“Your sister says hi,” is what comes out of my mouth first.
That only deepens his confusion. “My… sister?”
“Lucy. I had lunch with her and Michelle. I didn’t get to eat, but we had an enlightening talk.”
“You did?”
I nod. “They had an interesting theory about your feelings for me.”
I actually see the blood leave his face. If that isn’t an admission of guilt, I don’t know what is. “Whatever they told you, it wasn’t their place to—”
“You’re so full of shit,” I cut him off, exasperated. “Do you know how many people are worried about you right now? Your sister changed her flight to talk to me. That’s how much she fucking cares, you dickhead.”
“I never asked for it. I can take care of myself.”
“You’re such a pompous asshole… You can’t expect people to not care about you,” I retort, hating how detached he’s trying to sound.
His eyes darken, and the side of his jaw flexes. “Did you come all this way to throw insults at my face?”
“It was part of the plan, yes,” I sarcastically answer. Fuck, this isn’t going how I imagined.
To give myself a few beats to breathe and calm down, I remove my coat and set it over the backrest of an armchair near me. All I need is an answer. Then I’ll leave, knowing if he actually loved me.
“Is it true?” I blurt out once I’m in front of him again. He doesn’t seem to understand what I mean, so I add, “What they seem to believe about your feelings for me. What Kevin apparently confirmed to Michelle. Is it true?”
My question hits him hard, and I can almost taste his irritation. Alexander Coleman doesn’t like people probing into his head. Too fucking bad because it’s precisely what I’m here for.
He doesn’t answer, his face an impregnable mask of neutrality. Oh no, I’m not falling for that trick again.
“Staying silent won’t work this time,” I insist, squinting at him as I get closer. “You tell me yes or no, Alexander.”
I’m not leaving until I know the truth, so he better give in or buckle up for a siege.
The moment this is over with, I’m calling Shelly, Kevin, and Lucy to tell them to get the fuck right out of my business and mind their own.
I realize they’re worried about me, but I’ve always been good at taking care of myself on my own. But maybe I’ve been too much of a wreck lately, so they decided to get involved and ruin everything.
We wereso closeto finally being done with this, and now here she is, asking questions I’d rather not entertain. Had she paid a little more attention, she’d realize she already has the answer. Of course, I fucking fell in love with her…
But she doesn’t know that, so she’s standing right in front of me, looking too pretty for me to resist, her dark eyes sending daggers at me. While I’ve never sought to anger her on purpose, I’ve always found her terribly attractive when she’s in such moods. It’s as if her personality shines the brightest in those moments, making her even more irresistible than she already is.
After clearing my throat, I say, “I don’t know what they told you, so—”
“You want me to spell it out for you?” she interrupts me. “They collectively seem to think that youdid, in fact, fall in love with me and that you’ve let me assume wrong.”
I might actually call them right now to ask them what the fuck is wrong with them. They know how much I dislike having my personal life meddled with, but they went and did this…
“Would it change anything?” I ask.
Her eyebrows twitch, doubt flashing in her eyes. “It would changeeverything.”
“How?”
“At least I’d know I wasn’t completely crazy, Lex. I’d know I didn’t imagine something that wasn’t there.”
There’s a pause, a moment of heavy silence, where I try to think of a way to get out of this unscathed. “Andrea, you have to believe me when I say I’m doing all this for you.”
“That’s bullshit.”
