Page 50 of Lessons in Forgiving
A second ticked by in which I’d searched for the right response and failed miserably at it. “Now.” Eddie gestured to the exit, an easy smile back on his lips. “I think you have some packing to do. I’ll email you everything you need.”
CHAPTER 21
NOW
“I can’t do this, I can’t do this”, I repeated, continuing to throw things into my overnight bag like I might, maybecoulddo this.
With Eddie and his easy smiles and bossy attitude gone, my roommates were trying their best to keep my growing doubts at bay.Maybe I shouldn’t be intruding the way I was.Maybe I shouldn’t goAll Inon a man who dumped me.
Spending an entire weekend in a city you didn’t know, with an ex who you shouldn’tgetto know again, did not sound like a great idea. Not for my heart or my head, in which I’d been overthinking ever since I’d left the office.
Now, add the fact that said ex-boyfriend did not want me in said foreign city, and… yeah. Doubts. Many of them.
Not that my editor wanted to hear about them. Or Henry’s manager.
All they saw was what it could do for my article, or their team’s PR. Sure, they were right. The Major League Soccer draft had always been a bit of a mystery to me, and when I’d prepared for this profile, I couldn’t find many articles talking about the process, and behind the scenes of it at all.
So, as someone who enjoyed soccer a fair amount, I’d been excited. An exclusive look behind the curtain! Awesome.
But did it have to be by my ex-boyfriend’s side? As his plus one?
My own groan ripped me out of my thoughts. Frustrated, I fell back to the floor I sat on and looked up at the ceiling. It must’ve been Maeve’s cue because she jumped into motion first.
“She’s losing momentum!” the redhead reported on high alert, moving from my bed to heave me back into a seated position. I did nothing to help her with that.
“Do you need me to repeat it?” Laila asked from the chair by my desk. She whirled around to face us.
Although I faintly shook my head, Maeve was adamant when she said, “STAT!”
“Paula.” Somehow, Laila was in front of me now. On her knees, holding my hand like I was about to go into open heart surgery, and she hadn’t said goodbye yet.
I wanted to grab her by the shoulders, shake her so hard her white-blonde hair ruffled with the motion, and tell herI’m not dying!I just didn’t want to get on that plane tomorrow. But being realistic, who could do that to someone with a face as sweet as Laila’s?
She smiled at me, encouraging and sporting all the glass-half-full energy I was lacking entirely. “You’re about to get an all-expenses-paid weekend away for doing the thing you love,” she reminded me, for the second time in the hour we’d all been holed up in my room. “If that doesn’t tell you you’re a darn good journalist, and that you’re going to write something just as amazing about this, I don’t know what will.” Maeve bumped my shoulder in agreement, still holding my entire body weight up.
“Listen to sweet little Laila,” she hummed in amusement. So close to my ear, it felt a little hypnotic.
“I am.” It was more of a groan than an answer, but at least I began throwing things into my bag again. Which was Maeve’s sign to let go. She beamed at me with a smile that said:successfully averted another crisis.
“And if that doesn’t work,” Riley perked up, giving me a look from where she let her head dangle off the edge of my bed. Her braids sprawled across my floor. “Just remember you’re not only getting paid to do what you love but also get to experience themost expensive city in the world with a man who can afford it.” Henry was filthy rich, yes. But—
“New York isn’t the most expensive city in the world. Zurich is,” I corrected.
Riley shook her head, and for a moment it seemed she might lose consciousness. She turned upright and flopped onto her stomach.
“They’re tied,” she said. “Plus, that wasn’t actually my point.” She leveled me with a look while the blood rushed from her head back to her feet. “Henry’s hot, rich, and you’re about to spend three whole days with him.”
“He’s also her ex-boyfriend,” Maeve argued, getting comfortable against the foot of my bed. She wasn’t even looking at Riley, who was lying on top of it. “For good reason. So whatever it is you’re trying to do here, missy, stop it.”
Although Maeve couldn’t see it, Riley’s hands shot up in playful surrender. Which didn’t stop her from giving me a suggestive wink.
“Just trying to come up with all the reasons why Paula should get on that plane tomorrow,” she said innocently, batting her perfectly winged eyes at the group. At that, Maeve turned to give her a look. “And even though Paula thinks Henry is one of the reasons she shouldn’t.” Her brows rose when she looked back at me. “I think he’s the main reason she should.”
“After the fact her career depends on it,” Laila added quickly, then gave me a thumbs up.
“Yes,” I quirked up. “Most definitely after that.”
I’d prioritized him once before, and it had not turned out well for me. Like, almost-being-kicked-out-of-the-paper and not-getting-an-actual-project-for-an-entire-year, kind of bad.
