AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That’swho he was on the phone with when he came in.
“Thank God,” I breathe out.
Finn makes his way to the couch to pet Lexie. “Has she been sleeping all day?”
“Yep. I haven’t left her side.”
“Go. I’ve got her for the night.” He gestures to the stairs.
I don’t want to leave her, but I’m also desperate for a shower.
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve slept with her on the couch all week. Yes, I’m sure.”
Reluctant, I approach the stairs at a snail’s pace, his silence when I told him I came back to get my stuff plaguing my mind.
He really doesn’t care, does he?
“I’m leaving tomorrow night, by the way,” I explain, aiming for a semblanceof a reaction. “Your dad told me a friend of his was in town and I could take off earlier if I wanted.”
I think I see a streak of pain rip across his hazel eyes.
“Okay.” He shrugs.
Okay.
That’s how the story ends?
O-fucking-kay?
The words burst from my mouth seconds before my toe meets the first step. “Okay? That’s all you have to say to me?”
I spin to find him staring at me, a hint of shock in his gaze.
I sound pathetic, needy even, but I can’t help myself…
It was real.
The night in the library.
In the wine cellar.
In the backyard.
It was all real.
There was a connection. And no, it wasn’t love. No, it wasn’t a fairy tale, but it was something. My pulse wilding out in my neck, I give him one last chance to make this right.
He shoves a hand through his hair, glancing at his feet as he exhales. “What do you want me to say, Dia? It’s called a summer job for a reason.”
Then he stakes me in the chest with the final straw.
“After summer… it ends.”
* * *
There are many things I won’t miss about working for Mr. Richards. For starters, I always hated having to walk to the nearby grocery store when I didn’t have a car.
