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I worked through all the edits that Phillip did on my manuscript, a parting gift from the man that I thought I was destined to be with. Then Trish went through it, too.
The real surprise happened yesterday. I spent an hour on the phone with my new agent, Brett Austin. I don’t have any idea how Trish knows him, but literally hours after she sent my manuscript to him, he was on the phone with me, far more excited than I’d have expected.
The only problem? His agency is restructuring over the next month, so he can’t do anything with the manuscript until then.
That’s fine with me, though. Hell, I never really expected to get signed to an agent, so this is already beyond my wildest dreams. I have enough on my plate trying to navigate a brand-new job that it’s better to not have to worry about what’s happening withSweet Temptations.
I stare at the wall while I sit at my dining room table. There’s nothing left to do. For two weeks, I’ve thrown myself into work. I’ve done everything I could to hide from my own thoughts. Or, more accurately, the one thought that plays on repeat.
The fight Phillip and I had before I stormed out of his house.
I still haven’t figured out if I was right to leave. He’s sweet and funny, and he makes me feel a whole different side of myself. Especially in the bedroom.
Maybe I overreacted because we were fighting. Instead of storming off, maybe I should have stayed and given myself time to cool off. I should have even had one of those honest chats like Trish talked about.
But he’s still the man his father trained him to be.
He’s still the man that prioritizes his own wealth over the people under him. He pushed Trish out of Loughton House, and Victoria’s on the fence on whether or not she’s going to stay. That was the problem I had then, but it’s not what I’m stuck on anymore.
If he’s following his father’s lead on business, is he really going to be all that different when it comes to our relationship? Could I see myself marrying a man who might raise a child like he was raised?
The thought sickens me.
I open my phone and go to the text message he sent me three days ago. The only contact I’ve had with him since I walked out of his house.
Phillip Loughton
I’m sorry. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what you said. I was wrong.
I left him on read, but I don’t know if that’s what I want to do. There’s a sense of floundering because every time I think of him, it’s like the soul wound aches all over again. I want to be with Phillip, but I cannot be with the man he’s shown every indication of becoming.
Every day after he went back to his old job, it felt like he was going right back to the way everyone talked about him. Cold. Ruthless. The perfect businessman.
And the worst partner I could ever imagine.
His father.
Then there was the fight. Everything about that conversation made me rethink where I stood and where he stood. I’ve never been able to read him when he goes cold. He’s too good at hiding his thoughts from me. He lashed out at me, not about the thing that we were arguing about, but at me. It wasn’t like he was trying to defend himself. His words were meant to hurt me, not have a heated discussion.
They cut me like a knife, and the wound still hasn’t healed.
As I stare at the words on the screen, contemplating whether I should respond for the millionth time, a text comes through.
Sera Wylder
You still coming to the party? I really need a buffer.
A buffer? Who’s going to be there? Sera’s getting a promotion to lead art designer, a well-deserved reward for how badass she is. It’s come after the previous lead designer quit during the exodus from Loughton House.
Addison Adelaide
Yeah. I wouldn’t miss it. Six tonight, right?
Sera Wylder
Yep.
Once again, I don’t really want to go out with my friends, but I know I need to. I may have left Loughton House, but I don’t want to leave them. They’re the kind of people that I’ve never had before. People that bring life to my soul. I think back to how much Trish has helped me without expecting anything in return.
