Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 106798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
“Yes.” If the corners of his mouth didn’t curl into a tiny smirk, it would be so much easier to give him a piece of my mind.
“I’ll take one day off, but I’m staying here.”
“Three days and you’re staying with me.” Zach crosses his arms over his chest.
“Or…” Leah interjects “…you can play it by ear. One day at a time. If you only need a day, then that’s fine. If you need three, that’s fine too. And given your head situation, it might be nice if you stayed in a hotel where you don’t have to leave the room to use the bathroom. Maybe a place that has room service if you don’t feel like leaving to get something to eat. A place with a television in your room instead of a shared space with other guests.”
My frown turns into a full-on scowl at Leah.
“So it’s settled. You’re coming with me for one but most likely three days.” Zach grins.
“Don’t you have a job?”
“I do,” he says. “I also have vacation time.”
“Well, what a shitty vacation for you,” I say.
“Kuala Lumpur is beautiful.” He maintains his triumphant grin.
“So go see all the beautiful things. I’ll be here recovering just fine by myself.”
“I’m going to get your stuff packed for you,” Leah says.
“Traitor,” I mumble.
In less than five minutes, my suitcase is by the door and Leah’s sliding my shoes onto my feet.
She hugs me and whispers in my ear, “Don’t push him away. Dreams are meant to be chased.”
Maybe. That probably means hearts are meant to be broken too.
On the way to his hotel, Zach reaches across the back seat and takes my hand, giving it a friendly squeeze. I ignore him, keeping my focus out my window, making sure he doesn’t forget how manipulated I feel.
“Are you giving me the silent treatment?” he asks as we step onto the elevator. “Are we having our first official fight?”
I stare at the mirrored doors. He’s staying at a fancy hotel, and it would normally warrant a comment from me, but I can’t say anything because … yeah, I’m giving him the silent treatment.
“What if I said I find you attractive too?” The door opens.
I whip my head in his direction. Zach smirks and steps off the elevator. “Are you seriously making fun of me? Did you fly halfway around the world to see if I’m okay or to make fun of me?”
“I’m not making fun of you.” He wheels my suitcase down the long hallway and stops at the second to the last door on the right. After he opens it, he holds it for me and nods. “You’re attractive. That’s a compliment, right? Or did that stop being a compliment?”
I brush past him into the spacious room, a suite actually, with two separate bedrooms and a generous sitting area with two sofas, a modern glass coffee table, a television, and a full kitchen—not to mention the mesmerizing view of the city.
“Hungry?” Zach continues to make conversation while I continue to be mad at him.
“No,” I murmur, hugging my arms to my body while gazing out the window at the illuminated picturesque view of the Petronas Twin Towers and the KL Tower. Sensing him close to me, I stiffen because it’s hard to breathe when it’s just the two of us. It didn’t used to be this hard to breathe around Zach, but he does strange things to my heart, sending every breath out of my mouth with a little more force, every beat of it loud and vibrating against my chest.
“I’m glad you’re … taking advantage of your youth and meeting other people.”
I cough a laugh, nearly choke on it. Is taking advantage of your youth code for sex? He’s glad I had sex?
“What will happen when you stop making excuses?” I ask, slowly turning around, lifting my gaze to his since he’s less than a foot from me.
“Making excuses?”
“Do you think I want to have feelings for you? Do you think it’s convenient for me? Do you think I enjoy being married but not really married? Is playing dumb the easiest solution for you? Like … lying is the easiest solution for me. I’ll admit it. I downplay my feelings for you to keep you from feeling uncomfortable, to prevent our already weird arrangement from getting really weird … really awkward. And you pretend that being attracted to someone and finding them attractive is the same thing, and a dictionary might agree with you, but we both know they’re not the same thing. And I took advantage of my youth because it was a short reprieve from thinking about you. It made me feel normal and less delusional for one night. The next day I walked out his door, and I felt like a cheater.”
Zach's eyebrows knit together. “You didn’t cheat on me.”