Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Ettie was opposite me, laughing softly. “Come on. Another ten and we’ll stop.”
I mock-cried, “I don’t want to.” But I did anyway.
“Five more, Emmy. You got this.”
My chest burned from how deeply I was breathing. “God, it stings.”
“Feel the burn, baby. Feel that shit.”
When I did my last squat, I huffed out an uneven breath. “Holy hell, that was awful.”
And Ettie chuckled. “You say that every time.”
“And it’s awful. Every time,” I insisted, as I moved to sit on the floor of her living room, stretching out the tightness in my glutes. “Why must we do these things? I hate exercise.”
“We do it because it’s good for us and makes us look good naked.” She grinned, waggling her brows.
“Funny you should mention that,” I uttered nonchalantly. “Do you follow Connor on InstaFotto?”
She made a face. “Who doesn’t? It’s hilarious how much he begs for your attention.” She chuckled. “It’s funny how the tables have turned, huh?”
My brow furrowed. “So you think he is flirting with me?”
“Oh yeah, honey.” She nodded. “It’s modern day flirting what he’s doing. And he’s doing it in a big way. Making a huge statement. You’re all he posts.” She stretched, held onto her toes with her hands, and stretched out. “It’s all about Emmy.”
Cherry was right. He was flirting.
What to do, what to do?
My words were spoken slowly, uncertainly. “And if I wanted him to know that I liked it…” Ettie’s head snapped up. “How would I do that?”
“Honey,” she started quietly, “are you sure you want to do that?”
I decided to be honest. Full disclosure. “I’m not sure about anything anymore, Ettie. I don’t know much about relationships or love but what I do know is that I miss him so much it hurts and when I see his posts, the pain leaves me a while.”
Her face turned soft. “Oh, Emmy. I had no idea.”
“No one does.” I took in a deep breath then sighed. “It’s better if everyone thinks I hate him.”
“I always wondered why you never filed for divorce,” she said, her expression thoughtful.
My eyes widened. “Hold up, Ettie. I’m not talking about dating him or anything.” I let out a little chuckle. “I just want him to know I’m watching. That’s all.”
“Easy.” She smiled slyly. “All you gotta do is follow him back.”
My brows arched. “That’s it?”
“That’s it,” she repeated on a nod. “Where’s your phone?”
I pulled it out of my purse and shuffled to sit next to her. My stomach was a knot of nerves and I clicked into his InstaFotto account. I peered at Ettie and she smiled encouragingly. Without overthinking things, I hit the follow button and threw my phone across the room.
Ettie tipped back her head and laughed.
I bit my lip in distress.
What the hell was I doing? Was I really trying to reconnect with Connor?
Ugh.
What was wrong with me?
“And now we wait,” uttered Ettie, nudging me with her leg.
A long moment passed then my phone pinged. We looked at each other and while Ettie looked over at me in wide-eyed excitement, I frowned. “That’s not him. It can’t be. Not that fast.”
But when I retrieved my phone, I saw the notification, and Ettie when squeaked in delight and smacked my arm, saying, “Open it! Open it!” I did.
@ConnorClashOfficial tagged you in a post.
Connor had taken a screenshot of his notifications, blurring out everything bar one line.
@TheVioletDame followed you back.
A slow smile spread across my lips when I read his caption.
LIFE MADE.
“Aw.” Ettie put her hand to her heart. “Emmy!”
I know. I felt it too.
When my phone chimed a second time, it was a private message from Connor and Ettie made a sound of pure giddiness, gripped my arm, and shook me happily. I covered my mouth, hiding my smile and when I calmed myself down, I opened it.
ConnorClashOfficial: I miss you, baby.
As I read the words, I heard his voice in my mind and my gut warmed, a tender feeling I hadn’t felt in a long while.
Three simple words and they were thawing my frozen core.
I miss you.
How could one man have such power over me?
How could you allow it?
I was scared by the effect he continued to have on me. The frightening thought was enough to make me close the app and rest my phone in my lap.
“You’re not gonna respond?” Ettie asked quietly.
But I couldn’t speak. I just shook my head.
Sensing my inner turmoil, Ettie wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tight. “It might take some time but everything will work out. I promise.”
How could she be so sure?
One thing was for sure.
I wasn’t.
Every day, Connor continued to post a photo of The Violet Dame and every single day, he accompanied his daily post with a private message. It had been a week since I’d made the move to follow him and every time my phone chimed, I secretly wished it would be a message from my husband.