Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 59445 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59445 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
And if I did, where did that leave us now?
The next day, a knock on my door had me climbing out of bed earlier than I had any intention of doing, but I was hopeful it was Amazon with my eye roller because I so needed help with the bags I’d been sporting every day since I read the Vogue issue.
Crying every day didn’t really help with that, but thousands of Amazon reviewers promised me that this would do the trick. My meeting yesterday hadn’t been a Zoom call, thank God. I would’ve looked like Death itself.
I made it to my door, head dipped down to scoop up the box as I opened it—
There wasn’t a box.
There was only a very expensive pair of shoes and, as I dragged my eyes up and up, a very expensive suit attached to them.
“Weston,” I breathed his name, my heart breaking at the sight of him.
He looked good. Too fucking good.
He certainly wasn’t in a pair of sweats and oversized T-shirt with no makeup to speak of and puffy eyes due to crying way too much because of an identity crisis. No, he looked like he’d just stepped off a shoot for G fucking Q.
“Brynn,” he said my name like an apology and it struck its mark in the center of my chest.
My body begged me to fall against him, to let him haul me into his arms and kiss me until I couldn’t remember anything outside of the way he made me feel.
Had made me feel—cherished and loved and cared for.
Before he ruined me. Before he made feel like I wasn’t as important in his life as he was in mine. And I know I’d had my hand in not wanting to go public, but not telling Lena when she tried to continue pursuing him? That was a different thing all together. One that would’ve prevented the world-shaking hurt her scheme delivered.
Now…I didn’t know what to think anymore.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, not bothering to invite him in.
He hesitated outside my door, tension tightening between us. I’d never not invited him in.
Memories of him taking care of me when I had the flu raced through my mind, tearing up my soul in the process. We hadn’t even been together then, and he’d taken such good care of me, like I was precious to him.
How was he capable of that but still had the ability to hurt me so badly too?
“I wanted to see you,” he said, clearing his throat.
I arched a brow at him, shifting to fold my arms over my chest. In the last two weeks since our fight, I’d envisioned a thousand different things I wanted to say to him but now that he was standing in front of me, I couldn’t think of a single word.
I’d told him I needed time, and that was still true.
Maybe we did need to talk. Maybe it would help us clear the air—
“Nike called me this morning,” he said, and all the hope flew right out of my chest.
I shook my head, a dark laugh tumbling from my lips. Of course, that’s why he was here.
“They loved your proposal,” he said. “They’re signing on with us. Which means you’ve increased the profits in the company by ten percent.”
“That’s awesome for your company,” I said, practically emotionless. He wasn’t here to explain things. He wasn’t here to beg for me back. He was here to talk business. Fuck, why had I let any shred of hope remain in my heart?
“When are you coming back to work?” he asked.
“Wow,” I said, shaking my head.
I knew he could see how badly I was doing—he was my best friend for a reason, not only could he read me like an opened book, he’d also been in my life long enough to know how I looked when I was having a down moment.
I was definitely in a down vibe right now, one that was hard as hell to shake because I’d allowed myself to fall even deeper in love with him when I knew I shouldn’t have.
But here he was, asking me to come back to work instead of asking about my well-being?
Fuck, that stung.
“I want you,” he said, and my pulse skittered despite the anger and pain crackling in my heart. “To come back. To work.” It was like the words were hard for him to get out, and I knew he’d always had a hard time expressing himself verbally but fucking hell.
“I need you,” I said, and he blew out a ragged breath, taking a step forward. “To give me space.” I took a step back, and his shoulders dropped. “Can you do that, Wes?” I asked, tears gathering behind my eyes again.
“Brynn, please—”
“Seriously, Weston,” I cut him off. “I need time. I need space. I’ve loved you for longer than you’ve ever realized. And I built my life around yours. I wanted to, you never forced that, and it wasn’t just because you were my best friend or that I loved you. I believed in you. I believed in you and your companies and your ambitions. I believed in your dreams and supported them with everything I had.” I sucked in a sharp breath, letting it out slowly. “And after you broke my heart…or I guess, after Lena did,” I forced the words out. “I realized I’m not in the right state of mind to make any logical decisions about the future right now. Not when I’m still so wrapped up in you I can’t tell where your dreams end and mine begin.”