Wanted (Addicted Trilogy Book 3)

by S. Nelson

  “Why did Braden leave? I could’ve gone into my room if you guys wanted to hang out here and watch TV.” I scooted over on the couch to make room for her to sit.

  “Don’t be silly, Sara. I told him to leave.” Grabbing a pillow, she sat down and pulled it close to her, getting comfortable for what I was sure was going to be one of our talks.

  “And why would you do that?”

  “Because I saw your face as soon as I walked in. You looked like you were going to burst out crying but were trying your hardest to look normal.” Reaching over to grab my hand, she gave it a squeeze and said, “I know when my girl is struggling.”

  I half-smiled, trying to keep my tears at bay. I didn’t know what was wrong with me lately.

  My shoulder was healing well.

  The shop was doing great.

  My nightmares were fading each night.

  The only thing left was Alek.

  In all of the time we’d been together, I’d only questioned his feelings for me once, and it was when I discovered he’d been watching me for close to a decade. Otherwise, I knew he cared for me, loved me even. He’d said so on numerous occasions, and they weren’t just words; his actions proved as much, as well. But after he rescued me, I felt him slipping away, and I didn’t know if I was being paranoid or if something was really going on with him.

  “I need a glass of wine,” I mumbled, unfolding my legs from underneath me as I rose from the couch. “Do you want some?”

  “Do you really even need to ask?” She laughed and threw the pillow at me, hitting me in the back of the leg as I walked toward the kitchen. “So, spill it, Sara. What’s going on with you?”

  “Can you wait until I have a drink before I answer?” I was trying to joke, hoping some forced humor would do something for me, but it didn’t. Not at all. What I really wanted to do was take the entire bottle of wine, climb under my covers and lose myself in oblivion.

  I walked back toward the couch, bottle of wine and two glasses in hand. Kicking the pillow up with my foot, I flung it across the small space, actually hitting Alexa in the face with it.

  Now that made me laugh.

  “Well played, Sara. Well played.” She laughed, as well.

  She took the glasses from me and poured the drinks, sitting back in silence and waiting for me to start talking.

  She arched a brow and I spoke. “Oh, Lex, I don’t know. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Actually, I do but I’m so confused.”

  “Does it have something to do with Alek? Did you guys have a fight?”

  “I wish it was so simple, because then at least I would know where I stood. No, it’s something else entirely. I think he’s distancing himself. He’s different when we’re together now, which, by the way, is becoming less and less frequent.”

  “Well, didn’t you say he was stressed out over a new building issue? Maybe it’s why he’s not been around as much. It’s possible that’s all it is, Sara.”

  “You don’t see it. You don’t feel it like I do. Like the other night, for example, when he came here drunk. He was rambling on about how he would always love me no matter what, and he needs to protect me but can’t do it when he’s so close to me. It was weird. He was not acting like himself, drunk or not.” For as much as I tried to hold back, I failed. A lone tear escaped and ran down my cheek. I wiped it away quickly, not wanting any more of them to fall and halt my conversation with my best friend.

  “Is he the reason we’re now down one table lamp?” she teased.

  “Yeah, sorry. He must have bumped into it when he came in. I’ll pick up another one.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I think you have enough on your plate.” She finished her glass and poured another.

  “Thirsty, are we?” I asked as she took a few sips of the cool liquid.

  “No, simply trying to squash my raging hormones.” She took another sip, swallowed and said, “He practically attacked me in the hallway, whispering all sorts of dirty things in my ear before letting me go. Then he simply saunters down the hallway like nothing happened.”

  I didn’t want to be the reason she wasn’t spending time with her man. “You can call him back, Lex, seriously. I don’t mind at all.”

  “I wouldn’t even think about it. You need me more than I need to have sex.” She tipped her head to the side as if she was contemplating the two. “Yeah, you need me more,” she repeated. “End of story. I need more wine, that’s all.” She laughed. We sat in comfortable silence. That was the great thing about having a friend like Alexa. We can just be. We can sit together and not speak, all while still supporting each other.

  Finally, I broke the silence. “Maybe he’s having a tougher time with killing Samuel than he even realizes.” Simply saying those words made me shudder. “I can’t even imagine being responsible for taking another person’s life, no matter what the circumstances. The guilt I have for putting him in that situation will always be there, but he must be dealing with something unimaginable.”

  “Have you tried to talk to him about it?”

  “Yeah, but all he does is shut down. He won’t talk to me, or anyone else.” After some contemplation, I nodded slowly. “Maybe that’s what the issue is.” I figured if I said it aloud I could make it true, although the uneasy feeling never wavered.

  “I bet it is, Sara,” she said comfortingly. Poor Lex. She looked as hopeful as I was. She truly was a great friend.

  “When was the last time you saw him, or even spoke to him?”

  “The last time I saw him was when he came by drunk. But the last time I spoke to him was this morning. He’s been busy all day in meetings and hasn’t had much time to talk.”

  I missed him.

  I missed talking to him on the phone.

  I missed his arms wrapped around me, holding me tight.

  I missed his lips on mine.

  I even missed arguing with him.

  After another hour of talking, we decided to call it a night. The fact the bottle of wine was empty probably had a little something to do with our persistent yawning. At least I felt better having had the chance to talk to someone about what was weighing on my mind.

  ~13~

  Sara

  “Hey, watch yourself,” Matt called out as he came up behind me. He was carrying a breathtaking bouquet of white and burgundy calla lilies, and my distractedness almost made him drop them all over the floor.

  “Wow, Matt, did you put the arrangement together yourself?”

  “Sure did.” He leaned in close and revealed, “I learn from the best.”

  “Well then, you must be talking about Katherine because she taught me everything I know.”

  “Yeah, she’s who I was talking about.” He laughed, making his way back toward the prep room.

  “Very funny,” I yelled over my shoulder.

  Inventory kept me busy. There were only a few customers milling around the store, and I was thankful for the short reprieve to catch up on some basic data entry.

  The bell above the door sounded as someone walked in, pulling my attention from the computer. A young, blonde woman made her way toward me, a bright smile lighting up her pretty face.

  “How can I help you?” I asked in my usual upbeat, professional tone. Even if I was in a bad mood, or distracted by something not so pleasant, it all changed as soon as I was dealing with my customers. They were my lifeline, after all.

  “Hi. Yes, I wanted to know if you were hiring.”

  Her inquiry came at the most unusual time. Matt and I were discussing the other day how it would be nice to have another pair of hands with the day-to-day orders and deliveries. But I didn’t even have the chance to place an ad or put up a simple ‘Help Wanted’ sign in the window yet.

  “Well, I was contemplating bringing in an additional person to help out, but it would only be part-time. Is a part-time position something you would be interested in?” Truth was, I was still learning the business part of the shop and according to my financials, I co
uldn’t really afford to bring someone on full-time. Not yet, at least.

  “Part-time would be perfect.” There was something about the woman standing in front of me I couldn’t put my finger on. She seemed friendly enough but she regaled me with real interest, as if she thought she knew me from somewhere. Then again, it could’ve simply been nerves. Maybe I was paying too much attention to something which was a figment of my imagination.

  Looking the girl over from head to toe one more time, I dove right in with the necessary questions. “Do you have any experience working in a flower shop?” I quickly assessed my potential employee, doing my best to read her during the whole two minutes she’d been in my shop. She looked to be older than me, maybe in her early to mid-thirties, but in this day and age, I couldn’t really be sure. Her personality seemed pleasant, and she had an air of confidence surrounding her.

  No outward signs of crazy.

  Then again, there was only so much you could tell from an initial interview.

  She smiled brightly as she answered. “I do have experience, close to ten years’ worth. I used to work in my aunt’s shop back home in North Carolina.”

  I didn’t need much time to make my decision before I blurted out my proposal. “I’ll tell you what. I can bring you in on a trial basis. Let’s say a month. We’ll see how you fit in and what your skills are before a permanent offer is extended.” Her smile widened which caused me to mirror her enthusiasm. “What do you say?”

  “Oh, my God, that would be amazing. Thank you so much.”

  “Okay, great. Well, you can come by tomorrow, say around ten?” As we were finishing up, Matt strolled in with a different array of flowers in his hands.

  Grabbing his attention, I introduced him to our newest addition. “Matt, this is…” I stopped talking because I realized I’d never gotten the poor woman’s name. “I apologize, but you never told me your name.”

  “Oh, yeah, it would be helpful, right?” She gave Matt a once over, obvious attraction in her stare. “It’s Megan. Megan Smith.”

  “Hi, Megan.” Matt looked over at me, a look of confusion clouding his face.

  “I decided to hire Megan on part-time, on a temporary basis. If she works out then we’ll have a new member on our team.”

  “Oh, cool. Nice to meet you,” he said before making himself scarce again.

  Having no idea where my head was at, I thought it important enough to tell her my name, as well. “My name is Sara, by the way. You might need to know it.” We chuckled together but her real focus wasn’t on me; she continued staring at Matt as he walked away. I didn’t blame her, but she’d learn soon enough she didn’t have a shot with him.

  Oh, well. Who am I to ruin the poor girl’s fantasy?

  When her eyes returned to mine, she blushed quickly then said her goodbyes as she walked out the door. I really hoped Megan worked out because we could definitely use the help. There were three other part-time workers, but I had to cut back their hours because two of them were in school and needed to focus on their studies and the other woman was set to have surgery on her elbow.

  Walking around the counter to grab another pen, I heard my phone ding, indicating I’d received a text message. Opening it, I saw it was from Alek.

  I won’t be able to see you tonight. Too many things to straighten out with a deal to get away. Alek

  Figures.

  Sadly, his message didn’t surprise me, which was disheartening. I was too disappointed and paranoid over our tender relationship to even text him back. I needed some time to think, or over-think, as Alexa would say, about whatever was going on recently between us. I knew he had other pressures on his time, but he never let it hamper us from being together before. Normally, he would simply re-arrange his schedule in order for us to see each other.

  So, what was different?

  Distractedly, I muddled through the rest of my day. My thoughts kept floating back to Alek, to the man who had quickly become my heart…my everything. I knew we’d experienced something devastating in our short relationship, but it was merely a test, right? A trial of our love for each other. Something which would bring us even closer.

  I thought Alek and I could battle any weather, but our storm was proving to be too much, threatening to tear the roof off our lives.

  I texted him twice after I arrived home from work but he never answered. I was hurt, wallowing in my own crazy thoughts when I decided to call it a night and go to bed. It was still early, but I longed for the sweet arms of sleep to drag me under and not release me until a new day had arrived.

  ~14~

  Alek

  The text I sent to Sara was utter bullshit, but I didn’t know what else to do. Of course I had pressing work issues, and of course I was having a hell of a time with getting my new hotel up and running, but shit like that never stopped me from seeing her before. Nothing stood in the way of us spending time together.

  Without even asking, I knew my odd behavior was weighing on her. I knew I was an asshole for putting her through it, especially after she’d finally revealed her deepest feelings for me.

  When she uttered the three words I’d been longing to hear, a piece of my soul broke away. I knew she meant every word, and for as much as I held those words tight, I knew nothing would ever be the same between us going forward. So, I cherished our night together, then, like a coward, slipped away in the morning before she even woke.

  I was still a man conflicted. Loving Sara made me feel alive, made me whole. But her life was more important. Her safety, to be exact. I knew exactly what I had to do, even though it would tear me up inside. Staying away from her was going to be my ultimate challenge, but I had to do it. Otherwise, I ran the risk of endangering her forever simply because of the hold she had on me.

  My phone’s shrill ring busted into my thoughts like a sledgehammer.

  “Devera,” I answered curtly. “What? Are you fucking kidding me? Well, why did he go back on his initial quote? Goddamn it! All right, I’ll be there in the morning.” I ended the call, even more irritated than before. The new deal was taking so long to lock down, causing so many unforeseen complications.

  One more thing to add to my plate.

  The only good thing to come out of this debacle was I would be away for a few days trying to work everything out with the developer. Which meant I wouldn’t be tempted to do or say anything rash, something I might regret later on.

  Since I’d been acting like such a dick lately, the least I could do was stop by to see her the following day before I left town.

  It was close to noon when I walked through the front door of Full Bloom. I was met by a stranger manning the front counter.

  Who the hell is she?

  The woman instantly made eye contact, but the look she gave me mirrored my own.

  Truth be told, I wasn’t used to such a reaction from women, so looking at the annoyance written all over her face threw me.

  Actually, the way she looked at me was as if I’d killed her dog.

  “Where’s Sara?” I asked, still doing my best to figure out who she was.

  Realizing she should appear to be somewhat professional, she plastered on a fake smile before answering me. “Is there anything I can help you with, sir.” The Sir tumbled from her lips as if it was poison.

  Before I came back with a retort, Sara walked into the front of the store, her head thrown over her shoulder as she yelled something back at Matt about an order.

  When she turned her head in my direction, she stopped dead in her tracks. Looking at me as if she’d seen a ghost, she grabbed onto the edge of the counter top to steady herself.

  What the hell is wrong with her?

  “Alek? What are you doing here?”

  I walked closer and reached for her hand. “Can I talk to you? Outside?”

  I didn’t even give her a chance to respond before I pulled her out the door and away from the woman shooting daggers my way. Ushering her toward the back seat of my town car, I opened th
e door. Without reservation, she stepped inside, scooting across the seat to give me some room.

  The air instantly changed. I hadn’t realized how much I missed Sara until she was two feet away from me. The skirt she was wearing rode up on her thigh when she tried to situate herself on the smooth leather of the seat. My eyes were immediately drawn to her supple skin, remembering her on top of me as she rode me the last time we were together.

  “What did you want to talk to me about?” she asked, pulling the hem of her skirt lower. Her breathing quickened when she noticed me ogling her, but she tried to seem unaffected.

  I thought she’d be all smiles and hugs and kisses when she saw me but weirdly, she looked annoyed to see me. I couldn’t blame her, really. I’d basically pulled a disappearing act on her over the past week.

  My lips parted to answer her question, but she cut me off before I could say a word. “Oh, and thanks for basically causing a scene back there, too.”

  “What are you talking about? I didn’t cause any scene.”

  What the hell is she talking about?

  “You dragged me out of there like you were pissed. Anyone can tell by looking at you that you’re annoyed and itching for a fight. So what? What’s the big problem this time?” Oh, great. I wasn’t with her two minutes before she started in on me.

  Well, let’s go, sweetheart.

  I should have allowed her the time to settle down and not fueled her bad mood because I knew I was the cause for it. It was all my fault, so I should’ve kept my mouth shut. But I didn’t. Of course.

  Instead of delving into the fact I was going away on business, I chose another topic altogether.

  “Who’s the woman?”

  “What woman?” she asked, irritation laced around each word.

  “The strange woman working the counter in your shop.” My eyes flashed anger and my body tensed as the seconds ticked by. But I kept my temper in check, knowing damn well Sara didn’t deserve any of it.

  “She’s my new employee. Her name is Megan and I hired her on part-time, on a temporary basis. If it’s any of your business,” she chided.