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I’ve tried to get in touch with Stella many times. All I received was radio silence in return. For a moment, I thought about following what Adelaide said: be a man and don’t take no for an answer.
But that’s not me. I’m not going to force someone to look at me when it’s clear they don’t want to.
Especially when it feels like the whole world is looking at me anyway.
Freckles gets up and trots over to Colin. He finally reacts to something other than his computer screen and smiles down at the collie. “Hey, girl.”
Freckles jumps on her hind legs and presses her paws into Colin’s leg. She’s not exactly well trained, but she’s a gentle dog and no one seems to mind.
“How are things looking?” I ask while I’ve got him caught off guard.
Colin’s gaze shoots at me, and his mouth tightens into a thin line before he goes back to typing.
I hold up my hands in surrender. “Can I help you with something, or are you just going to give me the silent treatment from now on?”
“I haven’t heard from Stella in three weeks.”
The sound of her name ties my throat into a knot. I have heard it so seldom in the past three weeks, only in the news when people start to speculate on my relationship status. The last time was a few days ago on Entertainment Tonight when the host announced, “Cheaters!” with an unsettling grin. “Are Adelaide Frazer and Flynn Madden meant for each other? We have the inside scoop.”
Whatever scoop they had was notinside. But it did include a picture of me and Stella on the boat together, her face hidden by a thrall of curls.
Just that passing image made me miss her all over again. It happens to me several times a day. I’m trying to make it through working hours, trying not to be distracted, and then I’m hit with the memory of her perfume or the sound of her laugh.
I miss her so badly.
“You think something is wrong?” I ask carefully.
“Not in a life-or-death way,” Colin says. He finally raises his eyes from the computer and crosses his arms over his chest. “Come on, Flynn. Tell me what happened.”
I raise my eyebrows in alarm. “What do you mean?”
“Something happened between you two. I know it. Because she was acting like a weirdo when I picked her up from the airport, andyouact like a weirdo every second of the day and –”
“I’m fucking stressed! I’m trying to do damage control so our investors –’
“Bullshit. You’re avoiding me.”
That’s… true. It’d be foolish of me to believe he didn’t notice. “We’re both working hard.”
“Stop, Flynn. Just stop,” Colin snaps. His hazel eyes… Stella’s eyes… fall onto mine. “I want the truth. What did you do to her?”
He asks it like I must have hurt her.
“Did you reject her? Did you make a pass at her?”
“No, no, it was nothing like that.”
“Then what?! What was it?”
“Weliked each other!”
Colin’s brow screws together.
“We… what I mean is…” I clear my throat. “The pretending turned into not pretending.”
My friend starts to recoil, his face bending with disgust.
“I know… I know we weren’t supposed to! I promise we both tried –”
