“I’m in bed.”
“Did I wake you? Were you sleeping?”
“No, I was waiting for your call. You told me to be naked and in bed, so I am.”
I groaned and the taxi driver shot me a look in the mirror.
“Fucking traffic,” I spat.
“Where are you?”
“In the back of a cab. The traffic’s a bitch. I shouldn’t be too much longer. I just couldn’t wait to hear your voice.”
“It’s fine. There’s no rush.” I hadn’t told her about my 8p.m. conference call because I didn’t want her thinking I was fitting her in amongst other things or that there was a time limit to our call. “How was your day?”
“Good, actually. I saw Andrew for lunch and I got a lot done.”
“How are he and Mandy?”
“Good. They want to see you when you come over. I’m going to have dinner with them one night this week.”
“I’m glad you have them.”
“Me too. I left something for you, in the top drawer, where my stuff used to be. Go take a look.”
Anna
“You did? What is it?” I asked.
“Go take a look,” he repeated.
I scrambled out of bed, went over to Ethan’s drawer and pulled it open. The sight of the almost-empty space made my stomach flip. Another reminder that he wasn’t here anymore. But it wasn’t completely empty. There was a small orange box stamped with the now familiar Hermès logo. I grinned, grabbed it and headed back to bed.
“Did you find it?”
“I did. You don’t need to buy me gifts.”
“I want to. I think you’re the only girl ever born who complains about getting gifts.”
“I’m not complaining. I just don’t want you to think you have to.”
“I want to. Do you like it?”
“I’ve not opened it.”
“We should be doing this by video call or something. I want to see you.”
“Three weeks. Where are you now?”
“We’re just pulling in. Open your gift.”
I did. I loved that he’d thought about leaving me something when he was gone. He was good at this boyfriendthing, even if he hadn’t had much practice. It was a beautiful blue enamel bracelet. “God, Ethan, I love it. Thank you.”
“Put it on. I want to imagine you in nothing but a bracelet.”
I grinned at the thought of being his fantasy. And his reality. “It fits beautifully, thank you. I’ll send you a picture.”
The sound of the street echoed more clearly on the other end of the phone. “Where are you?”
