Page 109 of Mine Forever
A muted ding signals the elevator, and thankfully the car is empty and no one joins me. I press the button to the top floor where the Presidential suite is located and lean against the wall.
I want to close my eyes, but if I do, I’ll probably fall asleep standing. Insomnia has ruled my world since returning to New York.
Instead, I scrutinize my appearance in the mirrored walls of the elevator.
I might be working, but since I’ll be presenting the speaker to the crowd, I have to dress the part.
The dress is an oldie but a goodie and makes me feel sexy. The deep emerald-green strapless dress brings out the green in my eyes, stops just above the knee, and the wraparound style of it hugs my curves and creates new ones in all the right places.
I put my hair up on top of my head in an elegantly messy bun to show off the diamond-and-emerald teardrop earrings that were once my mother’s.
They’re the nicest thing she ever gave me, and she had to die for that to happen.
I’m not blind to the looks I’ve received from the men in the room. And after the last week or so since I left Cape Sands, I need something to make me feel like a woman again.
Katie’s right—my dress is banging.
It’s the only thing banging in my world lately.
The red digital numbers on the elevator climb higher while my vision blurs.
I still have no idea how I’m going to face Chase tonight. I haven’t spoken to him since the day I left the island.
All of our correspondence in dealing with the speaking engagement has gone through Liz. He’s never called or texted me once.
I have to face the fact that the man who owns my heart doesn’t want it.
He doesn’t want me.
He’d rather hide in his misery and in the past than have a future with me. There’s nothing I can say or do to change that.
I just wish my head and my heart could land on the same page.
I finally make it to the top floor, and before the doors open, I dab under my eyes to clear any evidence of tears and not smear the makeup I worked so hard on.
Shoulders back, head up. You can do this, Eden.
At the rate things are going, I won’t see Chase until absolutely necessary.
My stride is purposeful and confident as I walk to the double doors at the end of the hallway.
When they both open, my heart meets my heels.
Chase stands on the other side, looking better than any man has a right to in a charcoal-gray suit. The stark white of the button-down shirt and the bright red tie offset his tan skin.
I pray I’m not drooling.
And I don’t want to think about what we’d been doing the last time I saw that tie.
His smile turns my insides to liquid. “Eden. Come in.”
He stands off to the side, and in a daze, I cross the threshold.
But with each step I take into the suite, my courage strengthens. The doors click shut behind us, and I turn around to face him.
With one hand in his pocket and the other rubbing his chin, he walks toward me, his green eyes shining.
I lift my chin as he gets closer, not wanting him to see how he affects me, even though my heart races, and I can barely catch my breath.
