nickname for our old lender better. Le’Bitch. We dated; she wanted more,” he growls.
“You should come with a warning.”
“Abby suggested a tattoo.” He laughs.
“Property of Kara Nicholson?” I poke him with the only ex who’s ever mattered in his life. A little payback for not giving me a heads up about Abby.
“Shut the fuck up.” His face turns red. The vein on his temple is about to pop. “Let’s just keep this moving. I’m about to close down.”
He takes a deep breath, glaring at me. “Are you going to stick around?”
I check the time. “I’m leaving, but I’ll see you at the house.”
— — —
After what happened to Abby, I couldn’t sleep well at home. I tried moving back to my parents’ house. It was depressing to live in their mansion. Eight rooms and not a soul to keep me company. Maybe that’s another reason why I drank so much. Once I sobered up, I found a rare gem. A penthouse located in the heart of Cherry Creek North. It’s too big for me. I invited Sterling to move in with me. He accepted only if he could pay for half the property.
By my calculations, I live just fifteen minutes away from Abby. How long has she been living here? I can’t believe we haven’t bumped into each other when I’m in town. How is it possible? Sterling should’ve said something by now.
How long have they been this close? I feel betrayed, yet at the same time, relieved that Abby had someone to lean on during the past few years.
As I arrive at home, I find Oakley, my dog, sitting right beside the door waiting for me with her leash between her teeth. This girl owns me, and with those beautiful eyes, I can’t deny her a walk. I never can.
“You want to go for a walk?”
She nods giving me a slight glare.
“I wanted to hit the gym,” I tell her, hooking the leash to her collar. “But you know who was there, at Sterling’s opening.”
Oakley huffs and shakes her head.
“I know, I said I wouldn’t talk about Abby again, but I didn’t expect to see her.”
She responds with a bark. I don’t know if it means Oak wants to meet Abby or wants me to shut up. I stick to the latter. This walk should help me work through all the emotions vying for space in my body.
Frustration, anger, and pain.
I’ll call my therapist tomorrow. This time I’m not pushing away my feelings. If I plan on fixing our relationship, I have to ask for help and start processing my emotions. There’s so much I wanted to say when I saw her, but instead, I froze. I envisioned this encounter happening so differently. I’d take her into my arms, kiss her, breathe in her scent.
She swears we’re over, but we’re far from it. The magnetic force between us is as strong as it was three years ago. There’s no way to ignore it.
Does she really not care? Has she been able to forget me?
It’s been three years and yet the taste of her remains on my lips. The sound of her voice plays in my head, like a song composed only for me. I crave her mind, her soul, and her body.
It’s no wonder I feel unbalanced after being so close to her. There’s so much I wanted to get out of my system, and I failed.
“Hey, I figured you’d be walking your mutt.” Sterling walks toward us.
Oakley growls at Sterling. They tolerate each other, but there’s no love between them.
“Oak doesn’t appreciate being called a mutt.”
“Chester does, and he’s a purebred.”
“Who is Chester?” I frown.
“Abby’s pup,” he says casually, looking around the area. “This place is dead, and it’s not even eleven.”
“It’s a weekday,” I remind him. “How’d it go overall?”
“Great. I sold all the pieces we had for sale. A few people asked for my card. They’re interested in commissioning some sculptures.” He rubs his arms. “It’s chilly tonight. How long are you in town for?”
“I leave tomorrow.” I curse under my breath. I won’t be able to see Abby until I’m back. “We have the pre-launch of the new video game next Friday.”
“Is everything all right with Ahern Inc.?”
“Seems strange that you’d care,” I chuckle.
Before I lost control of myself and subsequently the company, Sterling didn’t give a shit about the business.
“Do you have any idea what I went through to keep that forsaken place afloat while you were fucking around?”
It wasn’t obvious, but the guy