Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 133034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 665(@200wpm)___ 532(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133034 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 665(@200wpm)___ 532(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Josh is still engaged in a standoff, founder or not. I pull myself together enough to ease my way in and pull him away. I take his hand and urge him from the scene, encouraging him, because this is not our business.
It’s Tiff and Reuben’s to sort out, and their road to find is their own. Just as we have to find ours.
I offer Santa a wave goodbye, listening to Josh’s curses all the way back to our apartment. His anger eases to sadness as his rational brain takes back hold, and I watch him settle down, letting him find himself.
And waiting for him to clock the parallels in our situations.
It doesn’t take him long.
One decent coffee from the coffee machine, and he’s sitting on a breakfast stool, staring at the mug.
“That’s love for her, even if it fucks her up.”
“I know,” I say. “And there is no standing in the way of that for her. No matter what you think of it. What will be for her has to be for her.”
Josh manages a smile.
“You sound like me.”
I laugh. “Maybe I’m learning.”
“No,” he says. “Maybe it’s me who has to learn here, because it puts things into perspective, doesn’t it? No matter the shitstorm, I’d have been off after Heath with my hand in yours, and nobody on this planet could stop me. Not if it was all or nothing at stake.”
“Same,” I reply. “I felt it, too. I realised it, too.”
We stare at each other in silence, and the tension in the air builds, our emotions mashing together.
“I’m sorry for my anger at you, baby. I’m glad you spoke to Orla,” Josh says, finally. “It was worth the risk, Ells, you made the right call.”
I nod. “Thanks. Yeah, I think so, too. Because the barriers need to come down, for all three of us. Whether they’re saving us from danger or not.”
“I agree.”
I take a sip of my coffee, my heart still racing for Tiff.
“What do we do now?” I ask Josh. “I mean, Orla knows about our client. She isn’t an idiot. It was obvious what I was talking about, even though I didn’t want to admit it.”
“What we do is ask Heath where his road really lies,” Josh replies. “It’s time to agree on the destination. Drifting in the world of normal can get fucked. We’re already way too deep for that.”
I picture our calendar of mutual bookings, all lined up with Heath’s. Too structured. Too stagnant. Too restrained.
Josh pulls out his phone and calls up the app. He takes the earliest booking and suggests a calendar shift.
“What day are you choosing?” I ask him. “I know Heath is busy over the holidays.”
“He’s busy for most of the holidays,” Josh replies. “But I think he’ll know the meaning of this one. It says a lot.”
My eyes widen as he shows me the suggestion. I get a wave of hope at the very prospect.
Please.
Please, please, God, I hope Heath accepts it.
It only takes thirty seconds before a ping sounds back through.
Josh is grinning bright when he turns his screen to face me.
Heath has accepted.
Holy fuck, screw the coffee. I put it on the counter and rush over to Josh, leaping up to straddle him on the breakfast stool.
It was a bold move and it paid off.
We’ll be seeing our beautiful, caring, incredible, iconic, AMAZING lover… on Christmas day!
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
I’m grinning my head off on my Christmas video call to my parents, wishing I could be there with them in person as we open our presents in tandem onscreen. Maybe next year.
They’ve got me some of my favourite perfume, white musk and cherry, and a box of pamper goodies fit for a queen. I hold up the face cream with a laugh, because it’s the exact same one I’ve chosen for Mum in her pamper box.
Dad is happy with his Best Dad in the world t-shirt, and his novelty Santa socks. He loves chocolate orange, and I got him a mega bar. He’ll be munching happily when the call is done.
But most of all, he’s grinning more than I am after I told him to check their bank account balance and Mum nearly fainted at the $200,000 Ausie dollars I sent them.
“You said you wanted a new car,” I say with a shrug.
“Your dad would never buy new,” Mum says. “The value…”
“Depreciates quicker than a rat up a drainpipe with a dingo on its ass,” Dad finishes for her.
I laugh. Mum swats his arm.
“Honestly, darling,” Mum says. “We can both get a new second-hand car with that kind of money.”
“And pay to get the pool repainted,” Dad adds.
I shrug again. “Glad to help. Merry Christmas to you!”
“How is the social media stuff going?” he asks, once the gift giving is over.
He always asks me this, paranoid of the impact my new accounts will be having, and I always reply with a yeah, cool, no biggie, but I’m about to switch it up and change my name back to the full Ella Edwards this new year, with a clear profile picture showing who I am.