Wanted (Addicted Trilogy Book 3) (7 page)

Sara

“What’s happening, chickie?” Alexa asked as she came bouncing through
the front door. Braden walked closely in right behind her, as if he didn’t want
to let her out of his sight.

“Hey, you guys. How are you?” I smiled, but I wasn’t in a happy
mood. I was putting on a front these days, mainly because I didn’t entirely know
what the problem was.

“Hi, Sara,” Braden greeted. He followed Alexa into her bedroom
only to be escorted out five minutes later. He looked hurt but appeasing. “Bye,
Sara,” he said before he dragged my dear friend into the hallway, away from my
curious eyes.

I was so happy Lex had found a good man. They’ve been spending
more time with each other and I was happy she had someone to turn to,
especially since my accident. I knew she worried about me, and I was glad she
had a shoulder to lean on in times of need.

She came back ten minutes later, a look of pure happiness etched
across her face. She couldn’t help but look the part of a woman in love,
although she said she wasn’t there yet. I thought she was lying to herself,
holding on to the remaining hardened part of her fragile heart.

Alexa Bearnheart acted tough, but she was a huge softie
underneath.

“Why did Braden leave? I could’ve gone into my room if you guys
wanted to hang out here and watch TV.” I scooted over on the couch to make room
for her to sit.

“Don’t be silly, Sara. I told him to leave.” Grabbing a pillow,
she sat down and pulled it close to her, getting comfortable for what I was
sure was going to be one of our talks.

“And why would you do that?”

“Because I saw your face as soon as I walked in. You looked like
you were going to burst out crying but were trying your hardest to look
normal
.” Reaching over to grab my hand,
she gave it a squeeze and said, “I know when my girl is struggling.”

I half-smiled, trying to keep my tears at bay. I didn’t know what
was wrong with me lately.

My shoulder was healing well.

The shop was doing great.

My nightmares were fading each night.

The only thing left was Alek.

In all of the time we’d been together, I’d only questioned his
feelings for me once, and it was when I discovered he’d been watching me for
close to a decade. Otherwise, I knew he cared for me, loved me even. He’d said
so on numerous occasions, and they weren’t just words; his actions proved as
much, as well. But after he rescued me, I felt him slipping away, and I didn’t
know if I was being paranoid or if something was really going on with him.

“I need a glass of wine,” I mumbled, unfolding my legs from
underneath me as I rose from the couch. “Do you want some?”

“Do you really even need to ask?” She laughed and threw the
pillow at me, hitting me in the back of the leg as I walked toward the kitchen.
“So, spill it, Sara. What’s going on with you?”

“Can you wait until I have a drink before I answer?” I was trying
to joke, hoping some forced humor would do something for me, but it didn’t. Not
at all. What I really wanted to do was take the entire bottle of wine, climb
under my covers and lose myself in oblivion.
 

I walked back toward the couch, bottle of wine and two glasses in
hand. Kicking the pillow up with my foot, I flung it across the small space, actually
hitting Alexa in the face with it.

Now
that
made me laugh.

“Well played, Sara. Well played.” She laughed, as well.

She took the glasses from me and poured the drinks, sitting back
in silence and waiting for me to start talking.

She arched a brow and I spoke. “Oh, Lex, I don’t know. I don’t
know what’s wrong with me. Actually, I do but I’m so confused.”

“Does it have something to do with Alek? Did you guys have a
fight?”

“I wish it was so simple, because then at least I would know
where I stood. No, it’s something else entirely. I think he’s distancing
himself. He’s different when we’re together now, which, by the way, is becoming
less and less frequent.”

“Well, didn’t you say he was stressed out over a new building issue?
Maybe it’s why he’s not been around as much. It’s possible that’s all it is,
Sara.”

“You don’t see it. You don’t feel it like I do. Like the other night,
for example, when he came here drunk. He was rambling on about how he would
always love me no matter what, and he needs to protect me but can’t do it when
he’s so close to me. It was weird. He was
not
acting like himself, drunk or not.” For as much as I tried to hold back, I
failed. A lone tear escaped and ran down my cheek. I wiped it away quickly, not
wanting any more of them to fall and halt my conversation with my best friend.

“Is he the reason we’re now down one table lamp?” she teased.

“Yeah, sorry. He must have bumped into it when he came in. I’ll
pick up another one.”

“Don’t worry about it. I think you have enough on your plate.” She
finished her glass and poured another.

“Thirsty, are we?” I asked as she took a few sips of the cool
liquid.

“No, simply trying to squash my raging hormones.” She took another
sip, swallowed and said, “He practically attacked me in the hallway, whispering
all sorts of dirty things in my ear before letting me go. Then he simply
saunters down the hallway like nothing happened.”

I didn’t want to be the reason she wasn’t spending time with her
man. “You can call him back, Lex, seriously. I don’t mind at all.”

“I wouldn’t even think about it. You need me more than I need to
have sex.” She tipped her head to the side as if she was contemplating the two.
“Yeah, you need me more,” she repeated. “End of story. I need more wine, that’s
all.” She laughed. We sat in comfortable silence. That was the great thing about
having a friend like Alexa. We can just be. We can sit together and not speak,
all while still supporting each other.

Finally, I broke the silence. “Maybe he’s having a tougher time
with killing Samuel than he even realizes.” Simply saying those words made me
shudder. “I can’t even imagine being responsible for taking another person’s
life, no matter what the circumstances. The guilt I have for putting him in
that situation will always be there, but he must be dealing with something
unimaginable.”

“Have you tried to talk to him about it?”

“Yeah, but all he does is shut down. He won’t talk to me, or
anyone else.” After some contemplation, I nodded slowly. “Maybe that’s what the
issue is.” I figured if I said it aloud I could make it true, although the
uneasy feeling never wavered.

 
“I bet it is, Sara,” she said
comfortingly. Poor Lex. She looked as hopeful as I was. She truly was a great
friend.

“When was the last time you saw him, or even spoke to him?”

“The last time I saw him was when he came by drunk.
 
But the last time I spoke to him was this
morning. He’s been busy all day in meetings and hasn’t had much time to talk.”

I missed him.

I missed talking to him on the phone.

I missed his arms wrapped around me, holding me tight.

I missed his lips on mine.

I even missed arguing with him.

After another hour of talking, we decided to call it a night. The
fact the bottle of wine was empty probably had a little something to do with
our persistent yawning. At least I felt better having had the chance to talk to
someone about what was weighing on my mind.

Sara

“Hey, watch yourself,” Matt called out as he came up behind me. He
was carrying a breathtaking bouquet of white and burgundy calla lilies, and my
distractedness almost made him drop them all over the floor.

“Wow, Matt, did you put the arrangement together yourself?”

“Sure did.” He leaned in close and revealed, “I learn from the
best.”

“Well then, you must be talking about Katherine because she
taught me everything I know.”

“Yeah, she’s who I was talking about.” He laughed, making his way
back toward the prep room.

“Very funny,” I yelled over my shoulder.

Inventory kept me busy. There were only a few customers milling
around the store, and I was thankful for the short reprieve to catch up on some
basic data entry.

The bell above the door sounded as someone walked in, pulling my
attention from the computer. A young, blonde woman made her way toward me, a
bright smile lighting up her pretty face.

“How can I help you?” I asked in my usual upbeat, professional
tone. Even if I was in a bad mood, or distracted by something not so pleasant, it
all changed as soon as I was dealing with my customers. They were my lifeline,
after all.

“Hi. Yes, I wanted to know if you were hiring.”

Her inquiry came at the most unusual time. Matt and I were discussing
the other day how it would be nice to have another pair of hands with the day-to-day
orders and deliveries. But I didn’t even have the chance to place an ad or put
up a simple ‘Help Wanted’ sign in the window yet.
 

“Well, I was contemplating bringing in an additional person to
help out, but it would only be part-time. Is a part-time position something you
would be interested in?” Truth was, I was still learning the business part of
the shop and according to my financials, I couldn’t really afford to bring
someone on full-time. Not yet, at least.

“Part-time would be perfect.” There was something about the woman
standing in front of me I couldn’t put my finger on. She seemed friendly enough
but she regaled me with real interest, as if she thought she knew me from
somewhere. Then again, it could’ve simply been nerves. Maybe I was paying too
much attention to something which was a figment of my imagination.

 
Looking the girl over from
head to toe one more time, I dove right in with the necessary questions. “Do
you have any experience working in a flower shop?” I quickly assessed my
potential employee, doing my best to read her during the whole two minutes
she’d been in my shop. She looked to be older than me, maybe in her early to
mid-thirties, but in this day and age, I couldn’t really be sure. Her
personality seemed pleasant, and she had an air of confidence surrounding her.

No outward signs of crazy.

Then again, there was only so much you could tell from an initial
interview.

She smiled brightly as she answered. “I do have experience, close
to ten years’ worth. I used to work in my aunt’s shop back home in North
Carolina.”

I didn’t need much time to make my decision before I blurted out
my proposal. “I’ll tell you what. I can bring you in on a trial basis. Let’s
say a month. We’ll see how you fit in and what your skills are before a permanent
offer is extended.” Her smile widened which caused me to mirror her enthusiasm.
“What do you say?”

“Oh, my God, that would be amazing. Thank you so much.”

“Okay, great. Well, you can come by tomorrow, say around ten?” As
we were finishing up, Matt strolled in with a different array of flowers in his
hands.

Grabbing his attention, I introduced him to our newest addition. “Matt,
this is…” I stopped talking because I realized I’d never gotten the poor
woman’s name. “I apologize, but you never told me your name.”

“Oh, yeah, it would be helpful, right?” She gave Matt a once
over, obvious attraction in her stare. “It’s Megan. Megan Smith.”

“Hi, Megan.” Matt looked over at me, a look of confusion clouding
his face.

“I decided to hire Megan on part-time, on a temporary basis. If
she works out then we’ll have a new member on our team.”

“Oh, cool. Nice to meet you,” he said before making himself
scarce again.

Having no idea where my head was at, I thought it important
enough to tell her my name, as well. “My name is Sara, by the way. You might
need to know it.” We chuckled together but her real focus wasn’t on me; she
continued staring at Matt as he walked away. I didn’t blame her, but she’d learn
soon enough she didn’t have a shot with him.

Oh, well. Who am I to ruin
the poor girl’s fantasy?

When her eyes returned to mine, she blushed quickly then said her
goodbyes as she walked out the door. I really hoped Megan worked out because we
could definitely use the help. There were three other part-time workers, but I
had to cut back their hours because two of them were in school and needed to
focus on their studies and the other woman was set to have surgery on her
elbow.

Walking around the counter to grab another pen, I heard my phone
ding, indicating I’d received a text message. Opening it, I saw it was from
Alek.

I won’t be able to see you
tonight. Too many things to straighten out with a deal to get away.
 
Alek

Figures.

Sadly, his message didn’t surprise me, which was disheartening. I
was too disappointed and paranoid over our tender relationship to even text him
back. I needed some time to think, or over-think, as Alexa would say, about whatever
was going on recently between us. I knew he had other pressures on his time,
but he never let it hamper us from being together before. Normally, he would simply
re-arrange his schedule in order for us to see each other.

So, what was different?
     

Distractedly, I muddled through the rest of my day. My thoughts kept
floating back to Alek, to the man who had quickly become my heart…my
everything. I knew we’d experienced something devastating in our short
relationship, but it was merely a test, right? A trial of our love for each
other. Something which would bring us even closer.

 
I thought Alek and I could
battle any weather, but our storm was proving to be too much, threatening to
tear the roof off our lives.

I texted him twice after I arrived home from work but he never
answered. I was hurt, wallowing in my own crazy thoughts when I decided to call
it a night and go to bed. It was still early, but I longed for the sweet arms
of sleep to drag me under and not release me until a new day had arrived.