“I’m not.” I slapped his hand away so I could dial. “I need Harper. And a damn good plan.”
22
ASK ME AGAIN
Isla
A week later…
“I think you made the right choice.” Louisa peeked outside the window facing the building next door.
I opened my mouth to remind her I didn’t really have a choice when it came to Declan. He wanted to marry Harper, the mother of his only child. Who knew, maybe with time, they would decide to have more children—something Declan and I would never be able to have together? I couldn’t have kids. He knew that.
“Oh, wait.” I shook my head to make the images of Declan’s beautiful face go away. It was going to take a long while before I could stop thinking about him for a second. “You mean the studio.”
“Yeah, it has good bones. I mean, you’ll need good curtains to block that guy across the way, but this will do.” She beamed at me, then her smile faded. “You’re still thinkingabout him, aren’t you? You should’ve talked to him. The poor guy sounded devastated.” She put up her hands when my eyes watered. “But that’s up to you. Maybe a little bit of time apart is a good thing. Not that you should care what the tabloids print, but it’s better to stay out of the line of fire for now.”
“I know. It’s been a while since they’ve had a good story on him. They’re in heaven right now—a baby and two women. I’m sure they’re thinking this is way better than any lie they’ve made up about him in the past.”
“At least he’s not trending anymore.” She chuckled. “Don’t fret too much over it. Things have a way of working out in the end. You’ll see. Synchronicity, remember?”
“Yeah. Though I don’t remember asking to be tabloid fodder.”
“Give it time.” She glanced down at her watch. “Oh, crap, now I’m really late. I gotta go.”
“Thank you for letting me drag you all over Chelsea to find this place.”
“I was happy to do it. Are you going to be okay?” She squeezed my arm. “I have to go to work. I’ve been out all week.”
“I’ll be fine.” I plastered on a smile. Truth be told, I didn’t want her to leave. I didn’t want to be in this empty apartment. “I’ll see you later.”
“Okay. Don’t forget dinner this weekend. I’m making my special sauce and the whole crew is coming over.” She beamed at me.
“I’ll bring dessert.” I laughed, mostly because being here, standing in my new place making dinner plans with my half-sister was still surreal to me. “Thanksagain.”
“Don’t mention it.” She waved good-bye and shut the door behind her.
I paced the length of the studio, making a quick inventory of the few boxes I had brought with me and other stuff Louisa and I had bought earlier today to get me started.
Plopping myself down on the full-size mattress, I stared at the empty walls. The odd thing was that in all the three weeks I had spent in Declan’s apartment all alone, I never felt lonely—lost. How the hell was I supposed to get over him? Was that even possible? Out of habit, I fished out my phone and scrolled through the latest pictures of him. The one that kept popping up was the one of him at Tiffany’s. Still no wedding pics. Or maybe he managed to make that happen in complete secrecy to protect Harper’s identity.
Before I knew it, ugly and dark stories made their way into my head—stories where Declan left Harper to marry me because I was pregnant. In some scenarios, I was even expecting twins.
“Stop it.” I shot to my feet. “This is not how you get over him.”
I tossed my phone on the bed and walked over to the small kitchen on the opposite end of the studio and unpacked my brand-new plates. I unwrapped each item slowly because once I was finished moving in, this place would be my home. I would have officially moved on with my life. Maybe that was the reason I had dragged my feet for days, imposing on Louisa’s hospitality. I hadn’t even bothered to look for a new job after I quit Noble consulting. Being here felt like my story with Declan was truly over.
Hugging my belly, I curled into a fetal position on themattress and let the tears do their thing. By now, I was used to these quiet outbursts. After a while, I inhaled and focused on clearing my mind. When that didn’t work, when I could still see Declan’s blue eyes, I pictured a field of flowers. I stayed with that image for a few breaths until the pressure in my chest lifted.
The doorbell startled me back to reality. My heart raced from the sudden rush of adrenaline. For a moment, I felt disoriented. Had I fallen asleep? The loud knock on the door made me jump again. Jeez. So impatient. Had they been waiting for a while? I glanced back at the kitchen clock. Maybe the breathing exercises Louisa showed me did work if I had managed to block everything and not hear the door.
“Coming,” I called out even though I was just a few steps away. When I swung the door open, I froze, heart thumping. What the hell was Declan doing here? How did he find me? “No, you can’t be here.” I shook my head several times before I slammed the door shut.
I was seeing things now, for sure. I had wanted to see Declan so badly, I made him appear at my studio. When he spoke with Louisa last week, he seemed to understand that staying away from me was the best thing for all of us. Wasn’t that why he had been gone all this time?
“Isla, I’m not leaving until we talk. Open the door.” That familiar and oh so sexy voice of his made my heart do a quick summersault.
“No.”
