Page 359 of Billionaire Temptations

“Why?”

“Why not?” I spoke deadpan as I turned around. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t expect to see you.”

“I didn’t expect to see you either. How are you?”

“As good as can be expected, I guess. How are you?”

“The same as you.”

“You better get back to your friends,” I said as I finished off my drink, threw some cash on the counter, and got up from my seat.

“Yeah. I guess I better. It was good to see you.”

“Yeah.” I nodded and walked out the door.

Instead of hailing a cab right away, I started walking down the street. I needed the air. It seemed she had moved on. She was out with her friends, having fun, while I sat in a bar alone. My choice, I know, but I couldn’t bring myself to have any type of fun since our breakup.

“Wes!” I heard her shout.

I stopped dead center in the middle of the sidewalk while people pushed their way around me. I didn’t turn around. I couldn’t.

“You asked me how I was, and I lied to you,” she said from behind. “I’m not as good as could be expected. In fact, I’m not good at all. I hate that this happened to us. I cry myself to sleep every night and wish you were lying next to me. I check myphone a hundred times a day, wishing and hoping that it would ring and you’d be on the other end. I miss you, Wes.”

I slowly turned around and looked at the sadness in her eyes, the same sadness I had in mine. I wanted to reach out and grab her and tell her that everything would be okay, but I wasn’t sure if it would ever be again.

“I miss you too, Anna.”

“Can we go somewhere and talk?” she asked.

“Don’t you have a party to join?”

“They can party without me. I didn’t even feel like coming, but Franco dragged me out of the apartment.”

“I’m not sure there’s anything to talk about. We’re just going to rehash the same old shit and end up in another argument.”

“Is that how you really feel?” she asked.

“It doesn’t matter how I feel. It’s the truth. I want a family with you, and you don’t. What’s left to say?”

“I have a lot to say, and so do you. Even if you don’t want to admit it. I have fears that I should have expressed to you, but instead, I shut down and stood my ground. I shouldn’t have been so quick to react the way I did.”

“You’re right. I do have a lot to say, but I don’t want to hurt you any more than you’re already hurting.”

“It’s okay. I can take it. I know it’s been three weeks and the longest three weeks of my life. But I’ve been in therapy every day, and Dr. Stark has really helped me to see things in a different light.”

“Every day?” I asked.

“Yes. I told him we had a lot of ground to cover.”

I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

“Where do you want to talk?” I asked.

“Central Park would be a good place.”

“Central Park it is.”

We took a cab over to the entrance of Central Park, where Cherry Hill was. It was quiet there and a beautiful night to sit by the lake and talk. Before we made it there, Anna had the cab driver stop at her apartment so she could grab a blanket for us to sit on. I couldn’t help but smile when she suggested it. Once we arrived, we spread out the blanket, and we both sat down.

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