Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 103050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
I need to be quick. Deacon usually comes to the hotel sometime between eight and nine. I don’t want to be standing in reception when he’s here, but I want to find out when he’s no longer going to be our guest.
I need to know when I can stop hiding.
From what he’s said, Gabby wants the nesting arrangement to end sooner rather than later. When it does, Deacon won’t need to stay at the hotel because he’ll be full-time at his townhouse.
I don’t want to run into Deacon at any point before I leave New York if I can help it. Not seeing him is all I can think about. Even though we’ve only known each other weeks, what I feel for him is so strong, losing him is like losing a piece of myself. It’s like I’m broken without him and I’m not sure I’ll ever work again.
I managed to leave his house without losing it, but then I went back to my flat and cried all night. I’ve cried every day since.
I cried for Deacon and the hope of loving someone for the rest of my life.
I cried for the life and family I’ve wanted since I’ve been a teenager.
I cried for all the pregnancies I won’t ever have.
I’d never felt so alone. So hopeless.
I managed to crawl out of bed, and for three days, I came to work and just went through the motions. I can’t remember anything about those days. I was just surviving.
Today, he’ll be checking in. It’s there on my screen—his booking right up until Wednesday. I figure I can do my best to avoid him. I’ve moved one of my shifts, which means tomorrow, Monday, I’ll come in early and will have left by the time he returns after work. I only have to avoid him at breakfast time. Today might be a little more difficult because he’s here most of the day. But I’ll figure it out.
My entire time in New York has been about Deacon. In my final three weeks, I just want him to disappear.
I quickly check the time on my watch. It’s almost eight. I need to get out of here. I know he usually doesn’t leave the townhouse until eight, but I don’t want to take any chances.
I go back to the home screen on the computer in front of me and look up. Poppy is standing just outside her office on the other side of reception. She beckons me over with a nod of the head.
“Hi,” I say as I greet her. “Are you trying to catch up?” I ask. Poppy’s not usually at the hotel on a Sunday.
“I’m eating an elephant,” she says. “There’s no end to the work I have to do.” We head back into the office she shares with Avril. “Now with Boston on the horizon, I think I’m going to have to speed up the process of getting a junior to help me with some stuff.”
The mention of Boston makes my stomach roil. They’re expanding, and they were counting on me to help them in this hotel so they were freed up. “Sounds like you need to have some things taken off your plate.”
She smiles and takes a seat at the table under the window, just as Avril comes in.
“Oh good, you’re here,” Avril says, coming in and closing the door behind her. “How is everything?”
“Fine,” I say, as I take a seat.
Avril perches on her desk.
“We were just wondering if you had any questions about the general manager job or if you’ve had any more thoughts.”
I feel so ungrateful. These two women have been nothing but welcoming and supportive to me, and now they’re wanting to promote me and I’ve kept them hanging.
But I don’t want to prolong this agony. I’ve made my decision. I want to go home.
“I’m sorry, I just don’t think I can stay away from home any longer.” My voice cracks as I get to the end of the sentence, and I mentally chastise myself. I want to stay professional.
“Are you okay?” Poppy asks.
“Of course,” I say. “A little homesick, I suppose.”
More than a little. All I’ve wanted to do since I had my last conversation with Deacon is to drive to Woolton Hall in my pajamas and get into bed with Darcy with a packet of chocolate biscuits and the remote control. I want to cry and have someone I love and trust tell me it’s going to be okay.
I don’t have anyone here in New York.
I suppose I could have gone and cried on Ryder and Scarlett’s shoulders. They would have been sympathetic and said all the right things. But I’m always the girl in the background to Ryder. I don’t want him to see me upset in New York. I want to show him, and Darcy, that I took New York by the balls.