Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 69413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Jamie wasn’t used to accepting gifts with too high of a price tag, and I at least finally understood it.
But I missed him.
I really missed him. Already.
And the feeling of missing someone rattled me to my core, bringing up feelings I’d grown so accustomed to ignoring.
Missing him meant that I had actually let him in.
And I wished like hell that he could just be here with me, to remind me in real time that it had been the right decision, rather than a fast-track to inevitable heartbreak like so many times before.
The only bad thing about first class was that it came with complimentary high speed internet access, and that meant that I had no excuse to unplug from work. I needed a distraction from thinking about Jamie anyway, and I flipped open my laptop, looking at the stack of proposals from startups that were seeking investment or marketing expertise. For the duration of the flight, I let myself get lost in documents and email chains, diving headfirst into the more boring parts of my work.
And then, just before finally landing in Los Angeles, my phone buzzed with a personal text message.
>>Elijah: My calendar reminder just popped up to tell me you’re back in town tonight. Come over and let me get you off.
A very explicit photo from between his legs came in next, and my stomach dipped for a moment.
For Christ’s sake. Maybe I really shouldn’t have been so casual about letting Jamie look at my phone earlier. If he’d seen a message like this, I would have felt more than a little off about it.
Elijah was a man I’d hooked up with at a sleek, high-class bar in Los Angeles a few months back. He’d been perfect for no-strings-attached sex, because I knew I could never fall for a guy like him. He was more than a little thoughtless and careless, and after we’d hooked up the last time, he’d called me the wrong name in bed—not once, but two separate times.
It turned my stomach knowing that before the wedding trip, I would have responded with agreement to texts from guys like him. I’d been so numb that I’d preferred cold, unfeeling men.
Now, I felt like I’d remembered something that had been covered under a layer of dust inside me: my own personal worth.
>>Landry: No thank you. I am no longer interested in continuing to see you, Elijah. Take care.
Because I already knew his cocky ass would try to protest and probably send me three more explicit photos if I didn’t respond, I opted to block his phone number.
Already, I felt lighter. Like spring after a thaw.
When I stepped out of the airport in Los Angeles, the feeling only continued. Even right now in wintertime, the temperature was balmy with a breeze, perfect for a T-shirt or maybe a light sweater by the water.
The peaceful wintery bubble was definitely long gone, though, the moment I smelled fuel and saw the endless line of cars jammed up outside the airport.
Typical LA.
I reached for my phone to call the driver I’d hired for the night, and he told me he was only a few cars behind me. I cut through the mobs of vacationing families, tourists, and businesspeople until I found the sleek black car, stepping inside.
“Should be smooth sailing once we’re away from the airport traffic,” the driver told me with a nod of his head.
My phone buzzed again and something inside me flinched, like I expected it to be some other heartless hookup from my past.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw Jamie’s name pop up. Goddamn, I was in deep.
>>Jamie: Omg. The airport in Vegas has this amazing red-carpeted lounge. I feel like I’m in the 1960s.
He attached a photo of himself in the lounge where I’d spent many a layover in the past. It was an iconic place, but seeing it through Jamie’s eyes lit me up like a damn Christmas tree.
>>Landry: You are adorable beyond words, and I love that lounge, too. I can’t wait to see you again, Jamie.
The car sped to life once we were free of the airport traffic, rumbling below me as I stared at my phone. I felt like I was breaking some rule by saying that to Jamie—because it had been a rule for me for so long. But feeling free was worth it.
When I got back to my house, I headed out back, flipping on the garden lights. I took a photo of my garden, sending off a photo to Jamie.
>>Landry: Proof that I do, indeed, have a tulip garden. No Sprinkle in sight right now, but he always comes around in the mornings. You’ll meet him someday.
>>Jamie: Maybe I will.
>>Landry: Call me when you find out your schedule for this week, okay? I can come to visit on your day off.