello, Mr. James, how can I help you this morning?”
“I’m looking for another guest, Grace…” I pause, scratching my head. Fuck, I didn’t get her last name. How did I spend seventy-two hours with the woman, sleep with her, basically breathe only her air and not get her last name?
Because she didn’t want you to know her. Because she intentionally hid who she was for the last few days, and she told you that information was off-limits, and you still fell for her. Even though she told you not to.
I slam down the phone.
Fuck.
Chapter 5
Grace
As I get ready for work, I brush the tear that slides down my face. This has happened every time I think of how I left Cash, how I disappeared and simply ghosted him.
It’s not supposed to feel like this. He wasn’t supposed to be anything more than a distraction. A fling. A Grace got her groove back moment.
I wasn’t supposed to fall for him. I shouldn’t miss him. I barely know him.
It was just sex. Mind-blowing, explosive, incredible sex…but just sex. The popping of my divorce cherry. Or separation cherry, because obviously I’m not divorced yet.
I’m probably making more of it in my head. Even if it felt like more–like it was real–like we could actually be something…I had no choice but to leave.
“You just have to get through the next month. Then you can find him, explain everything, and work it out,” I say to my reflection.
The words are hollow in my throat.
I need to finish this last project, set up this last couple, and get my promotion. Then I can officially separate from Steven and openly date.
But not before then.
I couldn’t possibly ask Cash to wait. I know him. Well, I know guys like him. They don’t like to share. He’d so much as said that.
Having a husband who I have to fake date for the next month would definitely count as sharing. It’s too complicated. Men like Cash don’t do complicated. Unlike me, he’s probably already moved on.
I need to move on.
I spin my hair into a bun and drop it back down to my shoulders. Nothing seems to be right. I slip on my black tortoiseshell glasses, paint my lips red, and stare at my reflection. Another tear sneaks down my face, and I blow out a slow breath. This is going to be a long month.
“Sweets, you’re absolutely glowing,” Marion says as she kisses both my cheeks and squeezes me. I sink into the soft burgundy chair opposite her desk, and she returns to her seat. “How was your trip? Did Steven enjoy himself?”
I can’t lie about this part. I’ll definitely get caught. The only way lies work is if you bake them in half-truths. “He couldn’t make it. Work commitment. But I went on my own and it was very refreshing. Thank you so much for arranging it. Everything was amazing.”
She removes her glasses and looks at me. “Everything okay with Steven?”
I paint on a happy smile. “Of course. You know us, we are happy as can be.” The words taste like acid on my tongue.
