Page 38 of Keeping London (Flawed Heart)

“A few hours ago. We’ve been debriefing and getting everything ready to leave tomorrow. We’re done for the rest of the night though.”

“Oh, that’s good. What are you gonna do?”

“I’m going to go out with Sarah and Cooper, maybe dinner and bowling or something low-key.”

There’s a buzzing in my ears from all the blood rushing to my head. I didn’t hear everything Loïc just said, seeing that I kind of blanked out after I heard the wordSarah. I’m pretty sure, if one’s head could explode from fury, my brain matter would already be decorating these walls.

“Sarah?” I say as steadily as possible.

“Oh, yeah. She drove up here for the day to surprise me. She wanted to say good-bye in person.”

Oh, I bet she did.

“I didn’t realize that you could have visitors tonight. I would have flown down to spend the evening with you.” My lip quivers, and I have to stop the impending waterworks.

“It’s okay, babe. It’s not really common practice to have visitors here. Sarah just showed up, and it kinda all worked out because we finished up early.”

I sigh into the phone, at a loss for what to say.

“I miss you, too, London,” Loïc says sweetly.

“Yeah? Like, a lot?”

“An insane amount.”

A small smile spreads across my face. “I miss you like crazy, too.”

“Remember, everything will be okay…right?” he says, trying to reassure me.

“I know.”

“All right, well, we’re heading out. I’ll call you tomorrow morning before we leave.”

“Okay, I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he says before the line goes dead.

I hold my cell phone in my lap and just stare at it. I’m so lost already, and my journey has barely begun.How will I ever find my way?

I raise my head when I hear Paige enter the living room. She’s just getting back from work.

Placing her leather laptop bag on the chair, she looks to me with a worried expression. “Are you okay?”

I shake my head, biting my lip to stop it from trembling.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

I shrug, my eyes filling with unshed tears.

“Do you know what we need?” The question is rhetorical, so she continues, “We need a good old-fashioned cry session. I’m talking about snot-dripping, chest-heaving, shrieking-sobs ugly cry. Then, I’m going to pick up dinner—your choice—and of course, get some Ben and Jerry’s Chubby Hubby for you.” She winks. “Then, we’re going to have a romantic movie marathon and stuff our faces while we cry until we can’t cry anymore.” She taps her lips with her finger. “We should start withThe Notebook. That’s a guaranteed ugly cry right there. Sound good?”

I nod marginally as the tears start falling, months of repressed worry needing to escape. Paige sits next to me on the couch and wraps her arms around me. As I lean my head against her shoulder, the waterworks really come. My back shakes with sobs as all my fears and sadness fall onto Paige’s fancy new business suit.

I don’t know how long I cry, but when the tears cease, my throat feels raw, and my face is hot and itchy.

I sit up and stare at the huge pond of tears and snot that I left on Paige’s shoulder and chest. I drag my arm across my nose. “I’m sorry, Paige. I think I ruined your outfit.”

She waves me off. “You know what they say.A watched pot never boils. It will be fine after a quick trip to the dry cleaner.”

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