Chapter 27 Audra
AUDRA
Ishut the door and put my back on it once again.
Was I ever going to be able to look at my door the same after that kiss against it?
Holy God. I would have married Theo and not known a kiss like that existed in this world, that it could feel like that.
That my insides would ignite in desire and magic.
Not that Theo and I were bad together. In fact, without experiencing that last ten minutes, I’d say we were electric.
Not so much anymore. And I’d had some hookups that were great in bed.
But nothing … nothing had ever felt like that. I found my fingertips on my lips again.
What was I doing? I already decided I could not get involved with someone like Donovan Wright.
It was fun flirting with him, no doubt, and he was thoughtful and funny and freaking gorgeous, but things would end in heartbreak for me again.
If I wasn’t ‘the right pedigree’ for Theo, there is no way I’m going to be the right one for Donovan.
Not giving him my number was the smart move. We could not take it any further.
I tried to switch my focus and think about work and all the stuff going on in my life.
That should’ve killed any unrealistic daydreams. After my beach walk and a nap the other day, I filed a formal complaint at the hospital against Joe.
Juliette’s words about documenting everything rang in my head, and even though she was referring to Theo, something about Joe made my stomach uneasy, too.
I spoke with my boss and told her I was taking the day off of work because I wasn’t feeling well, though she didn’t know my ‘sickness’ would last a couple more days.
Part of me felt terrible for leaving my coworkers in a lurch, but when I looked at the spreadsheet of days I had picked up for people, I didn’t feel quite so bad.
And realistically, I was only scheduled for two of those days, so I had until Tuesday to just relax.
After that, I checked in with Cora. It had been almost a week since Maverick dropped the bomb, and she was surviving, at best. I saw him and Murphy in town on Thursday, but honestly, I couldn’t bring myself to even make eye contact with him.
But even with all that, my attempts to get my mind off Donovan were futile. All thoughts came right back to him, and that kiss that had propelled me into the stratosphere.
Stay strong, heart. This is a hard no. Do not let another rich boy charm you.
Even if he is the sexiest man you’ve ever seen.
And smelled good. And put a Band-Aid on you when he didn’t have to.
And complimented your cooking. And got you a sweatshirt solely because he observed you were cold.
And made you laugh like you never had before.
And got you the cotton candy. And gave you goosebumps with how he looked at you.
And made sure you got in the house safe.
And made your insides melt when he touched you.
And made your heart skip a beat when he was close.
And kissed you with the most magical kiss in the universe.
Because even after all of that, it will end in heartbreak.