Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 105850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
“Let me know if you have time on Sunday, all right?”
“I will. I’ll talk to you later.” I hung up and put my phone down, then let out a big sigh.
Was he really jealous? If so, what was he even jealous over? I’d clearly and decisively turned Lennon down, and like I’d just said to Heidi, I’d even told him I was seeing someone.
Unless Heidi had it completely twisted, and Theo wasn’t jealous but instead put out by me saying that. What if he thought I had the wrong idea about our relationship? I knew perfectly well that our personal relationship was nothing but sex.
There was nothing to be jealous about.
I sat up and propped my chin up on my hand, turning my attention back to my email. What had been a mere inconvenience earlier now felt completely overwhelming. All these people needed my attention, some more urgently than others, yet all I could think about was Theo.
A day and a half.
Could I make it that long? Or was it better to get out of here sooner rather than later?
I opened a new tab in the browser and brought up the airline’s website. I logged in and brought up my flight details, then selected the ‘change flight’ option on the sidebar.
Please. Please. Please.
A late flight was open for tomorrow night, and my eyes widened as I clicked on it. The available seats were all worse than the one I had booked on Saturday morning, but I didn’t care. Even the extra charge didn’t bother me as I selected to change my flight for the earlier one.
Right.
That was fine.
I just needed to get through another twenty-four hours, and then I would be able to breathe again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT – CHLOE
London Calling
I made it.
Somehow, I made it through twenty-four hours with barely exchanging a word with Theo. As I’d thought, he’d been out almost all day on Friday, and the only real conversation we’d had had consisted of me telling him I would be leaving early.
I’d landed late last night and immediately returned to my flat. It was cold and dreary compared to the warmth of Buckley Cottage, and I wasn’t sure that warmth extended solely to the temperature.
Being alone after four weeks of near constant companionship was quite jarring.
Or maybe it was because of the person I’d been with.
Even sleeping had felt somewhat strange, despite how tired I’d been after my rush to the airport. I was so used to Theo being down the hall and hearing him moving about—not to mention that most nights over the past week had been us sleeping together.
Even after our little disagreement on Thursday night there’d been comfort in hearing him shuffling around the cottage.
But now, as I stood in my familiar kitchen, scooping beans into my coffee machine, I was very, very alone.
There was no creaking of floorboards as he walked across the upstairs hallway. No rush of water from the shower or sink. No mumbling about something under his breath as he organised his thoughts.
Even with the sound of the coffee machine whirring to life, it was too quiet.
When had I become so accustomed to Theo being around?
Was I missing him right now?
Shit.
I was.
I was missing him.
I took my cup from the machine and wandered back into the living room. For a moment, I almost turned back to make another cup before remembering that there was nobody to make one for.
There was just me.
Ha.
This was a mess.
To think I’d come back for Aunt Fizz’s birthday to clear my head and end up even more confused.
How was it that I was missing him this much already? How was I going to cope when, in two weeks, our little cohabitation period was over?
More to the point, why was I missing him so much? Was it comfort? Or was it my sneaky little feelings rearing their head?
The latter terrified me. I didn’t want to feel anything like this for him. There was no way me liking Theo romantically would ever end up well—it would complicate every facet of my life.
I said that like having sex with him didn’t do that very thing.
I finished my coffee, sighed, and headed upstairs to the bathroom to shower. Thankfully, I’d bought all my toiletries when we’d arrived in Buckley Heath, so my bathroom was still well-stocked with the necessities.
I showered quickly, brushed my teeth, and shuffled back to my bedroom. I was in no rush—Aunt Fizz’s party wasn’t until later, but I had a very important date with my bed.
Namely sitting on it for the next forty-five minutes in nothing but a towel while I air-dried.
I sat down and grabbed my phone from the pillow. Heidi had said to save her some time tomorrow, but I wasn’t sure I could spend this day alone. I fired off a quick text to her asking if she was around, and my phone buzzed just mere seconds later.