Page 37 of Lovesick

I glanced at the roses again. Then back at him.

“I have to think about it.”

He nodded, accepting my answer without a fight. “I’ll give you all the time you need, Emilia.”

“And when I come back to work, I want you to give me space. Even in meetings.”

He swallowed hard. He didn’t like that idea. But, again, he accepted it without a fight. “Of course. Anything you need.”

“I’ll be cold toward you. I won’t look at you or speak to you when I don’t want to. Even when we’re discussing work stuff. I will simply nod or give you clipped answers, and I want that to be enough for now.”

Dean straightened his back and rubbed his hands on his thighs. I could tell this was hard for him, and in a way, it showed me that he still wanted me in a physical way. He couldn’t shake the idea of not being close to me, but he’d have to deal with it.

“Okay,” he replied with a quick nod. “That’s only fair.”

“It is.” I pressed my lips into a tight line, watching him closely before getting up. I put the roses on the coffee table, then moved toward the door. “I would like for you to leave now.”

He didn’t argue and got up, following me to the door where we both stopped, standing face to face. I looked up at him, trying to figure out if I had more to say. But I hadn’t. So, I reached for the knob and opened the door. “Thanks for the roses.”

“Yeah…” he said with a tight, sad smile. “I wasn’t sure you like roses—”

“I do. But they’re not my favorite.”

This was his chance to ask me about my favorite flowers. To finally ask me something personal. Something I only ever shared with a few people before. And though it didn’t seem like he would ask, he finally did. “Which are your favorite?”

“Peonies.”

Another smile tugged at his lips. This time, it wasn’t as sad. More sincere. Excited.

“Noted,” he said softly before stepping out into the hallway. “Thanks for letting me come in and talk. I’ll…see you at the office.”

I simply nodded and waited for him to disappear from view before I closed the door and took a deep breath. Things wouldn’t be easier from now, but I would keep my head up high. I wouldn’t crash again. Wouldn’t fall back down that hole of misery I created for myself the past week.

Because I still loved my job. Still loved my life. I just had to decide if I wanted to move on with him in it or not.

***

I returned to the office a few days later.

My makeup was clean, my blouse neat, and not a single strand of my hair was out of place. I was composed and controlled. I had to be if I wanted to get through the day.

When the elevator doors opened, I stepped into the hallway and saw Leann’s face light up the second she laid eyes on me. His smile grew big, and she got up from behind the front desk to walk over to me. “Emilia, you’re back!”

I smiled back at her. Truthfully, Leann was the only person I was excited to see again. She had been nice to me before everything with Dean went downhill, and I wished I would’ve had the strength to text her when I was feeling down the past week.

“Hi,” I said, smiling as genuinely as I could.

She pulled me into a light hug. “We missed you around here. It’s been busy and tense.”

I knew what that meant. Dean had probably asked her and some of the others for help with certain things. Things I should’ve helped him with. But he deserved my absence, and I wished I could tell Leann all about it. But I didn’t. I kept it to myself.

“It’s good to be back,” I then told her, my smile tight. “Anything I need to know right away?”

“No, but…” She headed back to the front desk to pick up a bunch of letters. “These came throughout the week.”

I took them and looked at the senders, recognizing a few names from past clients. The rest were advertisements. “Thank you, Leann.”

“Of course! You look amazing, by the way. You truly needed that little break, hm?”

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