Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 60931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
I can’t speak with my heart wedged in my throat and tears pouring from my burning eyes. I have never felt this loved and yet so heartbroken at the same time.
“Anna, I need to know. Did you stop writing because of me? Did you try to follow your dream after you left? It’s been the elephant in the room for too long. And it’s fucking killing me.”
Unable to swallow past the lump in my throat, I find a tiny voice, “Don’t worry about me, Eric. I followed my dream.” Staring at the phone, my finger hovers over the red button. When I can manage a simple “goodbye,” I press End.
Three weeks later …
“Anna, are we good?” Shaun asks while taping the last box that will get shipped to my parents’ house.
I smile, closing my suitcase. “We’re good.”
I wanted to be out of my boot by now, but at least I can put my full weight on it. PT has helped a lot—no more crutches. I’ve already found a physical therapist in Barcelona to continue my rehabilitation.
“If you don’t keep in touch, I’ll know you’re lying.”
Chuckling, I stand and set my suitcase upright. I’ve condensed my necessary belongings into one suitcase. I’m leaving behind everything I don’t need—almost everything.
“Communication is a two-way street. I’ll make an effort if you do.”
“Deal.” Shaun gives me a half-grin. It’s adorable.
I spend more time noticing Shaun's wonderful qualities, and I do it without feeling guilty or inappropriate. Had I not given my heart to another man, I think I could have given it to Shaun. I hope someday I’ll feel enough love again to share it with someone else. Right now, my chest is hollow.
“If you end up not loving Spain, you’re always welcome here.”
I hug Shaun. “You’re such a good man,” I whisper in his ear.
“Well,” he releases me and glances around the bedroom, “I think you’re all set.”
I don’t miss the redness in his eyes. Eric was right, feeling loved in any form is fantastic, and everyone deserves to feel that. I don’t know how to express it adequately, but I hope Shaun knows I feel his love, and it’s been exactly what I’ve needed since the day we reconnected. He’s unknowingly helped me heal from my Eric Steinmann heartbreak—twice.
“It will take me a little longer to get through security.” I gesture to my boot. “So we might as well head to the airport now. I see a body cavity search in my near future.”
Shaun barks a laugh. “I hope not.” He takes my suitcase and heads downstairs.
I stop at my bedroom door and take one final look at the bed where I last slept with Eric.
Eric Fucking Steinmann.
“If my love for you isn’t enough, then no one’s love will be enough. And I know this because no man will love you like I do.”
“Anna?” Shaun calls.
I wipe the few tears that have found their way to my cheeks. “Coming.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Eric
A few weeks ago, Anna sent me a string of texts on her way to the airport.
Anna: Getting on a plane to Spain. This is my dream
Anna: I’ve written three novels since The Last Person
Anna: I write for myself. It’s therapeutic
Anna: I thought I had left pieces of my soul in my writing
Anna: I was wrong
Anna: Writing feeds my soul. It makes me more … not less
Anna: I love writing too much to let anyone ruin it for me. I don’t want people to critique the part of my life that feels the most personal
Anna: If it weren’t u, it would have been someone else
Anna: Lots of critical reviews
Anna: I’ll never stop writing. When life gets hard, I write
Anna: It’s my savior
Anna: I’m glad we reconnected. I feel at peace
Anna: Loving u has been a favorite pastime of mine for longer than I have ever admitted to anyone
Anna: And I won’t stop anytime soon. We were almost perfect xo
Eric: Safe travels, baby xo
That’s the last I heard from her.
“I have a date,” Dad says. “You should shower and eat something.” He frowns at me while I adjust my position on the sofa. “What are you reading?”
I show him the book cover.
“You took my advice, huh?” He smirks.
I give him the satisfaction of a submissive nod while I turn the page of my seventh romance novel in three weeks. “Technically, it was my advice to you before it was yours.”
Dad laughs, adjusting his tie. “What’s that saying about hiding treasures in plain sight and no one will find them? That’s those damn books. Men have been trying to figure out women since the beginning of time, and women decided to hide their secrets in the very books that make us roll our eyes at them when they read them.”
I hum in agreeance, closing the book and sitting up straight. “You look fly.”
Dad looks down at his zipper. “My fly is up.”