Page 47 of When We Fell Again
What does she mean by strength? How can I help her with work?
Lifting her head, Lex’s eyes bored straight into mine. “Working with you again,seeingyou again, scared me. I didn’t know how we would be together. A lot of time has passed, and we aren’t the same two people we were all those years ago.” She paused and took a sip of her coffee. “When we kissed, I didn’t know how to feel. What to feel. Did I want to go back in time and risk falling for you all over again, knowing it would be entirely possible for us to end up in exactly the same place?”
I opened my mouth to answer her, but she gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head, so I stayed silent and let her continue.
“I also knew,know,that if I don’t take this chance, I might regret it. I mean, I know there’s every possibility you might have changed your mind about us. I pretty much ghosted you for the past few months, but I needed to work out how I felt.”
I stifled a grin. If anything, hearing her talk now, looking as vulnerable as I’d ever seen her, I wanted her more. I kept quiet, though, sensing she had more she needed to say.
“But…”
Shit. I hate that word.
“But the things that broke us apart in the first place will still be there…” Her sentence trailed off and she laced her fingers together, placing her hands on the table.
Taking a huge gulp of my flat white, the light bulb went on in my head, knowing what she alluded to. And even though it sounded like she wanted us to get back together, she was already raising the red flags of our past.
Before I could say anything else, her phone rang. She flipped it over, frowning at the screen.
“Sorry, I have to take this.” Getting up, she walked away from the table, speaking in hushed tones to the person on the other end of the line.
Watching her as she cupped her palm over her mouth, I couldn’t tell who she was talking to. Given she’d mentioned work, I guessed it might have been Theo. While she was gone, I considered her words. I knew exactly what she meant when she said the triggers for our arguments would still be there. She’d still be a tour manager, and I’d still get jealous of the other artists she’d work with, particularly the male acts. I couldn’t deny I had been worried about what went on while they were on tour. Fuck, I was the lead singer in a popular rock band. I knewexactlywhat could happen.
Three months without her in my life had been torture. I knew she was what I wanted.
Swallowing down the green-eyed monster wouldn’t be easy, but if I wanted us to have a second chance, then I had to get over myself, starting now.
CHAPTER20
Alexis
“Yes, Theo. I’m already there.”I moved through the cafe to find a space in the corridor near the bathrooms, so no one could hear. Despite what I’d told Theo on my voice note the night before, he’d still insisted on meeting, albeit in the afternoon rather than first thing. Apparently, there was news he couldn’t share with me over the phone or by email. We’d exchanged a few messages during the morning and agreed to a face-to-face catch-up. Whatever else we talked about, I also intended to make sure I got some sort of break.
“Good. I’ll be there in about forty-five minutes.”
I debated whether to tell him Jordan Bowie was also there but decided against it. The less he knew about what went on between us, the better. “Okay. I’ll hang around until you get here.”
“See you soon.”
Theo’s call had come at a delicate time in my conversation with Jordan and it had given me the chance for a breather.
Although Jordan had turned up to meet me, I wasn’t sure whether hedidwant to give things another chance. After all, it had been a while since the end of the tour and I’d basically done a disappearing act after running out on him. For all I knew, he’d found someone else and had come to let me down gently.
Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I wished I’d put some makeup on, rather than looking like I’d just been dug up. Hardly the best look to tell Jordan I wanted to get back together. I should have made more of an effort. With a huge sigh, I headed back out into the main area of the cafe.
Jordan still sat at the table, tapping on his phone. Seeing his face screwed up in concentration made me smile, and I instinctively knew he was working on a new song. I would recognise that expression anywhere. At least his creativity was still intact. As I approached the table, he looked up, those chocolate-brown eyes of his full of concern.
“Everything okay?”
I sat down opposite him again and nodded. “All good.”
“Who was that?”
I could have lied, pretended it had been Sadie. Pretended it was nothing to do with work. But, knowing Jordan as I did, he would have seen right through it. “Theo.”
He rolled his eyes. “Why am I not surprised? Does he ever give you a break? Even after what happened last night?”
The only slack Theo had appeared to cut me was to meet in the afternoon. I knew I should have been stronger, laid down the rules when it came to taking time out. Whatever Theo had to say later, I’d need to be strong with him.
