Page 10 of Be My Reason

“Wow!” I’m dumbstruck. I nod my head and say, “I’m so proud of you Emma Crawford. What a big step for womankind.” I look around almost sad for all of the guys at this conference that won’t get to brag to their friends about the things they did with my BFF this week.

“Ha.We’ll see. Right now I have to get to my next session. This one only lasts forty-five minutes and then I’m done for today.” She starts to walk away before she adds, “I’ll meet you right here after, okay?” I nod and open up my book again when my phone chirps.

A text from Kaitlyn.I smile. I wasn’t going to check in with her for another—I check my watch—fifteen minutes.

Kaitlyn:Just letting u know b4 u bombard me with ur worried texts and calls that everything is going great. Good morning crowd today. Delivery went well. No need to call, I got this!!!

Me:K you are my absolute favorite employee. Remind me to take you to dinner when I get back. Hugs

Kaitlyn:Lyn, I’m your ONLY employee so that doesn’t hold a lot of weight. U know I love u and I’ll take u up on that dinner. Later.

Thirty minutes and two chapters later, eye fatigue sets in and I check my watch.It’s almost time to meet Emma. I get up to find the nearest bathroom. A few minutes later, after I wash up, I’m walking out to look for Emma. There are a lot of people standing around now and I realize the conference must be over for the day.

I’mwandering through the people, slowly making my way over to where Emma left me before, when my eyes catch those of a guy who is looking at me from across the room. He looks familiar. What is it about him? He is totally checking me out. Yes, my athletic legs look good in this pencil skirt.Mental high five. His eyes travel further north.Oh, crap. I realize who he is. He is Mr. Playboy from earlier. The nerve of him, is two not enough? His eyes reach my face and he stares at me for a long moment and then his face pales—actually loses all color—and his mouth drops open as he runs his right hand through a mess of dirty-blonde hair.

Oh God, no, no, no.My heart sinks. I try to catch my breath and my hand comes up to cover my mouth to muffle the shocking cry coming out of it. I turn in the opposite direction and walk as fast as my three-inch heels will allow. I hear him call from far behind me, “Brooklyn, wait!”

Oh God, that voice. That voice that has haunted my dreams for eight years. I walk even faster. I’m almost at a full-on run when I see Emma appear in a doorway.

Her smile drops immediately when she lays eyes on me.“What’s wrong, Lyn?”

“I have to get out of here,” Isay, flying past her. I look over my shoulder and see that nobody is following me, but that doesn’t slow down my exit. I have to get out of the building. Now. The walls are closing in on me and I start to feel sick. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. So I run.

“Lyn, wait!” Emma yells behind me. Her plea does nothing to slow me down.

I reach the exit, plow through the glass door and am temporarily blinded by the bright light of the setting sun but I keep going, unsure if I’m even headed in the direction of Emma’s car. I don’t really care as long as I’m leaving behind the one person who had wrecked me, scarred me and left me gutted unlike any other.

I’m not sure how long I’ve been running when it dawns on me that my feet hurt.I look around and don’t know where I am. I glance back to see what is now a small building behind me in the distance and what appears to be Emma, still trying to catch up with me, her stilettos no match for my more practical wedges. I slip in between two large SUVs and crouch down to try to catch my breath and absorb what has just happened. Did I even see him? Did that really happen? Am I sure it was him?

“Lyn!”Emma is frantic when she finds me cowering among the vehicles. “What the hell is happening? Talk to me,” she demands.

I’m bent at the waist still trying to catch my breath.I can feel a bead of sweat trickle down between my breasts. I hold up a finger asking her to wait while I compose myself. I close my eyes and hope that what just happened was a hallucination or some weird phenomenon due to being in a strange city with unfamiliar people.

Breathe, Lyn. I grab a chunk of hair on the right side of my head and twist it. One . . . two . . . three . . . four . . . five. I’m starting to calm down. I do the ritual two more times.

Emma is patiently waiting and I can tell she doesn’t know what to do.She looks ready to cry. I need to tell her what I think just happened. I’m not sure I can even say the words. I look up at her and feel wetness roll down my cheeks. I whisper the two words I never thought I would say again. “Nate Riley.” And then I spectacularly lose my lunch all over the shiny wheels of some poor guy’s new Tahoe.

Chapter Three

After checking in at the hotel that is right around the corner from the convention hall, we go up to our two-bedroom suite that Emma has graciously paid for. I am silently grateful that she has her own room in case she decides to have any late-night company. The suite is tastefully decorated with contemporary art and large but comfortable looking furniture. It smells like lilies, thanks to the large flower arrangement adorning the coffee table.

I thank the concierge for bringing in my bag and then immediately head into the bathroom to clean up my vomit-spattered shoes.They are my favorite wedges or I would simply throw them in the trash.

Once I’m sure they are perfectly clean, I glance up into the mirror to see my pale mascara-streaked face complete with puffy eyes.God, Lyn, you are pathetic. Did I really just throw up, in a public place no less, over a guy? I guy I haven’t seen in eight years? That is plain stupid. I think it must have been food poisoning from that greasy drive-thru cheeseburger I had for lunch. I clean up my face and brush my teeth and then take off my clothes, swapping them for the hotel robe I see hanging on the back of the bathroom door.

When I make it out to the living room, Emma is already on the couch with two drinkssitting on the coffee table in front of her. “Sit.” She pats the cushion next to her.

“Cosmos?”I eye the pale-red liquid in the martini glasses as a smile tries to creep up my face.

“Thought you could use one.”

“I love you, Emma.You know that, right?” I sit next to her and give her a hug.

“I love you, too, girl.More than anyone in this lifetime.” She pulls back but still keeps her hands on my arms. “What do you want to do? If you want to go home, we can leave right now.” I know she means it.

“What? Of course I don’t want to go home.We just got here and you have much more schmoozing to do and many more connections to make. Plus, it’s not like I’m going to see him again since I’ll be staying at the hotel studying while you are at the conference.” I pick up my glass, take a drink and savor the sweet burn of my favorite cocktail.

“Yes, but just knowing you are in the same city as that slime ball—won’t it drive you crazy?”

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