Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 89303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89303 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
She was tense at my stare, standing in front of my desk timidly, afraid to do anything. “How was your trip?”
My eyes narrowed like they were bullets and her face was the target. “No.”
“Your trip was…no?”
“That’s the first thing you want to say to me?” I lowered my hand from my face and brought my hands together in my lap. “Try again.”
“We’re at work right now—”
“Now you want to be professional? We were supposed to leave on a trip, and you decided to tell me the evening before that, not only were you not accompanying me, but you were submitting your two-week notice. All because you listened to my ex, someone who’s not in this relationship, and just dump me.”
Her temper flared. “Doesn’t feel good, does it?”
“What the fuck did you just say to me?” I pushed the chair out as I rose to my feet.
She turned timid again.
“The past doesn’t matter anymore. We’re together, alright? It’s you, me, and Ryan. No more second-guessing, no more doubts, no more talking about Catherine. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. She may have been my wife, but you’re my fucking soul mate, so if you ever doubt me ever again, I will lose my fucking shit, alright?”
Those words made her hard eyes turn into soft lights, gentle glows.
“Is this shitshow over? For good?”
She eventually gave a nod.
“Now, apologize to me.”
“I did what I thought was right, okay? I was trying to do the right thing for both you and your son—”
“You are the right thing for us. Now, apologize to me. Apologize to me so we can move on.”
“I’m not sorry about what I did—”
“But you better be sorry for breaking my heart, because you fucking crushed it. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to be on the other side of the damn world and be unable to do anything about us? To correct your idiotic assumptions and make things right? To look at the phone and not see your name?”
She dropped her gaze, like the image did hurt her.
“I love you more than anything in this world, second to Ryan, and you’re the love of my life, my soul mate, my Cleo, my Emerson. I’m sorry that it wasn’t some fairy tale from the beginning. I’m sorry I was fucked up for nearly half of it—”
“It wasn’t the right time, but I was the right person.”
“What?”
“I just…I understand now. When it’s the right person, it doesn’t matter if it’s the wrong time. You work through it, and…I see that now. Something your dad said to me.”
I knew my dad would know the perfect thing to say to her.
“And I am sorry…for hurting you.”
When I finally got what I wanted, my anger evaporated, turning into steam that slowly cooled to room temperature. I wasn’t unhappy about the way things happened, but it was time to let them go and move on. “Pack your bag. I want you to come over tonight.”
“Okay.”
“And pack a lot of shit because you aren’t leaving for a long time.”
A slow smile started to emerge. “Okay…”
“And what are we doing with the new girl?”
“I’m going to have her take care of the front desk while I’m in here with you. We could use the extra help anyway.”
I returned to my seat and grabbed my coffee. “Like someone could ever replace you, baby.” I pulled up the information for the first patient, got the scans loaded on to the screen, and started my deep dive into the chart.
She stayed in front of my desk.
I turned back to her.
“I know you said let’s stop talking about her…but what about Catherine?”
“I already told her to fuck off. It’s been taken care of.”
She closed her eyes. “That’s what I was worried about.”
“Look, she’s my problem, not yours. I don’t care if she’s my baby mama—if you think she’s gonna come after my happiness and be spared, you’re wrong. I don’t care about the repercussions, because if she wants to escalate the issue and try to take Ryan away from me, I’ll send her ass to court. I will hire the best team in the world that my family’s billions can buy, and I will fucking destroy her—and she knows it.” I never used my parents’ money or considered it my own resource, but if it came down to Ryan, I’d take their money without a second thought. “Don’t spend another moment thinking about her.”
I’d already showered and had dinner going by the time Sicily showed up.
She did as I asked—and brought a big bag.
I took it from her hand because it was heavy and welcomed her inside my apartment with an arm around the waist and tug into my lips. My hand squeezed her ass as I kissed her, as I was enveloped in her perfume once more. I felt her melt against me, dripping like butter, all the muscles softening into cushions.