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“They have no idea what they’re missing.”
She takes that in, still smiling, and watches me silently for a beat before answering my original question. “I think so much of life is about putting on a show, even to ourselves sometimes. We’re taught from such a young age to perform a certain way, and not just by our parents. We see it in movies, TV shows, social media, ads, magazines. Everywhere. I hate it, but I don’t have an answer for how to solve it.”
A few strands of hair fall across her eyes as she speaks and I reach out to sweep them off her face. She stops breathing as my fingers ghost over her skin leaving a trail of heat in their wake. The space between us crackles with anticipation.
My gaze drops to her lips and I fight like fuck not to take what I want.
Her mouth parts with a shaky breath.
It would be easy,too easy, to lean in and kiss her.
In the end, it’s a loud siren cutting into the moment that pulls me back and reminds me nothing can happen tonight. I finish brushing her hair from her face and say, “I agree with everything you said.”
She stares at me with astonishment, not saying a word for the longest time. Finally, she launches into a ramble. “No one ever just agrees with me or tells me they want to know my thoughts or asks me what I want in life. And there you are, doing all those things in one night. Seriously”—she narrows her eyes at me—“are you even real?”
I chuckle. “Absolutely real. And ready to hear more of your thoughts. Give me as many of them as you want.”
“You should be careful what you wish for. I have a lot of thoughts on a lot of things. You might end up wishing you’d never asked to hear them.”
“Try me, Kristen. I think you’ll like the outcome.”
She stares at me with more of that astonishment that is beginning to look more like bewilderment. Then, she stands, reaches for my hand, and pulls me up. “Okay, I’m going to begin boring you with my observations on things and you’re going to take your turn while I do that.”
As she drags me away from the bookstore and starts talking about an idea she has for a gala to raise money for a women’s charity she supports, I ask, “My turn for what?”
She stops firing thoughts at me and turns her face to meet my gaze. “To show me your favorite parts of the city. Keep up, Bradford. We’ve only got a few more hours before my coach turns into a pumpkin and I want to see all your favorites.”
I have never had a woman boss me around and fuck if I don’t like it.
I’m almost certain Kristen Blaise could boss me into a thousand things.
It’s a shame she might never get the chance.
3
One Year Later
@thetea_gasp
Just when we thought@bradfordblack might be changing his ways and making room in his life permanently for a woman, he ended his relationship with @shelbysmith. This breakup is on the back of his breakup eleven months ago with @catherinebranson, another woman we all thought he looked ready to make more long term. It seems Bradford is purely a situationship kinda guy. He has the rizz for it, and I’m putting my hand up to be next. I’m ready to move into my billionaire era, please and thank you.
4
Bradford
If there’s anything that bores me more than a fucking gala, I don’t know what it is. And the gala I’ve been forced to attend tonight may just be the worst one I’ve ever been subjected to.
All the primping and preening. The fake smiles. The shallow conversation. I want nothing to do with any of it. But the thing that will drive me to drink tonight is the question from everyone regarding the relationship I’ve just ended.
“I thought you two would last longer than five months,” Jill says in between sips of champagne.
“Why?” Owen asks, looking anything but convinced.
“I don’t know. I thought they had more between them than he’s had with any of the other women he’s dated.”
I eye my best friend and his wife. “If I let you two continue debating this, is it likely we’ll end up in another one of your arguments?” For a couple who’ve only been married for a few months, they’ve started arguing a hell of a lot.
“You make it sound like we argue all the time,” Jill says.
