Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 57943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57943 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Yesterday, we spent the entire day shopping. After a tiresome day, we had a late dinner with Rich. It was really nice to spend time with them even though the circumstances for me being there sucked. Today, we had another day of shopping planned. New York was so big. You could shop forever and still only cover a portion of the city.
After breakfast, I met my mom downstairs in the lobby. We grabbed a cab and got straight to shopping. Three hours and four stores later, my bags were getting heavy, so we decided to stop for coffee in a cute, little bakery.
“Thanks for donuts this morning, by the way.” I smiled as I sipped my cappuccino.
“What donuts?”
“The ones you had sent via room service.”
“Nope, not me. Must have been Rich. He has been really worried about you.”
Rich has always been thoughtful and looked after me but usually he likes to be the bearer of his gifts. If it had been Rich, he’d have shown up with the donuts himself. Strange. I’d have to ask him about it later.
We finished our coffee and continued our stroll. I stopped in front of a gift shop that caught my eye. “Hey, let’s go in there.”
As we walked in, I instantly warmed to the quaint, welcoming atmosphere. The shop was adorable, with all sorts of trinkets strewn about and I quickly lost myself looking through the hundreds of charms for bracelets on a table near the register. Each one was so detailed. Several of them had special meaning to me, so I began sorting through the ones that meant something. I picked up one that looked like a tiny high-heeled shoe and giggled as I thought about my shoe addiction. After the shit storm I’d recently dealt with, I deserved a bracelet. When I saw the moth charm, my heart stopped.
In a moment of crazy, I added it to my pile and began searching for a flame. I settled for a campfire-shaped charm. Digging some more, I found a pumpkin and a pickup truck.
Why am I doing this?
I was deliberately choosing things that reminded me of Cale. Once I was satisfied, I had enough for my bracelet, I collected my loot and was about to head to the register when one more caught my eye. Before I had time to change my mind, I snatched it up and carried them over to check out.
Mom didn’t ask about the bracelet I’d just bought and all the charms that went with it. She was a very intuitive woman and knew when not to prod. We spent the rest of the day shopping until it got dark. Then we made our way back to the hotel.
Rich insisted that we try the restaurant at the hotel. It was very fine dining and probably cost a fortune for three people. Even though I felt guilty about the prices, I enjoyed the time I was spending with my mother and stepfather. Mom and Rich had me laughing through dinner at all of their funny stories of when they had been traveling in Europe. Mom said that her Texas accent had gotten her into all sorts of trouble in France.
Feeling watched, I scanned the restaurant with my eyes but came up short. After dinner, the three of us went over to the hotel bar. A couple of glasses of wine later, I was feeling relaxed and my internal guard was down. Watching Mom and Rich interact made me sad. They were so happy and flirty. Although it was cute, it made me miss what Cale and I had.
“Here you go, ma’am,” the bartender said, setting a shot down in front of me.
“Oh, I didn’t order a shot,” I assured him and pushed it away.
“The shot of Crown was ordered for you by a gentleman who was watching you like you were the last woman on Earth,” he laughed.
The thought of another stalker made me want to hurl. Guys would always be stalkers to me now. This was the Lia I would always be.
Taking the shot in two swallows, I thought about Cale on that first night he’d spent the night. We’d had Crown that night too. Bummer. Everything reminded me of him.
“Mom, I’m going to call it a night.” I hugged her and then Rich.
“Okay, sweetie. I’ll see you in the morning, love.” She waved goodbye.
Heading out of the bar, I passed a group of drunk guys, which gave me the creeps. The tallest one with black hair was eying me big time. He grabbed my arm as I walked by, causing me to shriek and yank it back out of his grip.
“Don’t touch me, loser!” I snapped and stormed away from him.
“What a bitch!” he hollered after me.
After hurrying to the elevator, I went up to the fourth floor to get back to my room. Once I safely let myself in, I threw myself onto the bed. My nerves were a mess. I was still breathing raggedly when I heard a knock on my door. Mom must have wanted to say goodnight again before going to her room.