Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109783 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 549(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
“Maybe not. But you’re intelligent. You knew it could happen. You cared more about getting what you wanted than you cared about my feelings. Nothing new there. I expect nothing less from you.”
“Fyfe, please—”
“Get out of my house and get the fuck out of Ardnoch. I won’t ask again.”
She burst into tears and whirled, hurrying from me.
It took me more than a few minutes to calm the agony swirling inside. Then, like always, I distracted myself from the pain with action.
Pulling out my phone, I tapped on the app for my home security system. I found the feed from the driveway and zoomed in on the registration plate on Innes’s Nissan. I screenshot it and sent it to Lore, an employee who did legal work for me. But Lore was also one of the best hackers in the country and did freelance less-than-legal work on the side.
I had no intention of tracking Innes down. But information was power, and I wanted to have tabs on her so I could make sure she stayed gone.
If she’d ever cared even a bit for me, she would have stayed gone forever. Today was more proof that she couldn’t give a damn about me. Never had. Never would.
Agata was five ten, all legs, long blond hair, and a charming Polish accent. Any other night, this woman would have my undivided attention. Especially because I was in desperate need of distraction after my mother’s appearance this morning. The truth was we both knew what tonight was. Agata lived in Inverness. We’d met on a hookup app.
Dinner was just a nod to civility, but we both knew the date would end in her bed.
That’s what I thought I needed when I drove to Inverness to meet up with her.
Then as we walked into the restaurant, my phone binged. It was Eilidh.
I leave for Romania tomorrow. Wish I was coming home instead.
Unsettled by the thought of leaving Eils hanging, I apologized to Agata and told her I needed to respond to my text.
Where are you now?
We sat at the table and my phone sounded with Eilidh’s reply.
At my flat. Jasper asked me to party tonight, but I’m not in the mood.
I felt relief at that. I didn’t want her out partying and hooking up with random arseholes.
Agata cleared her throat as my thumbs flew over my phone screen. “Sorry,” I muttered to her, knowing I was being a rude bastard and somehow unable to help myself.
You should put something on the telly. Distract yourself.
The waiter took our drinks order, and I’d just asked Agata what she did for a living when my phone vibrated on the table.
My date scowled at my phone and then at me as if daring me to look at it.
I winced. “Look, I’m sorry. I’ve got a friend who needs me right now. Let me check it.”
Her lips parted in disbelief, but I was already picking up my phone.
I don’t suppose you’re around for a chat?
Fuck.
I glanced over at Agata who appeared ready to murder me if I didn’t turn off my phone. I could … I could tell Eilidh I was busy, switch it off, have some food, and get laid.
“I’m sorry.” I stood, pulling out my wallet to lay some cash on the table. “Something has come up and I have to go. I’m sorry.”
“Are you joking with me?” My date’s eyes almost popped out of her head.
“Sorry. Really sorry.” I hurried from the restaurant and texted Eilidh back.
Give me two minutes.
Four
EILIDH
Give me two minutes.
Istared at my phone screen, almost counting those two minutes in my head.
The truth was it would scare Fyfe to know how much of a life raft he’d become these last few weeks. I didn’t know why I found it so easy to be honest with him about my feelings. Perhaps because I knew he understood loneliness. I’d always sensed it in him as a kid, knew how abandoned and neglected he’d been, and so I’d gone overboard to make him feel special back then.
I wasn’t abandoned or neglected.
But I was lost.
And feeling lost was extremely lonely.
It was no wonder I grabbed onto Fyfe as soon as he offered his support.
My London flat had seen many parties over the years. In fact, for a while, it was barely ever empty. I’d started renting the loft-like flat when I first moved here for Young Adult. I could have moved somewhere bigger, somewhere closer to the studio, and at one point I was going to. I’d wanted a place I could furnish and decorate myself, but my neighbors had told me Pete, our landlord, didn’t allow that in his flats. However, when I told Pete I was moving and why, he offered me rent control for a decade. A decade! In London. It was unheard of. And he said he’d have guys come and remove everything so I could furnish it and redecorate how I wished. I couldn’t turn down such a deal. Plus, he was a great landlord. Every year he did all the safety checks on the smoke alarms and the heating system, like a landlord was supposed to but rarely ever did. More reason to stay put.