Seduced by the Sheik (The Raminar Family #1)- Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,55

blinking back tears, and focused on her boss standing in her doorway. “I’m sorry?” It had been so long since she’d left Amit, and it hadn’t gotten easier. She still felt as if she was constantly on the brink of tears.

Her boss, Leslie Meyers, stepped further into her room and pointed to the picture pinned on the board behind her. “That picture,” she started, admiring the lines and shadows. “It’s stunning. You look…” Leslie tilted her head slightly. “You look like you’re in love with whoever drew that portrait.”

Harper turned and looked at the picture, unaware of her fingers reaching out to touch the drawing. “It was…”

“The guy from Izara?” Leslie probed, a softness to her voice that was rare in the no-nonsense leader.

Harper turned away and blinked hard. “Yes. He drew it.”

“Is it true?” Leslie asked, bringing Harper’s attention sharply back to her. “Is he in love with you?”

For a moment, her heart thudded happily in her chest. Then she remembered Amit’s expression when she’d told him that she was leaving. It had been blank. No expression, no love, no anger. Not even irritation that she’d interrupted his day. Harper sighed, the sadness seeping through her bones. “No. He…doesn’t really feel anything but…well. No. He’s not in love with me.”

Leslie sat down in one of the chairs. “What about that lesson plan you put together last year, about the various languages of love?”

There was a burst of laughter and Harper realized that it came from her. “Um…yes. Each person has a love language. A way of showing another person how they feel when…” Her voice trailed off as she realized what she was saying.

Leslie filled in the blanks. “When they can’t verbally express themselves effectively?”

There was a long silence as Harper took in what her friend and boss had just revealed. “Yes,” she croaked, turning back to the picture. Her image! She looked in love and Harper knew that she’d love Amit until the day she died. For the past several weeks, she’d hoped and prayed that this sharp stab of pain every time she thought about the tall, ruggedly handsome, mostly silent, intimidating, and generous lover would ease. But it hadn’t. For so long, she’d told herself that she just needed time. Time to get over him. Time to heal. Time to get back to her normal routines.

But so far, time hadn’t worked its usual magic. In fact, the more time she’d spent away from Amit, the more painful everything became. She wanted to feel his arms around her. She wanted to press her face into his chest and feel his hands on her back, in her hair, along her…!

“His language of love is drawing and…” she stopped, blinking at Leslie with a startled expression. “And touching!”

Leslie smiled. “I can’t even imagine what that tall, gorgeous hunk of masculinity was like in bed,” she said, then laughed when Harper glared at her. “Sorry, not going there. But seriously,” she forcefully wiped the smile off her face, “if he loves you and,” she glanced behind Harper at the picture again, “you obviously love him…and that picture indicates that the subject is madly in love with the artist because that is obviously drawn by the hand of a man madly in love…why are you here?”

Harper swallowed, fighting back tears as well as the acid taste of failure at the realization that she’d messed up royally. “Because my job, my life, is here. This is what I do, Leslie. I’ve worked too hard to create my life and my reputation to throw it all away.”

Leslie shifted in the chair, huffing a bit. “Harper, you’ve worked for this agency for what…three years now?”

“Three and a half,” Harper corrected, wondering where her boss was going with this.

Leslie waved away the additional six months. “Fine. Three and a half years. So obviously, you worked somewhere else before this, right?”

Harper blinked. “Of course!”

Leslie smiled gently, leaning forward as she continued. “Honey, my point is that you can work anywhere. Your skills transfer. So I ask again, why are you here?” she asked, emphasizing the last four words.

For a long moment, Harper couldn’t answer. Why was she here? Why had she left the man she loved? Staring at the picture, her heart hammered painfully in her chest. When she turned back to her boss, she opened her mouth but Leslie cut her off.

“Go!” she laughed. “You are extremely talented and your patients will miss you. But go! Take your own advice and take care of yourself!