knows something is up, but as a professional, she doesn’t ask questions.
She takes the clothes from my hand. “He called and said he wouldn’t be in for a few days. Is there anything else you need? Anything I can do for you?”
“No, everything is okay.” I offer her a weak smile and leave for my office.
A beautiful vase of flowers sits on my desk. The envelope says, “Angel” and I know they’re from him. I collapse into my chair and stare at them.
Trevor enters my office and sits on the corner of my desk.
“Are you going to open the card, or do I have to do it?” he asks.
“I’ll open it later.”
“Hey, I know what’s going on. Em called your brother, and he told me. Are you okay?” He hops up and walks behind my chair. His hands go straight to my shoulders to massage the stress away. “Do we need to kick his ass?”
“I knew what I was getting into. If anyone needs an ass-kicking, it’s me. Damon is a good man, and I don’t want people judging him over our breakup.”
Trevor studies my face before leaving me alone.
I turn the envelope over and open it.
Katarina,
I never set out to hurt you. I adore you and can’t imagine life without you in it. Please talk to me.
Damon
He thinks I left because of the kiss. Pulling out my phone, I send the hardest text of my life.
Damon,
Thank you for the flowers. I’m not ready to face this situation head-on. Give me time. Let’s meet in a couple of weeks. How about Anthony Haywood’s at Ahz on the third? I’ll make the reservations. I hope you’re okay.
Kat
My phone pings with an incoming message.
Kat, I’m relieved to hear from you. You don’t understand how important you are. While I don’t want to wait that long, I’ll respect your wishes.
Yours,
Damon
I trace my finger over the word yours. Too bad that’s not true; he was and never will be mine.
For the next few hours, Trevor and I plan, and when I return to my office at noon, I find Greta setting lunch on my desk.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m delivering your lunch. It’s what I do.” She gives me a don’t-mess-with-me look and leaves.
I pull into the garage today and see his parking spot empty again. Every day gets a little easier. The pain is still profound, but I cry less.
The unmistakable rumble sounds behind me, so I run to the elevator. If I can get inside and push the close button, I won’t have to see him. I know seeing him will crush me. As I rush to the elevator, he climbs out of his car.
“Good morning, Katarina.” He calls after me. “How’s your day going?”
It was going fine until you sucker-punched me in the stomach by showing up this morning.
He slides into the elevator and pushes the button for my floor and his.
A smile wavers on my lips. “Good morning, Mr. Noble. I hope you have a great day.”
His eyes widen. “I asked you how your day is going.”
Despite the dark circles under his eyes, he’s still handsome, and it hurts to look at him.
“It’s just beginning, so it would be premature to say.”
The elevator stops, and I bolt as fast as I can. Standing near him is more than I can handle. The scent of him takes me to places my memory can’t visit.
I run to my desk and burst into tears.
“Katarina, are you okay?”
Trevor walks through my door, closes, and locks it. When he reaches me, he pulls me into his arms.
“Oh … Trevor,” I wail. “I thought I’d be okay, but I’m not. I saw him, and it broke my heart—again. How many times is a man allowed to do that?”
I sob so much I get hiccups.
“It’ll be okay. I know you feel you won’t survive, but you will. I had a bad breakup several years ago, and I didn’t leave my bed for a week. You’re here every day, and that proves how strong you are. You didn’t fall in love with him overnight, and you won’t fall out of love with him that fast either.”
“How long did it take before you felt like you could move on?”
“You don’t want to know. All you need to do is breathe. You did it before him, and you’ll do it after him. How about lunch today?”
“Lunch sounds great.” The universe smiled on me the day Trevor became my boss.
After we eat, Trevor declares the afternoon is paid downtime. Who am I