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He said nothing for a long time before he finally speaks.
“Was it sudden?”
“No, she had cancer and had been in remission a while ago before it came back more vicious than the first time.”
“I’m sorry I was such an ass to you while you were grieving.” He finally said.
“You couldn’t have known. It doesn’t excuse the fact that you were, in fact, an ass, but you couldn’t have known.”
He chuckled unexpectedly at my words and when I glanced up at his face, I could not help the smile that broke out on my face as well. Seeing him smile was a rarity that was becoming more common and I loved this side of him; this freer, better, and more amiable side.
The next morning, I woke up in my bed, feeling lighter than I had ever felt in a long time. The smile on my face felt wider than normal, and it felt like nothing on earth could dampen my mood.
When I went down the stairs, the sounds and smell from the kitchen told me Alba was hard at work. I was eager to ask her why she had told Christian about my breakup; I wanted to know what they had been talking about, but I knew she would ask me how I knew about that and that would mean telling her I had talked to Christian about it.
It was bad enough that I was sleeping with my boss, but making it public knowledge was not something I wanted to do.
“Hey, sleepyhead. You just missed Mr. Christian.” Alba said as I walked into the kitchen.
“Oh. Is he in his study?”
“No, he had to leave for the city. Something urgent came up and it could not wait.”
I stared at her in shock. I’d just seen him last night, and he said nothing about anything urgent. It occurred to me how little I knew about him and his schedule. And I couldn’t help but be disheartened by that realization.
Breakfast tasted like sawdust in my mouth and the rest of the day went by in a flash and without a word from Christian.
The next day was the same and by noon, I could no longer bear the urge to find out what I could about his sudden disappearance.
I immediately wished I had not googled him the second I did. There were pictures of him on the internet at a popular gala for the exclusive one percent of the city. The wheelchair was gone, and he is holding his cane in one hand while standing with an extremely beautiful woman on the other side of him.
Her name under the picture says Thea Wright and I recognized her from the popular reality show; The rich kids of New York City. She looked exotic with her wavy, Island hair that she somehow made look classy and her dress looked like Vera Wang herself had handpicked it. I’d heard rumors she was also of English royalty, although I did not know how true that was.
A strong feeling of jealousy gripped my chest and it took all of my will not to pick up my phone just to call him. I didn’t remember feeling this jealous or needy while Nate and I had been dating. It was an unsettling feeling that I did not know how to make go away.
That night before I slept, I switched off my phone just to stop myself from texting him, and as it had done for the past three nights, sleep took its precious time to show.
A little past midnight, just when I’d been dozing off, I felt, rather than heard, the sound of my bedroom door opening and the hard noise of hardwood hitting the tiled floor. The bed suddenly dips and when I turned back with a startle, his scent and his voice calmed me.
“Shhh! It’s me. It’s just me, go to bed.”
And for the first time in three days, I slept like a baby.
Chapter 17
Christian
Ifeltherstareon my face before I opened my eyes. She had a look I could not explain, but the second my eyes opened; her full lips broke into a wide smile.
“You look pleased to see me,” I said, and she smiled even wider.
“I missed you.”
Her admission threw me off, as I did not expect it. I saw how uncomfortable she’d been when I told her about my feelings, so I thought it might be wise to tread with caution for now. I did not want her to know how much I wanted to make her mine. That would definitely scare her off.
“Right back at you, baby.” I leaned down to press a soft kiss to her lips.
We were both fully clothed. She was in her leggings and sweater. She had way too many of these things. While I was still in the clothes I’d been wearing when I boarded the private plane back home. She already felt like home to me, so it was not a struggle when my father asked me when I would be ready to come back. I told him my stay was still indefinite.
