Page 57 of Between the Flames

CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE

Staring up at the office building that is home to The Daily Reader, I held my hand up to shield my eyes from the brightness of the sun reflecting off the mirrored windows. I blew out a breath, readying myself to begin my mission of winning Elle’s forgiveness. This plan I had concocted will either be a make or break point for our relationship. If she rejects me after what I’m about to do, there would be no coming back from this for my pride.

Under any other circumstances, I would never willingly make a fool out of myself, but if Elle asked me to pluck the moon from the sky for her, I would figure out a way to do it. The level of insane that this woman made me was enough to have the most prestigious of therapists questioning if they knew how to do their job. My mind drifted back to the last few days and the emptiness I felt, and I could feel myself growing angry all over again. My hands curled into tight fists as I slammed my truck’s door closed and trudged toward her office.

The lobby of the building was cool, both in temperature and in appearance. White and blue tiles lined the floor, a stark white reception desk sitting in the middle of the space while plush blue couches were offered for waiting guests. I continued toward the elevators, the receptionist standing to greet me. Her eyes widened when she took in the scowl on my face, watching as I slammed my finger on the up button by the elevator, waiting for the doors to open.

“Excuse me, sir?” Her voice was hesitant as she addressed me. “You need to check in sir, who are you here for?”

I ignored her, focused on the sound of the elevator doors opening. Stepping in without answering, I turned to read the list of businesses on the elevator’s plaque, indicating that I needed to visit the sixth floor for The Daily Reader. I pressed the number six, watching through the closing doors as the receptionist rounded the corner of her desk to chase after me.

“Sir!” she called, just as the doors closed completely and I began my short ride to the sixth floor. My heart began to pound in my chest the higher the numbers climbed.

4…

5…

Ping.

The elevator leveled in its shaft and the doors opened, revealing a wall that read The Daily Reader, with yet another receptionist sitting in front of it.

She smiled brightly. “Hello, sir! Who are you here to see?”

Ignoring the woman, I moved around the wall, finding several cubicles with people pounding away at their computer keyboards. I followed the carpeted path between the desks, my eyes scanning for my dark-haired queen. It didn’t take long for me to spot her from across the room, her desk caddy corner to a corner office with a wall of glass dividing it from the sea of cubicles.

Eyes snapped up from computers to focus on me as I weaved my way to Elle. A few women gasped, their eyes landing on me, and I received more than a few glares from the men, but my focus never wavered from where Elle sat. Her gaze was focused on the papers in front of her. She still hadn’t noticed me approaching despite the room being so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and many of her co-workers now standing behind their desks to see better. I stood behind her, my heart rate picking up as the smell of her perfume floated around me. I was desperate to reach out and pull her to me in a make-up kiss, but it wasn’t the time yet.

“Elle.”

She grew still at the sound of my voice, the paper in her hands free falling from her grasp and floating down to her desk. She spun slowly in her chair, her hand clutched onto the desk as if to steady herself.

“What are you doing here, Ryder?” she asked, her voice low. Her eyes bounced around the room, noticing that everyone was watching us intently.

“I’ve come to apologize and to beg for you back,” I said matter-of-factly, my voice loud enough so that everyone around the office could hear. If I was going to make a public apology, I was going to make it a good one. “I screwed up, and I’ve been continuing to screw this up every day by letting the distance between us grow.”

“Ryder now is not the ti—”

“No, Elle, now is exactly the time.” I dropped to my knees and looked up at her. I lowered my voice so that the next words were hers, and hers alone. “I cannot go another minute without knowing that we’re okay. I need to know that you are mine, because I’m fully fucking yours, Elle. I love you.” Staring up into her eyes, I had never felt more sure of anything in my entire life, and the feeling made my heart inflate. “Now I’m going to say it in front of every fucker in this building.” I tossed her a smirk before starting again, shouting this time. “I love Eloise Peters.”

I could hear the distant “aww’s” from around the office, but I didn’t dare pull my gaze away from her. She stared down at me, eyes hard. The seconds ticked by, feeling like an hour each as my eyes searched hers, pleading for her to give me a second chance. Hell, a third chance.

“Get up, Ryder,” she finally said, pulling me by the bicep to encourage me to stand. I obeyed, allowing her to lead me back through the maze of cubicles and to the elevator. She pressed the down button, and we waited in painful silence until the doors opened, allowing us to step inside. Elle pressed the L for lobby and the doors began to close. She turned to me, finger poking me hard in the chest. “What the hell was that? Was that necessary to do in front of all of my co-workers, Ryder?”

I turned to the elevator’s call buttons, my hand slamming into the emergency stop, jolting us to a halt in midair. Returning my gaze back to hers, I stalked toward her, forcing her to back up as my body invaded her space. Elle’s breathing hitched, making me smirk, and her back hit the wall.

“I came here because you were avoiding me. You haven’t returned my calls, my texts—I even showed up at your house and waited for you one night. I haven’t heard from you in days, Elle. Almost weeks.”

“I needed time to think.”

“You needed time to come up with an excuse.”

“I… that’s not true.”

“The hell it isn’t. I know I scared you that night at the bar. I lost my temper and my jealousy consumed me. That’s not me though, Elle, you know that.”

“Do I though, Ryder? Do I know that? Because how well do we truly know each other? We were kids who never got to know each other and now, as adults, we jumped into the deep end headfirst and expected to know how to swim.”

I reached up to tuck a piece of her hair behind her ears, my fingers grazing her cheek on the way down. “I know more about you than you probably realize, Elle. The big things and the small. I know that your favorite color is yellow, except with your favorite flowers, which are red roses. You bite your nails when you’re nervous, and you look down at your feet when you’re thinking. You hate cauliflower, love tacos, and your dream is to be running this entire fucking building. You love to read, write, and prefer sweet wine over anything else. You want two kids, a boy and a girl.”

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