Business of the Heart by Claire Forsythe

Author:Claire Forsythe [Forsythe, Claire]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781636791685
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2022-01-22T23:40:16+00:00

Chapter Twenty-three

Abby

The rest of the week dragged by, mainly because I hadn’t seen Lexi since our dinner date, and I wanted to be in her presence so badly. It was like I had started taking the Lexi pill and now I was hooked and having withdrawals, unable to get my fix.

She was extremely busy with work and kept in touch with the odd text here and there, but I knew there was something brewing under the surface. It was more than work keeping her away. Her texts were guarded and polite. Sure, we kept things friendly, but she wasn’t the Lexi who let go with me. I suspected that she had pulled away after she was forced to face the memories of her past. I understood it. I understood the urge to hide away where no one could hurt you anymore. I had the same feelings myself after I caught Sophia cheating. There was nothing I wanted to do more than hide away in my apartment and ignore that a world existed outside of it. I tried to, but of course Jen was having none of it. But Lexi didn’t have a Jen. She had been forced to face the heartaches of life alone.

I wanted to show her that it didn’t have to be that way, she never had to be alone again because I had her back. I had her and she could trust me, but I also knew that I had to tread carefully. I knew the beginnings of the trust were there already, knitted together by a very loose thread. Lexi had allowed herself to be vulnerable by beginning to let me in, but maybe the vulnerability got too much when she felt compelled to share the tragedies of her past. It made sense that she would back away. It was the way she knew how to cope with life. Still, understanding why it was happening didn’t make me feel any better.

I needed to see her. I needed to strengthen the thread.

The door chimed and Vanessa walked in, clocked me immediately, and walked up to the counter. I put on my best customer service smile as I tamped down the disappointment of another morning with no visit from Lexi.

“Morning, Vanessa.”

“Good morning, gorgeous,” Vanessa purred.

“Usual?”

“Just mine today. I’m not going into the office yet. A few things to do first. Shockingly, I was permitted a couple of hours of personal time. Cruella will have to fetch her own coffee.”

“Is she really that bad?” I didn’t know the woman from Vanessa’s workplace dramas before, but I did now, and I knew she wasn’t the bitch that Vanessa made her out to be. Not to me, anyway.

“Eh, you’ve met her, Abby, you know she is. She was a bitch to you too, remember?”

“Everyone has a good streak.”

“Not her,” Vanessa said. “She’s evil incarnate, I’m afraid. She deserves everything she gets.” She schooled her features quickly, but not before I caught the vicious look in her eyes.

“Oh?” I pressed. I didn’t want to come across as too interested.

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