Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32320 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32320 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
“That’s not true.” Except, maybe…
Reid’s mouth formed a hard line. “Lie to yourself, but I know the truth. Love is hard. It’s not some cotton candy fantasy where everything falls into place and no one makes a mistake. We all fuck up. Did you love Gideon?”
“Yes.” She’d loved him, still fucking loved him despite her better judgment. But he wasn’t the only one she loved.
“Then you should have fought. I’m not saying you should have fallen to his feet and begged him to love you. But you didn’t even fight to save the friendship you say was so important to you. You didn’t try to figure out why a man who always treated you with love and affection would say something designed to hurt you. You dropped him and, as far as I can tell, you didn’t look back. Do you want to know what he was doing the morning you left? Gideon showed up with a huge bouquet of lilies the day you quit. He wore his best suit, with a tie and everything. When I gave him your note, he walked into his office. I didn’t see him for the rest of the day. He canceled everything and sat there staring at those flipping flowers.”
“He felt bad because we were friends,” Jessica said woodenly. But now she was thinking. Had she been wrong to leave? What had been going through her head? She’d gone into full-on protection mode. She’d pulled a shell over herself. Had it been fair—to Gideon—to herself?
Reid looked vaguely disappointed in her. “He felt bad because he realized how good it could have been. He went into a six-month funk because he knew he’d lost you. He didn’t love Anna, Jessica. He loves you. If you can’t forgive him, you need to tell him and let him go.”
“That’s not fair,” she said, scrambling up. “Why do I get some timeline?”
“Because I’m damn tired of waiting for the two of you to get your shit together,” Reid spat out. He took a deep breath. “Sorry. I’m a bit stressed. I shouldn’t have even opened this line of discussion. Gideon’s going to be upset with me. He has the right to tell you his secrets. Look, how about we shelve this discussion until tomorrow night. Gideon and I would like to take you to dinner. I scheduled something private. The three of us can talk, and we’ll get everything out in the open. You can’t make a decision until you know the whole truth. Can you do that?”
He was staring at her intently, as though he could imprint his will on her. She nodded. She wasn’t sure what they wanted her to understand, but she was willing to listen. “I’ll go to dinner with you and Gideon. But I don’t understand why I can’t go tonight.”
Reid got up and straightened his clothes. “It’s a couples only night.”
“Orgy night then.” Maybe it was for the best. She had a lot to think about. “Fine. I’m probably not ready for an orgy anyway.”
He muttered something under his breath that sounded like “never,” but he was all polished elegance when he leaned over to kiss her forehead. “Good night. I’ll come back later and tuck you in.”
Forty minutes later, she stood in front of the window and watched the snow. It made pretty patterns on the glass. She thought about everything Reid had said. She thought about the way Gideon had patiently tried to teach her how to ski earlier in the day. She was never going to get past the bunny slopes. Still, it had been a wonderful afternoon. Gideon and Reid had been beside her every minute. When she fell, one of them was there to catch her. It made her feel so safe.
What did they want to talk to her about? More than likely, they wanted her to come back to work. She knew from Reid that they’d only used temps to fill in, and sporadically at that. Reid had to do a lot of the day-to-day stuff himself, and it had to be driving him crazy. He was happier poring over contracts and arguing points of the law. Gideon was a complete loss when it came to organization. He had a brilliant legal mind, but he could barely find his desk in the morning.
Could she work with Gideon again? After Reid’s speech, she thought she could. She’d missed him terribly. What if they could start over again?
There was a knock on her door. She turned from the winter wonderland outside and walked across the suite. She opened the door, expecting to see Reid there.
“Hi.” Master Erik stood in the doorway. He looked scrumptious in dark jeans and a black open throated dress shirt. He had a bottle of wine and two glasses in his hand. His brown eyes took in her pajama bottoms, tank top, and cardigan. She was painfully aware of the fuzzy slippers on her feet.