Page 83 of Tormented Billionaire Romance Series

It will be an adventure. I'll take pictures and send them to Jen. I could make plenty of friends up there as easily as I had in Paris and London. It's not hard to talk to people, I thought.But it's hard to talk to Clara.

I sighed as I hung my head over my laptop. I was still wrapped up in my towel, my chest exposed to the room. When the air clicked on, I shivered and sat back, staring at my email to see if my boss had responded yet.

Nothing popped up. No new messages. I swiveled around in my chair and hopped up, briskly walking to my closet to grab a comfortable set of clothes. I chose a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt from college. As I pulled them on, I stared out the window at the yard.

Maybe she'll call, I reflected hopefully.Maybe when she clears her head, she'll realize we're good together and we can take it from there.I frowned as I tugged my shirt down roughly and sighed heavily.Or maybe she won't. I guess it's up to her now.

I couldn't take the waiting. I wish she had woken me up instead of leaving me behind at her house—at her sister's house, no less. I had felt abandoned when I woke up to see her gone.

And I guess I deserved that. I could only imagine how comparable the feeling was every time I favored a trip to Europe instead of sticking around with her. Maybe she was just trying to get back at me for all the times I had left. I squeezed my eyes shut as I realized how awful that feeling was.

And I really did deserve it.

CHAPTER22

Clara

I sighedas I curled my legs up on the couch. I held onto my ankle, the one thing I did without fail to help keep me grounded. I knew it was nonsense to think I would tip over, but I was starting to feel dizzy.

I brushed back my curly hair with my free hand. “I just feel guilty.”

Laura sat next to me on the couch with a bowl of popcorn. She held it out and I held up a hand to indicate I was fine.

She set the bowl down on the couch. “What do you feel guilty about?”

“About hanging out with Levon.”

“And why would that make you feel guilty?”

I shrugged. “I guess I'm just worried about Gabe finding out I still have feelings for Levon.”

“You're a free woman now, Clara. There's no need to feel guilty over having feelings. You said things were completely done with Gabe, right?”

“Yeah, I did say that.”

“And you told him so?”

I rubbed my forehead. “I mean, yeah.”

“So, what's holding you up?”

“I can't shake the feeling that I'm leaving Gabe in the dark. I need to tell him where I'm at so that it isn't a huge surprise.”

“You don't owe him anything.”

“No, but I don't want him to feel how Levon felt when Levon found out about Gabe and me.”

“Well, Gabe isn't Levon.”

I laughed. “That's for sure.”

“So, I'm sure he wouldn't feel much of anything about that. You two broke up before Levon came back into town, so it's not like you were planning it all along.”

“No, I guess you're right about that.”

“I've never seen you so worried about appearances.”

I shrugged. “It's a new thing.”

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