Page 76 of Wild and Wicked

“Thank God,” Gio said, when he released her. “If you’d decided to play hardball, I was fully prepared to start begging.” He pointed to her laptop. “I can’t believe how much work you’ve put into this already. You’re ahead of the game.”

Rafe, the more circumspect of the two friends, reached out and shook her hand. “I can’t begin to express how glad I am that you’re joining us on this venture.”

They talked a little bit longer about everything in the benefits package, including the caretaker’s cottage, a retirement plan, and one of the best health care plans she’d ever seen. Her current health care plan was crap, so Baros Corporation’s plan in comparison, with its vision and dental, seemed too good to be true. She thanked them for the opportunity again, then they said their goodbyes.

As she left the mansion, she was shocked to discover that first, the sun was setting—it had been a very long meeting—and secondly, that her feet were still touching the ground. She would have thought for certain she was flying.

Climbing into the car, she turned her phone back on, after silencing it for the meeting. There were twenty-seven texts and four missed calls, all from Keeley and Liza. Gianna laughed. Of course, her friends had known about the meeting. In truth, Gianna was surprised to discover Keeley hadn’t been there to crash the interview.

She fired off a quick text to them.

I got the job.

Keeley responded the way she always did. In a long series of emojis, including everything from six of the smiley ones to an array of fireworks, rockets, and dancing ones.

Then Liza texted,

We need to celebrate this weekend!!!

Gianna gave that comment a thumbs-up. Then her finger hovered over her contacts, as she considered texting Elio to tell him the news as well. She’d picked up her phone a thousand times to call him, simply because she wanted to talk to him. Not about anything big or exciting. Just…to talk.

Upon her return home, the time spent in the cabin reinforced how terribly quiet and lonely her apartment was. It was the best thing about taking this job. Within the next month or two, the caretaker’s house behind the inn would be ready for her to move in. After that, she would be surrounded by people, and with any luck, the too-silent nights would be a thing of the past.

She clicked on Elio’s name, pulling up their very sparse text thread. It only contained the two texts from her, the ones telling him she wasn’t pregnant, and his very simple response that had come much later that same evening.

Thanks for letting me know.

She’d read those words over and over, wishing he’d offered her some deeper insight. As for her, it had taken her several days to get over the utter and unexpected devastation. Even now, the idea of what might have been blindsided her, feeling like a sucker punch every damn time.

She put her phone back in her purse without texting and started the car, heading home. She and Elio had made no promises and no future plans. He’d been very clear about how his relationships—if she could call them that—played out.

Perhaps if the two of them hadn’t slept together, she could have reached out to him as a friend, but they’d blurred the fuck out of that line. So much so, she didn’t have a clue what they were now.

Was he expecting them to return to their “just acquaintances” status, the kind of people who only saw each other socially from time to time? Or would they find themselves more solidly in the good friends camp the next time they met?

Or…

She didn’t finish that part, didn’t let herself long for something Elio didn’t want. She’d indulged in what had begun as “casual sex,” reassuring Elio that she wasn’t ready for anything more because she was still trying to get over Sam and his deception. She believed it was that guarantee that had convinced him to continue the affair. If he’d had even a niggling suspicion that her feelings for him would drift out of the attraction range and into the affection one, she had no doubt he would have put the brakes on all sexy times the morning after Taco and Tequila Tuesday.

“Shit,” she murmured to herself. She couldn’t keep doing this, obsessing over what Elio may or may not feel for her. That way was sure to lead to madness.

All she could do was own up to her emotions, admit that she’d let herself fall head over ass in love with Elio…with Liza’s brother…with the playboy NHL star who would never return her feelings because he’d fallen in love a long, long time ago…with hockey.

“Let it go,” she muttered to herself.

She pulled into the parking lot behind her building, then walked upstairs to her apartment. Dropping her laptop on the dining room table, she headed for the kitchen but stopped halfway. She didn’t feel like cooking tonight.

She should be elated, ready to paint the town red. After all, she had just landed her dream job. That called for a celebration.

But she was just too damn tired. She’d been sluggish for the better part of the last two weeks. At first, she’d thought she was coming down with the killer flu bug that had run rampant through work, but no other symptoms appeared. Then she chalked it up to stress over the meeting with Gio and Rafe.

Now she was concerned that perhaps it ran much deeper than that because the feeling wasn’t going away.

Depression? Maybe.

Loneliness? Less likely but possible.

Heartbreak? Ding ding ding. We have a winner.

---