Page 66 of Beautiful Storm

“Lock it in.”

“Love you, Hayls. I couldn’t do this without you.”

“Love you too, Babe. I’ll see you Thursday.”

My smile returns, having lost it for a moment, and I’m about to hang up when Hayley rushes to stop me. “Shit. Wait.”

“What’s wrong?”

“We never spoke about your first day.”

I bark out a laugh. So much for nothing affecting my first day buzz. “It was amazing, Hayley. Couldn’t have been better.”

My alarm goes off extra early the next day to give me the time to catch the bus, and while I’m on my way in the darkness, I curse myself for not paying the price to get my car fixed. Not that I’d ever admit that. A little public transport never hurt anyone. Still I stare longingly at my car as I walk across the parking lot, but as I’m stepping through the doors, my phone rings, cutting me from my thoughts.

“Amelia speaking.”

“Hi Amelia, it’s Nick, the mechanic. I’ll be there at ten a.m. today. I just need your key.”

“Excuse me? What? Who?”

“Nick. I spoke to Luke yesterday. He told me to confirm the time with you. So, I’ll be there at ten. Is that good?”

Luke?Goddammit. Why does he have to be so annoying but also really hard to be mad at? I need my car. But… Ugh. I don’t want to be indebted to him and—

“Miss? Does that work?”

“Oh. Yes. Thank you. I’ll be standing by my car at ten.”

“Thank you. See you then.”

He hangs up and I’m left staring at my phone. I should have seen this coming, but since things got weird with Luke late yesterday, I never even thought about it.

Is this our life now—me falling apart and Luke riding in like a knight in shining armor, saving the day?

And if it is, is that really the life I want?

I try to focus on work, but by eleven a.m., my car’s fixed and I’m feeling a mix of relief and guilt. I know Luke was trying to help, but I should be able to get things done on my own. I’m a grown-ass woman, for God’s sake.

Despite knowing I have to talk to him, I put off the inevitable and don’t seek him out until the end of the day, but when I find him in the halls, he completely ignores me. Again. He then continues to ignore me during the next two filming sessions and pretends not to notice me in the hall the following week.

He has me second-guessing everything and it’s driving me crazy. He won’t even let me say thanks. And while I didn’t want to be friends, I’m now finding myself doing things to get closer to him, hoping he’ll acknowledge my existence, and I hate that. Especially considering he’s no longer pissed at me. He’s just neutral. And I have no idea what that means.

When he blatantly walks away after I join a conversation he’s in, it’s the last straw, and I shoot off a text before bed that night. I’m not putting up with his shit. He wanted to be involved with the baby. He wanted to get married…and now this.Who does he think he is?I’ll bet he’s doing it on purpose, knowing it would be eating away at me.

When he still hasn’t replied by morning, I’m pissed off and silently cursing his name as I arrive at work. I’m running through all the ways I can get back at him when I find him waiting in my new office, spinning around on my swivel chair, a pen in his right hand. With the light shining from above him, his black Storm cap casts a shadow across his face, but if I focus hard enough, I note that he’s lost in thought.

It shouldn’t surprise me that he hunted me down after my what-the-fuck text, but I am surprised that he knew where to find me, since I only moved into my private office yesterday.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” I play dumb as my eyes bounce around the room.

Luke kicks his foot out to stop himself mid spin and smiles. “Funny.” He points the pen toward me as he stands up and huffs out a fake laugh. “We need to talk.”

“Uh-oh.Are you breaking up with me?” I huff out a laugh of my own until his expression turns serious. “What’s going on?”

Luke takes a deep breath, and his pinched expression worries me. “First,” he begins, standing taller, “I need the details for the lawyer, attorney, whoever you have handling your divorce.” I nod as he speaks but, Jesus, this is getting real very quickly. “Second.” He huffs out a breath as he removes his cap and runs a hand through his sexily mussed hair, drawing my attention until he speaks. “What the hell was that message?”

“What the hell is your attitude or lack of attitude? You get my car fixed but you won’t even talk to me. It’s weird. I don’t like it. ”

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