AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Humiliation was also on the docket. Richard’s explosion in front of everyone was beyond reproach. On Monday, I would pull my team into the conference room and have an honesty moment with them about what happened. I would need to work to earn their respect back, but I was determined. I could only hope they didn’t judge me based on my terrible non-work-related decisions.
It was almost nine o’clock when there was a knock on the door. I looked at the door, hoping it was a ‘wrong apartment’ mistake and they would disappear. After a few seconds, there was a louder knock. When it was clear that Gabby and Nathaniel weren’t coming to open the door, I opened it.
Parker was on the other side. My outfit was embarrassing compared to his jeans and blue shirt, so let’s add one more bad thing to today’s column. The long top of his hair was wet and messy. There was a bruise on his hand.
“Hi,” he whispered.
“Hi,” I let him in. “Look, Parker…” I started before I was even sure of what I would say.
“No talking, princess.”
His lips rushed to silence my words. My heart rate rose as I got on my toes, eager to be in his grasp. He pulled away for a split second to get a good grip on me. He lifted me up and slipped his arm under my butt. I wrapped my legs around him and clutched his hair.
His lips met mine again with all the pent-up emotion of the last few months. Lustful. Uncontrolled. I parted my lips to let him in, and he took the invitation. He bit my bottom lip for a second as he dug his fingers into my back, ensuring no space was left between our bodies. His kiss was minty, sweet, yet harsh.
He pulled away and nestled his face into the crook of my shoulder, squeezing me tighter. My arms wrapped around his neck as I breathed him in. The world stopped moving as we both caught our breath.
After however long I was locked into his embrace, he gingerly set me down, and my legs buckled. My breath was ragged in a totally different way than before. He dug his hand into my hair and pressed my face to his chest.
“Now we can talk,” he whispered. “I’ll start.”
He cleared his throat and gathered the words in his mind. We still stood in the middle of the living room, but he took two steps back to give us space.
“I’m sorry about what happened today. I should not have lost my temper like that and taken the shot at Richard. That was way out of line. I know you can fight your own battles, and my anger did not help the situation. I am sorry about the punching part, and that part only, but I want to make it very clear that I am not sorry for defending you. I would not stand there and let him say all those horrible things about you without consequence.”
“Thank you,” I muttered.
“There’s a lot I need to say, and I need to say it without you stopping me,” he sighed. I nodded. “I just need you to listen. I’ve had the best time over the last few months. We explored so much, tried delicious food, and shared a lot of laughs. I’ve been lucky enough to steal many kisses from your sweet lips. Neither one of us was used to living in a world where the workday actually ended, but we managed it. We ran every other day, went out for drinks, and weren’t glued to our laptops every weekend. Every day, I’ve had to remind myself that our time together is short and temporary. I’ve repeated that to myself every time I stared into your sparking and hopeful eyes, every time I heard your sweet, melodious giggles, and every single time you blew me away with your brain. I needed to stop myself from feeling the way I do…”
He took my hand into his. His body was trembling as I stared at his eyes. A wistful look enveloped them.
“We’ve succeeded a lot over the last few months. We had succeeded in keeping our…relationship…under wraps. We succeeded by launching what I know will be a successful campaign for companies we both love, and we tackled our goal to work less. But where I would have failed is if I boarded that plane without being honest with you. I am hopelessly and irrefutably in love with you. I don’t expect you to leave your life behind any more than you’d expect me to leave mine, but I needed you to know. It scared me to board that plane without you knowing. You are the most brilliant, funniest, most dedicated, and most gorgeous woman I have ever met. I know you have started to believe that love is a choice and not a magical feeling that reveals the colors of the world. And as much as I respect that, I think you’re wrong. There is absolutely something magical in the way that I feel about you. I love you, Blake Elena Johnson, and if I had the opportunity, I would choose to make you feel the magic that I do every second of every day.”
He didn’t let me get a word in before he pulled me into a kiss that felt like goodbye. He pulled back and rested his forehead on mine, giving me one more chance to memorize his blue eyes. They were tearful as he ran his fingertips down the side of my cheek. I stared at him, lost in his ocean eyes. My voice failed me.
My feelings about him were clear, but my choices were a little more complicated. I didn’t know if I could love him the way I wanted to, the way he deserved, and be true to who I was.
Could I leave a man for my job? Yes.
Could I leave my life behind for Parker? I didn’t know.
“I understand,” he placed a kiss on my forehead. “I love you, princess. I’m going to miss you so much.”
My breath was gone with him. My feet bolted to the ground. I stared at the white wooden door, feeling my heart shatter as I heard the elevator door close.
I didn’t chase after him.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Saturday morning.
Out of time.
I poured myself a third cup of coffee with vanilla creamer as I stood in the kitchen. Sleep had been more than elusive last night. My body felt like it had been awake for a week.
On a typical Saturday, I would be sipping on a cup of Mr. Alder’s coffee while browsing through the white tents. James and Adam would be cracking a joke at my expense over my love for their food while giving me a discount for it. Ms. Mabel would be showing me more pictures of her adorable grandchildren. Parker would be there with me like he had been every weekend for three months.
Except, he wasn’t and wouldn’t be anymore. My eyes shifted between the clock above our TV and my coffee. Parker should be in the air, on his way home now. His flight left a few hours ago, so he was likely closer to landing.
