Page 19 of Adoration: Isn't What It Seems (Love Isn't What It Seems 2)

I pushed my hair behind my ear, the tremble of my hands visible.

“I don’t know,” I muttered and sat at the table, turning my attention to my computer. “I have to finish this up, so I can get out of here.”

He stood there for a couple of seconds and then quietly walked away, leaving me alone with my thoughts and my past.

As if my trip down the memory lane invited a blast from the past, my phone beeped signaling a text message. I flipped the phone and froze. The message was from Callen. Staring at my phone, I wondered why he would text me. Slowly, I slid my finger over it to open the message.

*Hello, lass. I hope you forgave me and found a much better fellow than me. You deserve it. I need advice. I looked up Eve Bailey. Do you think she would be a good sign on?*

I haven’t heard from Callen in over three years. No mention of the text I sent earlier that week. No apology for breaking my heart or leaving me at the altar.

Memories kept coming.

“Liberty, I will always be honest with you,” Callen’s hands were wrapped around me and it felt good being in his arms. I missed my mom. It had been exactly a year since her death and I was drowning in regret and sorrow. I should have seen the signs but I was so wrapped up in myself, so blind with the need to find out who my father was. I failed her.

“You can trust me,” his voice was a whisper in my ear. I didn’t tell him what happened. I couldn’t trust myself not to break down in front of him and start crying.

He always said that he would be honest with me. That I could trust him. And he broke that promise, in the worst way possible. And he didn't even offer me an apology before asking for advice from me.

My fingers lingered over the keyboard. I wanted to tell him to fuck off and figure it out on his own. Why didn’t he ask his precious partner for advice on signing Eve Bailey? Or the woman he knocked up?

I started typing, but then stopped, and erased my words. Layla knew Eve Bailey’s sister, they took some classes together. I thought back to about ten months ago. Eve Bailey lost her husband and son. Layla attended their funeral. I remembered her describing the gloomy, heartbreaking scene of the burial, goosebumps broke all over me just thinking about the pain she must have endured. Eve Bailey hadn’t written anything since and cut all her ties with her previous publishing company. There were rumors she tried to end her life and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. Nobody should go through that kind of pain. Maybe it could be a tiny way to repay my mother for failing her.

I knew from listening to Layla’s ranting about Lachlan that he fell in love with Eve Bailey. Maybe if Callen signed her into his publishing company, she could get back into writing and find some sort of happiness. She was a really good writer.

*Yes, she is very good. Would be a good sign on.*

My finger lingered on the send button when Alexander’s voice startled me.

“You can be done for the day, Miss Smith. Enjoy your weekend.”

I raised my eyes to meet his gaze, those blue eyes so unlike Callen’s or anyone else’s I’d ever seen.

Silence stretched for a few seconds as we eyed each other warily. I guess he was waiting for me to tell him off, while I couldn’t help but compare his cold demeanor to Callen’s vibrant warm one. In fact, every boyfriend I ever had was funny and easy going. The man in front of me was everything but easy going.

“Everything ok?” he asked, his eyebrow raised while glancing at my phone and then back up meeting my eyes. He actually sounded concerned.

“Yes,” I answered and firmly pressed the send button. As I got up, I gathered my bag, stuffing my phone in it. “I’ll get going then. Have a good weekend.”

Thank God it was Friday and I wouldn’t have to see him for the entire weekend. That would help the raging hormones he managed to evoke inside me.

Chapter Twelve

Liberty

Saturday afternoon, I regretted allowing Lena to repay me by taking me out dancing. I just wanted to curl up on my couch and read, or watch some silly chick flick. After suffering as Alexander’s secretary, a quiet night in would’ve been much better payment, yet Lena had other ideas. I felt exhausted and definitely wasn’t in the mood to party. Layla was coming too, and wherever she went, a wild party was always sure to follow.

As I got out of the shower, my phone rang. I quickly walked over to it and hit accept.

“We are going to party tonight, babe,” Layla screeched. “We’ll forget about everyone, Lachlan and the love of his life, and Callen with his precious opera singer. It will be just us, enjoying ourselves, like in the good old times.”

It had been a very long time since the good old times. College years were carefree. We were so stupid to think the world was ours. We got a reality check fast. When Mom died, we moved from the States to England. I hoped to find some answers about my mom’s family and my mom’s history, some sense of belonging. But all I found was Callen, and then heartache.

I took a deep breath. Layla was going to get wild tonight, there was no doubt about it. I’ve known her long enough to recognize when she was in one of her moods. It was usually then that we ended up doing something stupid and getting in trouble. The last time, she got so drunk she sprawled herself across a police car trying to show him she could slide across the hood.

We hadn’t even left for the party, and I was already tired.

I sat on the bed.

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