Page 74 of Until He Confesses

She received it immediately and lifted her screen to take a look. I watched her reading to see what her reaction would be.

"As discussed," I said, and she neared the end, and then she lifted her gaze to meet mine.

“This is quite official," she said, and I nodded.

"It's serious business."

"I'll have to think further about it," she said, and I noted that we weren't in any rush.

"I'll leave now," she said and went back into the bathroom. I didn't expect anything different, she would take a bit of rest, see her mother, and reassess things. And then she would come to me with her decision. I was in no rush, and I wasn't desperate either. I couldn't be when it came to her. That was a line drawn in the sand that I would never cross. Eventually, she said her goodbyes to me, and I watched as she texted, then left the room, shutting the door behind her.

34

CALLIE

“You’re distracted.”

A corner of my mind registered the words, but I was indeed distracted because I didn't respond, not until she tapped my arm and I finally looked up from the apple I was peeling for her.

“You're going to chop your finger off,” she said, and I wondered what she was talking about.

“What do you mean?” I said and worked up a smile, and she shook her head.

“This has to do with Lucas, doesn't it?” she asked.

I stared at her, and then I smiled.

I fed her a piece which she chewed as she watched me, and then she swallowed. The slight wince alarmed me, but she assured me that she was fine.

“You're not going to talk, so I won't inquire further, but can I at least see him to thank him for flying you over?”

At her request, I frowned.

“You don't have to do that.”

“Yes, I do,” she said. “I want to, and I'm not doing it for you. I know him too, remember?”

There was absolutely no way I was going to let this happen, however, when she shut her eyes and turned away, I gave her a dry look.

I briefly left the room and took a little trip to the restroom. On my way, I considered the request. I had no idea if he was still in town, and I had to admit that I might need to find out.

Sure, we could communicate via phone, but I was stressed and thus couldn't stop thinking about just how his touch was able to completely drain the stress away from my body.

Truly, I was my own worst enemy because, despite all my reservations, I knew that my memory wouldn't let me look away from him and from his proposition. Sure, his stipulation that I couldn't quit unless I found someone was concerning, but he couldn't really enforce it. Could he? There was absolutely no way to tell, and if he could, then I could always go on one of Anna's forced dates and feign a connection with someone or the other.

This all seemed like a complication to my life that was quite foreign to me, but as I pulled out my phone to send him a message, I had to admit that a small part of me that I wanted to ignore was excited.

He was rich, drop-dead gorgeous, and safe.

I wanted to turn off my brain until things truly stopped making sense, and I didn't hesitate anymore from conveying my mother's request.

Me: Are you still in town?

I didn't know if he would respond, but a few minutes later, as I sipped on the bottle of water I had purchased, he did.

Lucas: Yes. I'll be heading back to New York tomorrow.

I was supposed to be working on that flight and I had yet to call the company to inform them of the emergency. This was necessary to do since I would have to be taking a little time off because of my mother.