Page 84 of The Attraction

I haven’t sent her one either, but I don’t think I need to. I laid out to her how I felt, and now I have to sit back and wait.

And that requires patience, which I have none of, so this could be interesting.

Turning on airplane mode feels like I’ve stopped breathing, because for a short time, I’m out of contact, and that is going to kill me. Because if something happens to her in that time, I’ll never forgive myself.

And that’s why I’m on this plane, because I can’t let her live like this, always looking over her shoulder, and neither can I.

HARPER

“Come in,” I grumble at the knock at my door.

I’ve only been here just under an hour and it already feels like it’s been days.

“A delivery for you.” My secretary walks in with a coffee cup and bag with a red ribbon tied on the top of it.

“From?” I snap at her. I don’t need surprises today.

She shrugs her shoulders and then quickly leaves my office.

Untying the ribbon and opening the bag, the smell goes straight up my nose, and my stomach growls in response, reminding me that I skipped breakfast this morning.

I pull out a cardboard takeaway box with a message written on the top of it.

For you, cupcake.

Breakfast and coffee.

Eat it, or else.

Forrest x

“Oh my God, he didn’t.” I stare at the note and read it again in my head. “Asshole, don’t be nice to me, I don’t deserve it,” I say to myself, hoping that it will make me feel better for the way I am hurting him right now.

Opening the box, inside is a breakfast burrito like he makes for me at home. He knows I can’t resist this; it’s been my favorite breakfast since that first morning he cooked it for me.

“This makes no difference in what’s going on between us, but it’s a crime to waste such good food, right?” Taking my first bite, it almost feels like a kiss from Forrest, and that nearly undoes me. But I continue to hold strong as I chew my way through the food and drink my coffee. The caffeine is just what I needed, considering I didn’t get much sleep.

Taking the ribbon from the bag and slipping it into my office drawer, I hear something rattle in the bottom of the paper bag as I bump it.

I pull out a little envelope with a box of ibuprofen inside it. Written on the envelope are the words:

Take two, you will thank me later.

Forrest x

“Bastard.” I want to send him a picture of my middle finger in front of the box, letting him know what I think of his gesture, but I can’t. I promised myself this morning that I won’t be in communication with Forrest until I’m ready.

If he thinks I’m going to come crawling back to him because I can’t function without him, then he has another thing coming.

But as I sit here sipping my coffee, my heart hurts at how much I miss him already. It feels like he is so far away from me, and I hate that more than I thought I would. Now I just need to work out how I’m going to avoid seeing him when he is just a few streets away in his office, or God help me, when he is with Flynn and Felisha. Surely, they wouldn’t be that cruel to me and organize anything where I have to run into him. I mean, I just wouldn’t go. I’d be sick or book an important meeting, visit my mother, or there could be a sister crisis where I’m needed. I could come up with anything if it meant I didn’t have to see him. It’s going to take a while before I think I will be able to manage to do that.

* * *

Like a normal Monday, all the chaos of things that happened in the hotels over the weekend needs to be dealt with, along with the normal operational issues that happen day to day. Instead of being the wicked-witch boss, I have stayed in my office and worked the whole day without a break. My secretary popped her head in at one stage and asked me if I needed lunch, but I just waved her away. And Felisha sent me a message this morning telling me she would be out of the office for a little while. Apparently, Forrest had organized for her to go to his apartment and collect all my things so I didn’t have to. Which was kind of sweet but also pissed me off, because what if I changed my mind? I mean, I’m a woman, right, we do things like that. Part of it hurts that he is so quick to move me out. Especially after the way he carried on about being my big protector and that I couldn’t make a move without him knowing. And straight away he is happy to dump me in Flynn and Felisha’s lap and arrange for me to have bodyguards for every minute of the day. Like he is washing his hands of me so quickly.

Does he even love me or was I just a fascination while it lasted? Like I said to Cherie, was I just another person to save? And as soon as I pushed back like she did, he let me.

I don’t notice that I have reached into my drawer and am now running the red ribbon between my fingers, chastising myself for doubting Forrest.

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