Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 114775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 574(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 574(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Actually, it’s feeling close to explosion now, so I focus on cleaning the coffee machine.
I’m halfway through cleaning it when Zayn has finished, and now, John Legend is singing “All of Me.” I’m getting all emotional, singing along to the lyrics, wishing someone—okay, Kas—felt that way about me, thought those things about me, when the door chimes, opening.
Who’s that? I put the Closed sign up. Some people just don’t pay attention.
Sucking in a breath, blinking my eyes clear, I turn around. “I’m sorry. We’re clo—” The words die on my tongue, and my heart falls out of my chest.
“Kas,” I breathe his name, like I expect him to disappear in a puff of smoke.
“Hi, Daisy.” His words are soft, tentative.
And my brain is failing me.
I don’t know how many times I’ve pictured this scenario in my head. That I’d be here late, and he’d walk in, telling me that he missed me. That he regretted leaving. That he couldn’t get over me. That he loved me. And then I would jump into his arms, and he’d kiss me. Then, everything would be like it was.
I watch too many chick flicks, I know.
But he is here. And, now, I can’t move or speak or do anything but stare at him.
He looks exactly the same. Like no time has passed at all.
I’m suddenly conscious of how I look.
Dressed in black trousers and a black polo shirt with the coffee shop’s logo. My hair is tied back into a messy bun. I have no makeup on because I cried it all off earlier.
I look terrible.
And he looks beautiful.
His hair is shorter than it used to be, and he has some serious stubble going on. I always did love stubble on him. He’s wearing a checkered navy-blue suit with a white shirt. Similar to what he was wearing the first day I met him.
And he looks like everything I ever wanted but never got to have. Not really.
I’m still staring at him. I’m afraid to blink in case this is all a mirage conjured up by my desperate imagination, and he won’t be here when I open my eyes.
Damn air-conditioning dries my eyes, and I blink.
When my eyes open, he’s still here.
“How…where…how?” I’m stammering. I stop and take a deep breath, resting my palm on the counter. The cool top calms me some.
He’s here. He’s really here.
I blow the breath out and look over at him. “How have you been?” My voice is hoarse.
He lifts a shoulder. His eyes are fixed on mine. “You know…” He trails off, not actually answering my question. “You look great, Daisy. Beautiful. But then you always do. And you look like you’re doing well.” He gestures to the shop.
I try not to let the beautiful comment get to me, and instead, I focus on the fact that I get the distinct impression that he knows it’s my coffee shop. How he would know that, I have no clue. But then Kas always did have a way of just knowing things.
“I’m doing okay.” Never got over you. Spent the last three years pining for you. But, aside from that, I’m just peachy.
He smiles. And my heart ruptures.
“How’s Jesse?” he asks.
“Good.” I smile. “He starts university on Monday.”
“Which university?”
“Birmingham.”
“What’s he studying?”
“Law,” I say proudly.
He smiles. “And how’s Cece?”
“She’s great. Why are you here?” The words come out sharper than I intended. But I don’t regret them.
I do want to know why he’s here. Over three years and not a word. And then he just turns up on what has been a hard and emotional day, screwing with my head even more.
There’s a momentary look of surprise in his eyes at my blunt question, but he quickly recovers. “I’m here for you.”
My heart shimmies in my chest. “For me?” I take a breath. “I don’t understand.”
“I think you do.”
“No, I don’t.” I shake my head. “So, you’re going to have to clarify for me.”
And I want him to be specific. Very specific. Because I don’t want to misunderstand a word he’s saying.
My heart broke for him once before, and it never recovered. I don’t want to give myself hope, only for my heart to break a second time.
“I left to ensure that you’d get Jesse back. To give you both a chance at the life you deserved. I stayed away because it was the right thing to do. Jesse needed you. And I was fucked up, Daisy. I was fucked up when you met me. And I wasn’t getting fixed anytime soon. I’d been that way for so long that it was all I knew. Then, it was over. And I was lost. When you’ve lived on revenge for so long and then you have it, you think you should feel amazing. And you do for that brief moment. But then that passes, and you just feel lost. There’s no purpose anymore, just the memories of everything in the past.”