Page 25 of The Runaway Bride and the Billionaire

On days when Agnes wasn’t around, silence would reign between Amelia and me. We could both be in a room, moving around and existing around each other but never interacting, it was as if we’d become two parallel lines. Our paths never crossed.

We might see each other in passing but we never spoke. I hoped this would be the solution to our problem. I hoped this distance would keep us from making the mistake we made a few days ago. Things may be awkward like this but they were safer.

Amelia hadn’t heard back from Phoenix Consulting so she spent most of her days at home. I did my best to leave early and come back late so we could avoid seeing each other as much as possible. It helped but there was still a part of me that longed to kiss her.

Even when we were in the same room and we weren’t speaking, I still felt something pulling me to her. That was whyI did my best to put even more distance between us. It was the only solution I could think of.

But I could feel a slip-up coming. One day I wouldn’t be able to stay away from her anymore.

Chapter 13

Amelia

Matteo and I hadn’t spoken since our kiss. I knew he considered it a mistake, but I couldn’t bring myself to think the same. How could I when all I could think about was his lips against my own?

That brief kiss brought everything I’d been running away from to the surface. It had awakened parts of myself I was trying to eliminate. I’d been trying to ignore my feelings for him, trying to run away from my overwhelming attraction to him. I’d been successful for a while, but one kiss had tossed all my effort into the garbage.

Now, I thought about him constantly and I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to give Matteo that much power over me, but it was too late.

A few days after the kiss, I laid in bed still thinking about it. I tossed and turned as memories of the kiss assaulted me. vivid memories that lit my body on fire and made me want to forget everything and go to him.

I fantasized about the moment he pulled me to him and how his body was pressed up against my own. It had been so long since I’d experienced that kind of spark. Despite all my efforts, my desire for Matteo was still very much a part of me.

I turned my head to look at the door. I didn’t know if Matteo was home or not because I’d barely left my room. I only stepped out briefly to get breakfast. Agnes was as kind as she always was and thankfully, she had the good sense not to ask me about what happened between Matteo and me.

The last thing I wanted was to explain our complicated situation to anyone. I could barely explain it to myself. Agnes and I only ever spoke about my current hunt for a job. I preferred it that way. I told her all about my interviews while making sure to leave out the parts that featured Matteo.

I sighed and shifted my gaze back to the ceiling. My heartbeat thrummed at a steady pace even though my mind raced at a million miles per hour. If only Phoenix Consulting had offered me the job. At least then I would have somewhere to go instead of spending my days in bed thinking about Matteo. I’d started considering taking the assistant job I’d been offered but my gut told me to be patient.

I had a strong feeling I would get the job at Phoenix Consulting. Sadly, as more time passed, I began to doubt that feeling. I wondered what I would do if I lost on both ends. What would I do if Phoenix Consulting didn’t hire me and the time I wasted caused me to lose the assistant job I’d been offered?

I didn’t have an answer to that question so I simply sighed again. I’d been trying to sleep for hours but my dreams were plagued by two things. Sometimes I saw the look on Matteo’sface after our kiss. It was a look of pure disgust and regret. That look haunted me and prevented me from falling asleep. It was like a ghost that chased me through the dream world, never truly letting me have peace.

Other times I was haunted by the possibility of my parents finding out about my latest failure. If my dad found out I’d failed two interviews, he would use it as an excuse to get me to come back home. He would tell me there was no point chasing the dream of independence. He would convince me to come home and go back to living life in accordance with his will.

What he didn’t know was that nothing would make me go back. Even if I failed over and over again. I would rather keep trying than give up and go home. I just hoped I would have the strength to stand my ground when my father inevitably tried to make me come home.

My phone chimed but I ignored it. I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. Plus I was pretty sure the message was from my father. He’d been asking about how I was coping, clearly looking for a slip-up he could exploit. If I complained to him about my struggles to find a job, he would tell me that I didn’t need to find a job. He would tell me to just come home and resume working for him.

I was never going to do that, and I decided it was time to let my father know. I reached for my phone and unlocked it. I was surprised to discover that the message wasn’t from my father. It was actually an email.

An email from Phoenix Consulting.

I sat up so quickly that I knocked one of my pillows to the ground. I didn’t care though. All that mattered was the content of the email. I read through as quickly as I could, scanning over the long text to pick out the important words.

One word in particular stood out. Congratulations.

I screamed so loudly that I was fairly certain my windows developed a few cracks. I was so incredibly happy that I didn’t care if they shattered to pieces. I finally had a job and it was at an incredible company.

“I have to tell Agnes about this,” I said to myself as I jumped out of bed. She knew all about my recent efforts to get a job and she’d been incredibly supportive.

I walked to the door with a huge smile on my face. I was bursting with excitement and I couldn’t wait to share the good news. I was tempted to throw my windows open and scream at the top of my lungs.

This was the first real job I’d gotten in my life and it meant everything to me. I was certain Agnes would also be thrilled to hear that I got the job which was why I wanted to tell her first.

I pulled my door open but I paused when I saw Matteo standing there. His presence made me momentarily confused. I’d assumed he was at work so I didn’t expect to see him in the house, let alone outside my room door.

He coughed lightly before he spoke. “I heard you scream and I… I came to check on you. I was worried you were hurt but now that I see you’re okay, I’ll get going.”

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