Page 20 of Lost Summer
I couldn’t entertain the Hollywood notion of ending my relationship and storming back into her life on a white horse, expecting her to drop everything for me. I knew she remembered how we’d lost ourselves at the festival with her legs wrappedaround my waist, our lips locked together as we inhaled one another, lost in the heart of summer.
As much as I told myself I had to let go, my heart couldn’t forget the summer I lost.
And I didn’t know if it ever would.
10
ADELE
Istared at the email on my laptop screen, feeling the warmth of my half-drunk coffee stall in my throat. My blood rushed to my ears, thudding in time with the rapid beating of my heart. The office around me continued to hum with activity as my cheeks burned, my eyes fixed on the black text before me.
I dragged my gaze from the screen, scanning the office like a criminal ready to bolt from a crime scene. No one was looking at me. No one had noticed.
Breathe.
I swallowed hard, my pulse thudding heavily in my neck.
Reread it.
I returned to the email again, only now daring to fully digest it.
“Miss Pickering,
I hope you don’t mind the direct approach, but I wondered if we could meet for coffee to discuss the interview you’d like to do. Elena is busy, I’m afraid, but I’m willing to help.
Call me.
Edward Hart.”
No way.
His name pulsed on the screen, teasing me with threads of the past I thought I’d buried. I sat back in my seat, the cheap office chair creaking slightly as my finger hovered over the mouse—unsure if I should respond, laugh out loud, or throw my computer through the nearest window.
Finally, I clicked ‘reply’ and typed, my heart hammering as fast as my fingers.
Mr. Hart,
I’m not entirely sure that’s wise. Maybe we should do that when your fiancée is free? Also, email works better for me.
Kind regards,
A. Pickering.
Sent.
THE NEXT DAY
“Adele!”Evelyn. Of course, it was Evelyn. “In my office,now.”
Like I’m a fucking dog.
And like an obedient animal, I go.
She didn’t even look up; she just waved her hand in a move that felt like a slap in the face. My stomach tightened, and I felt a hundred eyes shift briefly in my direction. Standing up from mydesk at that moment felt like clambering through quicksand; my limbs weighed down, sluggish.
This day was going to hell. Fast.
As I closed the door behind me, Evelyn sat at her desk, a queen on her throne, eyes gleaming with the kind of intensity sharks have before they strike.
