Page 103 of Love Among the Ruins
Her fingers hovered over her phone. She hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol, and yet she felt ... daring, light-headed, awash with euphoria. It was heady, flirting like this was so much easier, so much more daring than talking face to face. He’d stopped typing and it didn’t look like he was going to message her. So she did.
Eleni: You said you missed me
Her heart hammered with excitement, or maybe it was fear, or even downright stupidity.
This was not appropriate. Dominic was her BOSS. She squeezed her eyes shut, enjoying the high. This was so much fun. It lit her up from within when she’d been dead inside since Jonas passed …
Dominic made her smile again. He made her heart gallop, he stirred something inside her that had lain dormant for so long.
He didn’t reply straightaway, the gut-churning delay making her wonder if he was drafting up a letter for her immediate removal. He could fire her for inappropriate conduct, even though he was as much a party to this as she was.
A message flashed onto the screen.
Dominic: I did not say that. In those words
She breathed out. Then saw he was typing. Then stopped again. Then another message flashed up.
Dominic: Don’t put words in my mouth
Her insides turned to a watery mush. Thoughts swirled and swooshed through her mind, before breaking into little pieces like confetti.
Don’t do it. Do. Not. Do It.
Eleni: I’d love to put something in your mouth.
Their messages had crossed, because his message flashed up instantaneously. She was hyperventilating as she read it:
Dominic: I have a wedding to attend. My ex’s. I might have had a few glasses of whiskey
She shouldn’t have done it. She shouldn’t have saidthatto him. Big mistake. Big. Sackable. Deplorable. Sluttish. Mistake.
She buried her face in her pillow, humiliation burning not just her cheeks, but her entire body.
I’d love to put something in your mouth.
There was no buzzing sound on her phone. No reply. She imagined Dominic to be disgusted and ashamed on her behalf. She waited for what seemed like ages, but only eight minutes has passed, according to time on her cell phone.
There was a chance he hadn’t read her message. She would act as if she hadn’t sent it, and prayed that he would act as if he hadn’t received it.
She glanced at his latest message again and tried to read between the lines. He had a wedding to attend, his ex’s, and he’d had a few glasses of whiskey. There was a story here, and if she dug deep enough she would find it. Pushing her embarrassment away, she texted:
Eleni: You sound sad
He didn’t answer straightaway. Then:
Dominic: Not sad at all
Eleni frowned. This man sounded as if he was drowning his sorrows. Either he was lying, or there was something he wasn’t telling her. She didn’t know what to say. There were questions she wanted answers to, but ... without prying further ...
Eleni: You sound as if you still like her
Dominic: I do
A heaviness settled in her chest. She considered turning her phone off, not wanting to feel more pain. But another message popped up from him:
Dominic: But not like that. I’m happy for her
Eleni: Thank goodness. I’d hate to see what you’re like when you’re sad
