Page 142 of The Plus One Contract

I take a long sip, ignoring her.

She watches me closely, like she’s waiting for me to crack. To admit that this news just shifted everything inside me.

But I won’t because it doesn’t matter.

Nathan made his choice.

He walked away.

I was the one who let him.

I shoot Harper a glare as she arches a brow. Eventually, she just shakes her head and digs into her salad, scrolling through her phone.

A familiar jingle fills the room: the opening theme toSkeptically In Love.We always listen together.

Harper plops her feet on my desk while the podcast host’s sassy voice spills from the speaker.

“Happy Friday, my beautiful skeptics!”

Harper hums along with the jingle.

The conversation in the background is comforting: Jo Quinn, the host, is going on about dating misadventures, reading listeners’ letters. It’s normal. Safe. For a moment, it almost drowns out the tension coiling in my gut.

“All right, listen up, Skeptics, because we’ve got a listener letter, and this next one is a little different. For starters, it’s from a man, which almost never happens here. Let’s just say, if you’re single, you’ll want to find someone who talks about you like this. And if you already have someone, make them listen and maybe take notes.”

I half-listen, finishing my coffee. Harper sighs about a coworker who typed an email in Comic Sans. I roll my eyes, about to respond when I hear something that cracks my chest wide open.

“Dear Jo, I don’t know why I’m writing this. I don’t listen to podcasts. I don’t even listen to the radio. But she listens to yours, and I needed a way to talk to her. So, here I am. I met a girl on a plane. She was insane. Beautiful. Utterly impossible. She shoved a napkin contract in my face, and for some reason, I signed it.”

Everything in me goes still while my blood roars in my ears.

Harper jerks upright, eyes snapping to me. “Sienna—”

I can’t speak. I can barely breathe.

“I thought it was just a deal. One week. No emotions. No complications. But it wasn’t, because in seven days, she made me laugh more than I have in years. She took up every inch of space in my life and made me realize it had been empty before her.”

A lump forms in my throat.

“I left. I had to. But I haven’t been able to think about anything else since. She got under my skin, and I let her. I wanted her to.”

My hands tremble. Harper grips my arm, grounding me.

“I don’t know what she’ll say. Maybe she’s moved on, and I’m the idiot who let the best damn thing that ever happened to me slip through my fingers. But I know this—I was wrong. About everything.”

A tear slips down my cheek.

“I broke every rule in that stupid contract, and I’d do it all over again.”

My breath hitches.

“I don’t expect forgiveness. I don’t even expect her to listen. Which is why I reached out to her best friend, and if she turns around right now, she’ll see that I’m standing at her office door.”

Shock slams through me.

Harper just shrugs. “Surprise.”

My heart pounds so violently it hurts. My head snaps toward the door.

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