Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 135847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
“You’re allowed to have emotion around this,” he reminded me. “It’s bizarre she doesn’t seem to realize you would.”
“She doesn’t seem to realize it.”
“Have you heard from Oskar or Emilie?”
“Emilie is freezing me out, which I am completely okay with. Oskar has been blowing up my texts since I left dinner with Mom last night.”
“He needs to back the fuck off,” Hale growled.
“I’ve blocked him,” I shared. “Just for a while. I can’t deal with him right now.”
“Good call. How’s your dad?”
“He seems great. I’m going home to have dinner with him on Wednesday.”
“Is he cooking?”
“Yes.”
“Fortunate, since it seems your culinary skills begin and end with being able to toast a bagel,” he teased.
I was relieved to have something to smile about.
“I have other skills you seem to enjoy,” I noted.
“Yeah, you do,” he agreed, his voice silky and warm, coating me all over.
It sounded good.
But the real thing was so much better.
“No pressure, no weirdness,” I started softly, “just want you to know, I miss you.”
Hale kept it light.
And hot.
Which both worked for me and was a disappointment.
“I’m sensing where this is coming in our conversation is that what you miss is my cock.”
“I miss him too. He’s very pretty.”
I listened, and loved doing it, as Hale chuckled.
Okay, so I made him laugh, I could let it slide how he blew it off when I told him I missed him.
Then he said, “I miss you too, sweetheart.”
When he said that, I let out a mental breath I didn’t know I was holding, and it felt really good to do it.
We moved on to talk about a variety of things, including his schedule, which was taking him to Bangalore next, then Brussels, before he had to be back in LA for a variety of meetings at Corza’s headquarters there.
“Are you going to be able to wedge any fun in anywhere?” I asked cautiously.
“I have a high school friend who lives in Bruges. I’ve never had the time to visit him when I was in Belgium, but I got in touch with him and I’m going to take a day to head over there. He’s going to show me around. And he promises, outside the scenery, it won’t be anything like the movie.”
I laughed, hoping it didn’t sound as relieved as I felt that at least he was going to spend one day in the twenty-one he’d be away from me doing something fun.
“Send pictures. I hear it’s amazing.”
“Me too. I’m looking forward to it.”
“I’m glad.”
We talked more and made another phone date for the next Saturday before we hung up.
I was mildly disappointed there was no phone sex, but by the end, he’d sounded distracted, so I let him go.
It stung.
But he had a busy life.
I had a busy life.
And I’d talk to him in a week, not to mention hear from him in between.
I’d be okay.
We’d be okay.
And in two weeks, I’d be in LA.
And I’d have the real thing.
Him…
He’d indulged himself and not turned on his phone when they landed in Brussels.
Now he was in his hotel suite, and all he wanted was a G&T, some room service, and bed before he had to be up and out to help do the legwork for Trail Blazer on a local initiative.
There was an organization based in Brussels that helped young people whose family resources wouldn’t normally allow them the opportunity to learn European history through tours that visited historically significant places all over the continent.
Rix was landing in the morning because it was Rix who had found this organization, which was struggling, since their expenses were so high. They’d already cut back on services and were in danger of having to close their doors.
Rix wanted to save it by putting it under the Trail Blazer umbrella.
So they were both going to listen to a pitch the next afternoon.
Core Point’s European headquarters were in Brussels, so Hale was killing two birds with one stone.
Using the fully stocked bar in his suite, he made his G&T, called down his order for room service, texted Rocco he’d ordered it (protocol, he’d learned, Rocco was traveling with him and he didn’t let anything in Hale’s room until he’d inspected it).
Then, solely because he knew Elsa had probably connected with him, and he wanted to return that for her, he turned on his phone.
The usual onslaught of texts, voicemails and emails downloaded.
But there were only two that caught his eye.
The texts from Elsa.
And a voicemail from his mother.
He was surprised to hear from Sam. Their relationship had always been rocky, but it was mostly non-existent after she pulled that shit on the Elsa Exchange.
He decided to get the worst out of the way and listened to Sam’s voicemail.
“I hear two things,” she said, her tone even on voicemail snide. “My son is coming home soon, and I didn’t know about it, per usual. And he’s dating someone, and I didn’t know about that either. If you could manage to carve out some time to visit your mother, Hale, it’d be appreciated. I mean, really, isn’t it time we moved beyond you being angry with me?”