Chapter 26
Twenty-Six
I drifted awake, bleary-eyed and alone.
Sunlight filled the room as it blared through the balcony window. I sat up, naked in a tangle of Egyptian cotton sheets. There was no sign of Alfie and I wasn’t sure if I felt relieved or hurt. Maybe both.
I dressed in yesterday’s clothing. The only thing missing was my destroyed shoes. I left the suite barefoot and went in search of Alfie.
There was no sign of him downstairs. The dining table, the same table that I’d had multiple orgasms on over a week ago, held a neat breakfast spread under glass cloches.
Alfie had presented me with breakfast every morning I’d been here, but without him I felt like an intruder.
Feeling somewhat of a thief, I lifted the lid and was just sneaking out a blueberry muffin when the lift doors pinged open.
I expected Alfie, but instead I was greeted by Elliot carrying a white box.
His sharp eyes scanned the suite as he entered, landing on me.
“Good morning, Elliot. Hacked anyone else’s medical records recently?”
He didn’t respond, only set the box down on the foyer table. “Mr Tell had me collect these for you. I’m sure they’ll fit.”
I crossed the room and opened the box, finding a white pair of shoes almost identical to the ones I’d destroyed last night, only these were undoubtedly more expensive. I wanted to throw them at him but I didn’t have anything else to wear, so I dropped them onto the floor and shoved my feet in them.
“Any idea where Mr Tell is this morning?”
“I expect he’s in the gym.” He nodded towards the hallway that led to a series of rooms I had yet to explore. “I advise you to wait here until he returns.”
I let out an unladylike snort. Yeah, that was gonna happen. Taking my muffin with me, I walked off to find Alfie. I half-expected Elliot to stop me but a moment later I heard the ping of the lift signalling his exit.
I tried door after door and found a games room complete with a snooker table, a small library, and a jacuzzi room, but no Alfie.
I got to the last door in the hall and when I opened it I was greeted by a rhythmic thud thud thud .
I found Alfie, dressed only in gym shorts and boxing gloves, beating the hell out of a punch bag.
The gym was decked out with weights, a bench press, a rowing machine, and a treadmill, as well as other equipment I couldn’t name.
It was impressive but it was Alfie that I couldn’t take my eyes off.
He was facing me, but he didn’t see me. His brow was screwed up in concentration, his beautiful mouth set in a grim line.
His abs flexed and contracted as he landed blow after blow, his torso slick with sweat.
The door clicked shut behind me, alerting him to my presence. His eyes found me. They held my gaze for a cold moment before he switched his attention back to the bag. My stomach growled and I popped another morsel of muffin into my mouth as he continued his assault.
Eventually, his punches slowed and, after a few more, he gave it up, panting hard and looking anywhere but at me.
He tugged off his gloves and placed them on a bench, side by side.
He opened a mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.
I watched the muscles of his throat contract as he drank it down.
His every detail was fascinating to me. He picked up a hand towel and wiped the sweat from his face.
“Thank you for the shoes,” I said, no longer able to stand the silence.
“I should have had him bring you fresh clothing too.” He looked at my worn clothes with disapproval. That hurt but I let it go.
“Do you do this every morning?” I asked, trying to change the subject. “You look exhausted.”
“It was the lesser of two evils,” he snapped, stalking past me and out of the gym. I had no choice but to follow him so I did, hurrying my step as he strode down the hallway.
“Wait here.” Without so much as a backward glance, he mounted the stairs and disappeared.
I stood there, feeling the cold stab of rejection. I realised this is what he’d felt like last night. Was he doing this on purpose?
I slumped onto the couch and buried my head in my hands, staring down at the shoes he’d bought for me.
They fit beautifully, but the material was stiff and unforgiving, already rubbing against my little toe.
I wanted to get up and walk out but I couldn’t.
I didn’t have my van here, or my phone to call for a lift, or hell, even my purse to pay for a taxi.
I was stranded in this ivory tower waiting for the fire breathing dragon I was falling for to let me go.
Falling for.
That knowledge hit me like a tonne of bricks. I was falling for him. Madly and desperately. And it was all too much.
Alfie’s return came all too quickly. Within fifteen minutes he descended the marble staircase, cold and aloof in a charcoal suit.
My mouth watered at the sight of him. I wanted him to hold me and tell me how everything would be okay, but deep down I knew every word of it would be false.
I knew how everything would be and it wouldn’t be a fairy tale.
He was the fire breathing dragon, not the white knight.
He eyed my discarded muffin on the pristine coffee table. He disapproved of that too. He disapproved of everything this morning.
“Are you ready?” He was looking at me like I was a stranger. I stood, my arms wrapped around me as if I could keep his coldness out. I nodded.
“Good.” He headed for the lift and I followed. His Wayfarers went on, shutting me out further.
We were watched by a sea of speculative eyes as we left.
I imagined we were becoming quite the fountain of gossip for the hotel staff.
I was glad to be outside in the fresh air, but all too quickly I was in his Aston Martin and back in a cage with the beast. He pulled out and began to weave us effortlessly through rush hour traffic.
We sat in stony silence, my hands twisting in my lap. “Can we listen to something?” I asked when I couldn’t stand it any longer. He pressed a button and I was surprised when a moment later the sound of a violin filled the car. The music was alien to me but beautiful.
“What is this?”
“‘The Four Seasons’ by Vivaldi, the Summer section,” he answered, his tone clipped. The name rang a bell and I searched my brain until I found it.
“You were listening to that in that article I read about you, when you were at the Never Tell Club.” He didn’t answer, didn’t even look at me. His silence was drawing me out, pulling me to him, sparking a kind of desperation in me to find a way back into his light.
“Have you heard it live?” I asked, though I knew that I was just giving him what he wanted. I’d been punished with silence before.
“Yes, many times.”
“When?”
“The last time was in New York, shortly before I came here.” He didn’t offer me anything further so I dropped the subject and tried to relax instead, focusing on the music. The rising notes of the violin felt urgent to me, as if a change was about to come.
By the time we pulled into the car park I’d heard most of Vivaldi’s ‘The Four Seasons’ and was enthralled by it.
Alfie pulled the Aston Martin into a space close to my office and turned the engine off.
I looked out the window, relieved to see that no one was watching us.
I was surprised to see my van sitting there.
“I had Elliot pick it up from Keira’s house.
” He reached into his pocket and produced my keys.
Our fingers brushed as he handed them to me, his jaw clenched, and he turned away as if pained by the contact.
“You’ll find your phone and handbag in your van under the seat.
” His tone was dismissive, as if he no longer wanted me in his presence.
“Are you punishing me for denying you last night?” I had to know.
He didn’t answer. I swallowed the lump in my throat.
This wasn’t my fault. I would not feel guilty about this.
“Thank you for the lift,” I mumbled and opened the door.
The words felt like a pathetic substitute for everything I should be saying.
“I’ll pick you up after work,” he said as I was about to get out.
Bradley’s old red Mazda pulled into the car park.
It was a simple car, a little old, a little battered.
It represented a life I was familiar with, a safe life.
He got out and spotted me, giving me an easy wave.
I smiled back and hoped Alfie hadn’t noticed, but when I turned to him his eyes were blazing at me.
“Alfie,” I started and I realised I had no idea what I was about to say. “I think I need some time.” Did those words just come out of my mouth?
“What is that supposed to mean?” His tone was like ice. I was connected to Alfie in a way I didn’t understand. There were parts of him that I was growing to care for, but there was this other side of him too, a side that would damage me if I let it. I couldn’t overlook it anymore.
“It means you’re controlling and manipulative and I don’t want that in my life again.” I stared at my hands as I spoke, unable to look at him. “It means that you’re leaving soon anyway and maybe we should just end this now.”
“That’s your fear talking. As for my leaving, I was only supposed to be here for two weeks, I’ve been here for three and I’m planning on extending my stay, so you don’t need to worry about that.” For me. He was upending his schedule for me. That should change everything, but it didn’t.
“I just need some time to think, Alfie.”
“I don’t accept that,” he snapped, the words forced out through gritted teeth. I made myself look at him. I didn’t understand why he was fighting me. What was the point? “Tell me how to fix this.”