She spoke in a rush. “He’s going to New York.”
“Oh, for a few days, or…?”
“He’s setting up the second corporate office there. Imperium bought out the other company so we have the entire building now, but David thought having a second location in New York would be smart.”
“He’s right,” I whispered.
Yvette continued, “So, he’s going…and he’s staying.”
I paused, taking in what she had said. “What do you mean he’s staying?”
She paused, then blurted. “He’s moving to New York, Farren.”
“What? Yvette, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t think you cared.”
“Of course I care!” I shouted. Everyone in my office turned to me. I got up apologetically and went into the conference room.
“So, what are you gonna do about it?” Yvette asked.
My mind went in a million different directions. What was I going to do? What could I do?
“When is he leaving?” I asked urgently.
“Tonight,” she answered.
“When?” I panicked.
“When he left, he just said tonight.”
I walked out of the conference room, collected my things, and started moving towards the stairwell. “But he’s flying out of LAX?”
“Yes.”
“Which airline?” My voice echoed while I flew down the stairs.
Yvette had moved her phone away from her mouth. “Trevor, which airline is Powers flying?” She brought her phone back up. “United. 8:15.”
I looked at my watch. It was just after five. “Why would Trevor know?”
“Trevor knows everything.”
“Okay, maybe he’s still at the apartment,” I said, hopeful.
“You’re going after him.” I could hear the smile in her voice.
“I don’t have a choice.” I put her on speaker and went to my car app. “I’m going to call him. Can you text me his new number for his company phone?”
“Will do.”
I exhaled. “Yvette, thank you, but I’m still killing you for not telling me.”
“Something tells me if you catch him, it won’t matter.”
I snorted. “Bye.”
I searched for cars nearby. Luckily, there was one a few minutes away. I called both of David’s numbers while I waited. One went straight to voicemail. The other rang with no answer and no way to leave a message.
I got in the car as soon as they pulled up and directed the driver to go to David’s apartment, hoping to catch him before he left for the airport. I continued to call and text his phones until one phone finally answered.
Farren, it’s Yvette. He left his work phone here. Keep trying the other one.
“Seriously, David?” I whispered.
Here I was trying to make a grand gesture, and he’d left his device at the office. If I weren’t rushing to tell him I loved him, I’d be pissed.
The car barely had time to park before I jumped out, throwing the doors to his building open, and running towards the elevators. I pressed the button so many times, I thought the spring would wear out. The doors opened, and I pushed my way through the folks leaving the car.
When I reached his door, I didn’t knock, I banged.
“David?” I leaned my other hand against the doorway. “Please,” I whispered. I banged again. I listened to see if I could hear him on the inside.
It was silent.
“Shit,” I said, then ran back to the elevators, pushing the button repeatedly again. It stopped on the fourth floor, causing me to run down eight flights of stairs because of my impatience.
I heaved open the doors back out to the curb, only to find my ride had left. I panted and placed my hands on my hips. My watch read 5:52 p.m. He had to be on his way to the airport. I pulled out my phone again, hoping the driver who had just dropped me off wasn’t too far away and could come back. I searched. Only one car was available, and it was twenty minutes away. I cursed at myself for not learning to drive.
When my ride arrived, I told her to go to LAX, flustered. I had to catch David before he got to security and somehow find him in the sea of thousands of people trying to make their flights. My rational mind told me I was too late, but I suppressed those negative thoughts and tried calling him again.
Nothing.
I looked at the driver’s GPS on the dashboard. There was a black line along the 110, right where it met the 105.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“What?” the driver answered.
I pointed at the screen. “That black line. What does that mean?”
“The highway’s shutdown. Probably a bad accident.”
“Oh no,” I whispered.
“We’ll have to take the city route,” the driver said.
“How long will that take?”
“I’m not going to lie,” she looked over her shoulder, “with rush hour traffic, more than an hour.”
I raised my watch.
6:34 p.m.
“Okay, as fast as you can. Please,” I begged.
As soon as she got off the highway, we were deadlocked. The traffic lights changed colors, but we didn’t move. My heart went from hopeful to disappointed the longer we sat behind the sea of red taillights. My driver couldn’t move the cars, and she couldn’t make the traffic go any faster. They shut the highway down, and we were in rush hour traffic on a Friday afternoon in LA. We were in the middle of a perfect storm.
I kept calling David’s number. I couldn’t imagine him not seeing my calls and texts by that point. Maybe he didn’t want to talk to me. Maybe I was rushing around LA for nothing. Maybe my last chance with David really was over.
It was 6:58 p.m., and we had barely made it a block. The airport was still a considerable distance away. I even contemplated running.
The plane would board around 7:45 p.m. David was probably sitting at the gate by now. I couldn’t get past security without buying a ticket, and I didn’t even know what flight he was on. By the time I figured it out, he would be gone.
My heart sank. I needed to accept my defeat against the clock. I leaned forward to my driver. “I’m sorry,” I said, crushed. “If it’s okay, I’m going to send you another address to take me to. I’ll pay you extra in tips,” I mumbled.
She looked back at me. “Sure.”
“Thank you.” I sat back, letting my saddened heart consume me, and stared out the window.
Thirty Six
When I got out of the car, I barely looked up to see where I was going. It was after nine, and David was on the plane to New York. I was more concerned that he didn’t want to talk to me anymore. I’d called at least a dozen times. My pride had subsided, and I tried to grapple with the truth.
David was over it—over me.
I trudged forward, hearing people gathered in the direction I headed. My face cooled because of my newly fallen tears. I wiped them away and listened to the gravel under my feet. The music coming from the speakers was cheerfully upbeat. I tried to will my emotions to meld with the atmosphere as the street ended and the sidewalk began. The scent of onions and cilantro filled my nose.
After my failed pursuit of David, I realized I was starving. I walked towards the crowd and watched young and old with their white paper plates filled with different dishes from the taco stand. Kids laughing and running around their parents with churros in their hands, playing tag, brought a temporary smile to my face.
I stopped at the edge of the parking lot and took a deep breath, looking around at the place David first took me to—our place. This was as close as I could get to David tonight. Eating the food that he introduced me to. Feeling his absence in this space tore me open more. Knowing I would probably never be here with him again. I closed my eyes and exhaled.
I started towards the line and wished I had him to order for me in Spanish. I smiled to myself, hearing him in my head. I crossed my arms and looked around.
And then my breath
left my lungs.
Every molecule in my body froze with the view in front of me. My soul had momentarily floated away, leaving me to fend for myself, telling me I had officially gone off the rails. I was hallucinating or dreaming. This was some sort of joke my brain was playing on me. A body double or a doppelganger.
The gorgeous hazel-green eyes I longed to see stood in line ahead of me. He was watching me, holding the same confused expression I had. He moved away from the line and approached me carefully. I couldn’t blink for fear he would disappear. He stopped, leaving a foot between us.
Then it hit me.
His scent—mint, rosemary, and seawater. The only thing that could convince me it was actually him standing there, casually, handsome as ever, staring at me.
“Farren?”
I couldn’t talk or move. My mouth hung open, and the tears were uncontrollable. He inched closer, his concern growing by the second.
“You’re supposed to be on a plane to New York,” I breathed.
His brows furrowed. “I left late and ran into traffic… I changed my flight to tomorrow.” He watched me. “How did you know that?”
I tried to gather myself enough to explain. “I sent you an email. I just wanted to say hi…but it bounced, saying you were going to be unavailable for a while.”
“You were trying to get a hold of me?”
I nodded.
His worry grew. “Why? Are you okay?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I miss you.”
His mouth tried to form words, but he couldn’t get them out. “I-I thought you hated me.”
“I can’t hate you, David,” I whispered. “And I couldn’t let you go thinking I did.” I looked down at my hands.
“How did you know I was here?” Disbelief colored his tone.
I shook my head. “I didn’t. I wanted to come here to be close to you. To say goodbye to you—to us. Because this is our place.” I gazed at him, taking a deep breath. “David,” I paused, “you can’t move,” I breathed.
The volume of the music behind us rose, and the crowd noise increased too.
“What?” He leaned in closer.
“You can’t move to New York.” Even I could barely hear my small voice.
“Wait, come here.” He pulled me to a quieter place around the corner, deeper into the parking lot. I sniffed and wiped away the tears.
“Now, what did you say?” He stood close and hovered over me. I could feel the warmth of his body.
“I said you can’t move to New York.” My volume didn’t increase, and I was shaking. “I tried to call you to stop you, but you didn’t answer. I thought you were avoiding me.”
“I got a new personal phone when I bought the company phones. I have a new number so no one else would have it.”
He had a new number and didn’t give it to anyone—not even me. My fear of him not wanting me to contact him was right on.
“I understand.” I nodded. I couldn’t look at him. “You’re trying to start over.”
He lifted my chin with his finger. “I’m trying to move on from my mistakes and become the man you showed me I could be.”
He wanted to change because of me, but not for me. My tears continued.
Confusion returned to his features as he dropped his hand. “Why don’t you want me to go to New York?” he whispered.
My panic level rose, but it was too late not to say it. I’d run all over the city for this man, trying to find him and tell him how I felt so he could, at the very least, hear what I needed to say. Whether he reciprocated or not, wasn’t the issue.
I swallowed. “Because I’m in love with you.” I took a shaky breath. “I tried to forget us, and I tried to hate you. I told myself that you were the only problem between us, but that’s not true. I was just as scared as you were. But I can’t let you move.” I sniffed and looked away. “Or, I can’t let you move without telling you how I feel.”
The curve of his mouth went from shock to consideration. He glanced at the ground. “Farren, I do have to go to New York.”
Everything within me collapsed. Even though I knew this would likely be our outcome, it didn’t devastate me any less. My feelings for him didn’t matter—he had to go. I nodded and focused on his chest. My posture curled into itself, and I moved away.
He grabbed my hand and pulled me back to him. Our bodies touched, making me gasp. “But even if you hated me, there’s no way I could live thousands of miles away from you.”
I snapped my head up to him. “What?”
He placed his hands on my neck and brought my face to his. “I’m not moving,” he whispered.
“You’re not?” I asked, stunned.
He shook his head. “I had no intention of moving to New York. I was going to look at buildings, office spaces for the second headquarters. I’ll be flying to and from while we get set up, but…I’m not moving.”
My face went tight with confusion. “But Yvette said you were…”
He scrunched up his nose and smiled. “Yvette lied to you.”
My perplexity turned into realization. She’d tricked me. I scoffed in anger.
“What?” he asked.
“She told me I was being a coward and that I needed to come after you. She set this up so I would find you.” I looked into his eyes. “I’m gonna kill her.”
David laughed and took my hands in his. “No, don’t do that. I’m fine with whatever it took to get you here. I may even give her a raise.” He smirked.
I exhaled and looked at him. His warmth, both from his body and his stare, flowed through me. I needed everything out on the table, and I couldn’t be afraid of his answers anymore. I had to know where we stood and if we could be us again. “David, how do you feel about me?”
He turned serious, then met my eyes. “I have to be honest with you, Farren.”
I nodded and prepared myself for his truth.
The corner of his mouth raised. “Long before you figured out you were in love with me…I was already in love with you.”
He stole my breath with that one sentence. The green flecks in his eyes shined as he caressed my face with our fingers intertwined.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
He smiled and laid his forehead on mine. “I thought I could stop thinking about you. Stop that gnawing feeling of wanting to see you, touch you…but it wouldn’t go away. I can’t let you go, Farren. It’s impossible.”
The tears that fell now weren’t sad or agonizing—they were signs of relief. David took my head in his hands, staring into my soul, and kissed me. My entire being came back to life. This love wasn’t perfect, nor did I expect it to be. We had a base we could build from, and with that, we could be stronger together.
I pulled back and stared at the man I loved. “What about your lineup?” I asked.
He chuckled and looked at me like no one ever had. “I don’t need all of them when I have the one right in front of me.”
End.
Acknowledgement
My light and loves are forever my biggest fans. Nothing inspires me more than their motivation and encouragement. I love you three with everything I am.
My family, who encourages me and buys everything I put out, you give me life when I don’t think it’s worth it. To every Johnson, Smith, Vaden, Russell, White, Holmes in our crazy cast of characters, thank you for everything.
To my betas, Hayley, Christy, and my mommy-in-law, Debbie. Thank you for letting me bother you with my sexy stories and for loving them like you do.
As always, to my editor, Michelle Rascon, and graphic designer, Clarissa Kenzen, you literally give my books life. I love working with you ladies and can’t wait to do it again.
My friends are my life, and I’ll love you forever…FTMF, Sara. xoxo
Thank you for reading!
Books By This Author
Before We Get Carried Away
JORDAN RILEY, a twenty-nine-year-old chef at the luxurious Wilshire Palm Hotel in Los Angeles, California, wa
nts nothing to do with the Hollywood lifestyle she’s surrounded by. After being abandoned by her father and devastated by her mother’s death, Jordan goes forward alone, knowing that only she can control her future. Her focus becomes convincing her boss to open his own restaurant and hire her as sous-chef, pushing aside any other distractions that may come her way, including love.
Until she meets Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor, Daniel Hutchinson, who wants nothing more than to settle down with someone he can trust to not use him for his fame. Daniel’s previous relationships, including his Hollywood actress ex-wife, have all proved to be fruitless and can’t seem to fade into the background. But Jordan’s lack of love in past relationships leads her down a path of self-doubt and fear she’s never experienced before. Afraid of the media, Daniel’s fans, and love itself, Jordan rethinks whether being with a celebrity is worth it at all.
Delicately
When tragedy flips Elle Jamison’s life upside down, she retreats from the busy Seattle skyline to the quiet beachside town in California of Arroyo Grande. She leaves behind the life she’s always known to try and start over, heal her heart, and move forward. A self-proclaimed bibliophile, Elle discovers a used bookstore in the Village and within it, a handsome and recently widowed bookstore owner named Aidan Wilson. Remembering her past, Elle adamantly denies herself another chance at love with Aidan or anyone else.
Aidan desperately misses his wife but doesn’t want to stop living because she’s gone. He submerges himself in his businesses and attempts to move forward without the love of his life. When Aidan meets Elle, she brings mystery and charm, but mostly, a shattered heart. She refuses to tell Aidan about her life in Seattle, making him hesitant to trust her. But with Aidan’s own secrets, is it Elle that should be cautious about going forward with him?
The One of Many Page 28
