The One That I Want (Scorned Women Society Book 3) by Piper Sheldon (e book reader android txt) 📕

“You assumed that something took her away. Something that was outside of her control. You assumed the best,” Skip said simply.

A weird pain tightened my chest. “Yeah. I did.”

“You always assume the best in people,” my at-home philosopher said.

“Why does it not feel like a good thing when you say it?”

“Good is relative. Things are what they are.”

“Well, now what am I thinking?” I asked.

“And now you’re thinking that maybe she left of her own choice.”

The pain sharpened. I couldn’t seem to take in a full breath. “Yes.”

“It sounds like you need clarification. But it also sounds like she might need some time to process.”

“How so?”

“Don’t forget I met her. We actually spent a lot of time together. She was highly organized and focused. To be honest, she reminded me of myself.”

I sat on the bed. “Huh.” Wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

“Yes. And she and I have similar business aesthetics,” he explained. “We collectively geeked out over the use of color-coded highlighters in our planners.”

“Nerds.”

He laughed softly. “Yeah, yeah. Just remember that I don’t like surprises. Unlike you, I find sudden change very upsetting and I need time to readjust.”

“I know, Skippo.”

“So give her some space. She might need to process things. Just don’t bombard her.”

“You’re right. I should go talk to her. I wonder if she’s awake now? How can I figure out where she lives?”

“Sanders,” his tone warned.

Skip was soft-spoken with a very slight speech impediment on some of his words. He told me once he had therapy as a kid but it still sometimes came out. He’d always been self-conscious about it and I wondered if that was why he hardly spoke. Or maybe it was because I was always the one talking when we were together. But when he had something important to say, he was firm. He was firm with me now.

I flopped back on the bed and studied the wooden beams that crossed the ceiling. “Fine. I’ll be patient.”

There was a sound of a deep breath.

“Hey, I can be patient,” I repeated.

“Like the time you said you would wait for me and then ran to the beach before I even had my sunscreen on?” I started to speak but he cut me off to finish. “And then you ended up getting stung by a jellyfish. Need more examples? I have plenty.”

The memory made me wince. “Point taken. Moving on.”

“You’re many wonderful things,” he explained, “but patience is a virtue that skipped you. Sometimes, this is an awesome thing, your tenacity is unmatched. Sometimes, it leads to intense talks in the middle of the night and flights to small towns in the middle of nowhere.”

“I can do this,” I said out loud mostly to myself. I felt a change happening within me. I wanted her to take me seriously.

“Make sure when you talk again, it’s on neutral ground. Somewhere she feels comfortable,” he said.

I closed my eyes and imagined Roxy’s face. Her soft, full lips. I recalled her body rocking against mine. My palms burned to touch her skin. “With her, I can be patient.”

The silence lasted so long on the other side of the line that I pulled the phone away to check that we hadn’t disconnected.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “If you’re worried about the business stuff, don’t be. I met another perspective client tonight. His name is Ford. He’s got this amazing charity that gives teens somewhere to put all their angst. We’re already planning to take them camping.”

“Despite your impulsiveness, I know you always intend to put OTB first,” he said.

“You’re not saying something.”

“I’m not worried about the business, man. Not really. I’m worried about you,” he said. “Don’t you think we should talk about things? If this is just a big distraction from—”

“No,” I said, firmly. “It’s not a distraction.”

For a split second, I wanted to tell him everything. I felt like I could crack my chest open and share with him all my worries. I could share about Dad and Roxy’s rejection and my fears about business and how I just kept managing to fuck things up when I only want to be the best …

I waited a beat too long.

“You know, I was planning on going out there anyway. I’d been looking at flights,’’ Skip said. I could practically hear him reaching for his laptop and logging on.

“What? No, mate, you know I’m fine,” I said with an easy laugh. I was the easygoing one. I wouldn’t burden him with my shit. He had his own worries.

“You’re sure?”

“Of course. I always am. I’ll clear this up. And I will nail this account. Getting more business by the day. All good things.”

I closed my eyes again. My hand rubbed circles on my chest. I reached for the half-empty bottle of antacids.

“It’ll be fine,” I said. My eyelids felt heavy. Sleep was finally taking over.

“Okay, Sanders. Just be careful.”

Chapter 10

Sanders

I took Skip’s advice to heart. I spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday completely focused on OTB and hardly thought of Roxy at all. I went into town and schmoozed with local business owners, including a nice lunch at a place called Daisy’s Nuthouse with Ford and Jack. I avoided areas where I thought Roxy might be, which was easy enough given the size of the sprawling Donner Lodge. I wandered through the winding footpaths, and mostly did my best to focus on work and respecting her space.

Well, that wasn’t to say that I wasn’t constantly thinking of Roxy but I wasn’t doing anything about those thoughts, which was serious progress. Forty-eight whole hours of not actively pursuing her challenged me. Hard as I was trying, the inaction had taken its toll and by Monday morning I was a carbonated drink that had spent the weekend on a paint shaker.

It wasn’t my fault that the very first person I saw upon leaving my room that morning was Roxy. How could I not think the universe was rewarding my patience? I’d come down to the main