AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Back to bed for you, young lady.”
“Only if you’re going to get some sleep, too.”
He rubbed his belly. “I will. That meal was exactly what I needed.” Shutting down his computer, he rose out of the chair and followed me to the door. Once we were both standing outside it, he kissed my forehead. “Sweet dreams.”
I flinched, unable to stop myself. I hadn’t mentioned my dream in the face of his fatigue.
Jase put his hand underneath my chin and tipped my face up so we could look at each other, and even though it was the early hours of the morning and he was sleep-deprived, he still looked so handsome. Something I couldn’t define stirred deep inside me as I gazed up into his beautiful blue eyes.
“Is that what woke you? A bad dream?”
I nodded, biting my lip to stop the tears threatening to well up. “I’m okay.”
I wasn’t, and he knew it. He wrapped me in his embrace and I clung to him, closing my eyes as I rested my head on his chest and listened to his heart beating. The sound soothed me, and by the time I let him go I felt a little better. “You should try and get some sleep, Jase.” Kissing his cheek, I waited until he’d disappeared down the stairs to his bedroom before I went into mine.
When I woke the next morning, I tiptoed into his bedroom and turned off his alarm, determined to let him get the sleep he so desperately needed.
Once I was ready for work, I walked to the office, made myself a coffee with our fancy espresso machine, and went through my emails. When Marian arrived at eight thirty, she got me a light breakfast of granola and yogurt.
We didn’t have any meetings until the afternoon, so I kept busy handling both my emails along with Jase’s. My best friend stumbled into the office just after ten, looking harried.
“I’m so sorry, Em.” He was tugging at his tie. “My alarm didn’t go off.”
“I know. I turned it off when I got up.”
He frowned at me. “Why?”
“Because you needed the sleep, Jase. You’re exhausted.” I got out of my chair and went over to him. “Your tie’s crooked.”
He stood still and let me fix his tie. “You should have woken me.”
“The whole world didn’t implode because you got a couple of extra hours.” I kissed his cheek. “Do you want some coffee?”
“Please.” Protest though he might, he did look a little better this morning after getting a decent night of rest.
The morning passed quickly and we managed to stop for half an hour to eat the lunch Marian had arranged for us. But my mood quickly soured when I was browsing the internet mindlessly and stumbled upon a gossip site that had my cheating ex on the first page. He hadn’t wasted any time moving on from me and was now dating the daughter of some tycoon who looked ten years younger and sported much bigger boobs.
It shouldn’t have stung. I’d come to realize after we’d split up that I’d wasted my time on him. He’d never been prepared to commit to me seriously; he was just after the status and potential wealth dating someone like me could bring him.
Fucker.
I breathed in and out, trying to tamp down the hurt. I wasn’t going to shed another tear over the man I’d wasted eighteen months of my life on. It was over and I deserved better.
“What’s wrong, Em?”
I looked up to find Jase gazing at me intently. I should have known my best friend would sense something was wrong. After some gentle coaxing, I showed him the site.
His expression darkened as he skimmed the article, but then he closed the page dismissively. Once I’d assured him I was okay, we got ready for a meeting.
Several hours later, we were back in our adjoining offices when Marian came in with a small bag in hand. “Delivery for Emilia Quinn.”
My brows furrowed. “For me? I’m not expecting anything.”
She placed the small bag down on my desk with a smile. “It has your name on it.” Once she’d left the room, I opened the bag and pulled out the only thing inside it: a rectangular, black velvet box.
Opening it, I gasped and gazed over at Jase. He was watching me intently. “This is from you.”
“I wanted to make you smile.”
