Page 47 of The Flirtation
Chapter 17
Luke
After Magda left the room,I turned to Avery and said: “Happy Valentine’s Day,darling.”
She laughed, harder than I’d ever seen her laugh before. She said that I’d just given her and Magda the best Valentine’s gift either of them had gotten in a long time. I’d a feeling that Magda was some sort of maternal figure for her. She picked up her laptop and looked around her office. “I’ve never slept here with someone elsebefore.”
“I’m pleased to have been your first. Sorry we didn’t get to do more thansleep.”
“Yeah, well. Another time. We should head back to my place now so you can shower. When’s your firstmeeting?”
“Ten o’clock. Plenty of time to change and go for a run before weshower.”
“Please tell me your joking. It’s like a thousand below zero out. You’ll get icicles in yournostrils.”
“I run every morning. You don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to. It’ll just be me and the supermodels jogging around the park, Iimagine.”
She came running with me.Neither of us in fact produced icicles in our nostrils, but we could see our breath, especially when Avery was panting and yelling and cursing at me to slow down or stop. We only ran about a mile before heading back to her flat, but I gave her top marks foreffort.
The steamy shower for two was a reward for both of us. We had to get breakfast at the nearby Starbucks because all she had in her fridge was some limp organic kale and moldy yogurt, though she assured me that she was an excellent cook and enjoyed preparing healthy meals at home. We must have kissed each other about twenty times before finally parting ways at the subway station. I wasn’t usually one for public displays of affection, but for some reason my lips just did not want to leave hers. As I was purchasing my train tickets, I received a text message from her telling me that she missed me already. I responded with an emoticon. An emoticon! I don’t do emoticons.What is happening to me?I could easily see what day-to-day life with Avery would be like if I lived here. It could be blissful. I kept waiting for it to scare me, but I just feltgood.
Just as I’d reached the downtown office building for my morning meeting, Avery rang to thank me for the stunning bouquet of flowers I’d had sent to her. For a moment I’d forgotten that I’d arranged to have flowers sent to her while we were still at the villa. It was during the same post-sex haze wherein I had arranged our island outing. I was spoilingher.
In my line of work, it’s important to define a “desired end state” when executing a merger. What was my desired end state with Avery? Was I really okay with simply enjoying this fling with her? A fling that would end as soon as I returned to London? Was I willing to be in an exclusive long-term long-distance relationship with her? Would I ultimately be willing to move to New York to be with her? Or did I want her to give up everything to come to London to be withme?
Before I stepped into the lift, my personal phone vibrated. I was expecting another text from Avery, but it was from Chiara. She wrote to thank me for the flowers, but stressed that she was still angry with me. I had also forgotten that I’d arranged to have Valentine’s Day flowers sent to Chiara before the Bahamas trip came up. “Thinking of you,” the note was supposed tosay.
I did not respond. I deleted the message. I had no reason to feel guilty about it since it had been arranged before I got together with Avery, but since I’d be staying in her flat again that night, it seemed risky to have a message like that on my phone. Not that Avery seemed like the sort of woman who’d go through a man’s phone—although none of my lovely sisters seem the sort either and I know for a fact that they have all tried to hack into their boyfriend or ex-boyfriend or husband’s email accounts at one time oranother.
I was glad I had back-to-back meetings scheduled for the rest of the day so I was too busy to think about any of that stuff. When I got back to Avery’s, she had her small dining table set up with candles and fine china, which she admitted was on loan from her client’s restaurant. She had re-heated the lobster bisque and warm steak salads in the takeout containers, in the microwave, because she only had one pan and she had used that to heat up the salmon entrees. Most of the salmon had stuck to the pan because, but I assured her that it would be delicious if we ate it directly from the pan and scraped off the charred bits, and I was right. It wasdelicious.
We didn’t end up eating at the dining table; we sat on the floor by her coffee tableagain.
She kept checking herphone.
“How was worktoday?”
“Fine, I mean. I hate having to play catch-up. I’ve never been away from the office for so long, it’s weird. I’m out of sync, I don’t have my usualrhythm.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” I did. I was getting antsy myself, but my desire to enjoy my last full day with Avery trumped myneurosis.
“Sylvia handled everything while I was gone, she’s great, but I need to know everything that’s going on and I don’t feel like I have my land legs back yet. Is that theterm?”
I put my hand on her thigh. “Whatever these are, I’m very fond ofthem.”
She guffawed, and then checked her phoneagain.
“Are you expecting a Valentine’s Day call from Mr. Potter? I doubt he gets very good cell phone reception in the back of the closet. Shall we bring himout?”
“No! I haven’t heard back from my sister yet, it’s weird. I texted her yesterday and called her today. I’m sure she’s busy with the kids—it’s fine. How’s your New York trip sofar?”
“Dazzling. How areyouenjoying my New York trip sofar?”
“I’m tolerating it.” Shesmiled.
“Glad to hear it. I look forward to returning the favor when you’re inLondon.”
She took a deep breath before saying, “I look forward to that as well.” She seemed very tense all of asudden.
