The Allure of Julian Lefray (The Allure #1)(75)

Like a slow, slithering snake, doubt started to sink in. She had been really quiet the night before and seemed to have a lot on her mind. She’d hardly given me any notice about Texas, and she’d never given me a definite day for when she was getting back…

“I think?” I answered.

He tilted his head and arched a brow. “You think? That’s not really an option. It’s yes or no. Especially for women.”

“Oh really? When’s the last time you actually dated a woman? What makes you the authority on the subject?” Yup. He was right about my shitty attitude. I was all but yelling at him.

He smiled and took a sip of his drink. “I leave the dating to poor schmucks such as yourself.” He pointed across the table at me. “Even still, I know that until you both discuss it, whatever you’re doing isn’t a real thing. She probably thinks you’re going around town playing the field.”

I shook my head and laughed. “No way.”

I glanced back to the TV and took another sip of my drink, pretending to watch the sportscasters replay clips from the night before. The screen went hazy as I realized I had absolutely no clue what Jo was thinking.

Did she think this was just a fling? Did she honestly think I was sleeping around?

When the hell would I have time for that? I was with her all day, every day.

“Bet you didn’t know you were coming to lunch for a business meeting and a therapy session,” Dean said, trying to lighten the mood.

I grunted. He’d just dropped a bomb on me and I had no clue how to clean up the mess.

I needed to talk to Jo.





Chapter Forty-Five


Josephine





My computer had 2% battery life left when I finally attached every document to the email for Elizabeth. I tapped on my keyboard impatiently, watching the loading bars creep along as the files uploaded. C’mon Greyhound wifi, don’t fail me now. My battery hit 1% and I all but screamed with frenzy. It’d already been a week since Elizabeth first emailed me. She’d most likely given the job to someone else. I couldn’t go another day without replying to her and I probably wouldn’t be able to charge my computer again until I got to Texas the next day.

My gaze shifted back and forth between the battery percentage and the loading bar as I prayed for the battery’s juice to last just a little longer. Right as the final document finished loading, I hit send on the email and watched my computer’s screen turn black.

Dead. Right in the middle of sending the email.

“Fuck!” I yelled, pounding on the power button over and over again, demanding that the computer magically come back to life.

“Gladly sugar!” someone called from the back of the bus.

I turned to Gladys and shook her awake. How the woman was still alive after all that snoring was beyond me. She blinked her eyes open and glanced over.

“Do you have a cell phone I could borrow to check my email?” I asked with a kind smile. My shitty phone didn’t connect to the internet because I couldn’t justify spending that much on a phone when I could hardly pay my rent. Of course in that moment, I wished I’d sprung for the damn iPhone.

She shook her head. “Never been one for those cancer boxes. You can’t be too careful with your health,” she said as she dug into a bag full of Cheetos.

I stared at her for another moment and then had the overwhelming urge to scream. I’d been stuck on a bus for twelve hours and I still had another twenty-four to get through. My neck ached, my butt was numb, and my stomach was growling like a hungry lion since I’d skipped going off the bus for dinner so I could finish up the email to Vogue.

“Okay, thanks anyway,” I said, turning back to my computer and closing it. Whatever happened, happened. There was nothing more I could do about it while I was stuck on that bus. I turned to the wide window and pressed the side of my head against it. The sun had set a little while ago, but dusk still illuminated the drab landscape. I watched cities pass by me as I tried to find the silver lining in my day. I’d be home soon, and home meant getting to see Lily.

I knew I’d feel better if only I could contact Julian. I pulled my phone out of the front pocket of my purse, turned it on, and stared at the lack of bars in the top left corner of the screen. Nothing. Nada. Wherever the hell we were, there was no cell signal. No cell signal meant I couldn’t talk to Julian.

Instead of texting him, I imagined what he was probably doing back in New York. It was Sunday, which meant he’d probably gone on a run in the morning, maybe stopped somewhere for breakfast afterward. I imagined the attention he probably received from women on a daily basis. A cute guy like him eating alone in a coffee shop? Just hand him an adorable puppy and call it a day. The man was a catch. I could only imagine a woman sitting down to chat with him, admiring his dimples the same way I did every morning. They’d think they’d scored big time; not many men were more attractive than Julian. But then he’d open his mouth and he’d make them laugh and they’d find themselves as mesmerized by him as I’d been for the last few months.

I closed my eyes.

Good going, Jo. You were supposed to find a silver lining. Instead, you imagined Julian on a date with another woman.

I crossed my arms, kept my eyes shut, and tried to distract myself with ideas for my blog.

It didn’t work.