Chased by a Stranger (Craved Series #3) (9 page)

The plane ride took forever. 

Of course, I hadn't been home in years, but air travel used to
be something I was so accustomed to. After a while, the dry air and the
restless legs just became part and parcel of jet setting around. But I hadn't
had to fly anywhere in so long I forgot how tedious it could be when you
weren't used to it. 

And for the first time, I understood why my Mom thought I was so
far away. 

But it was strangely thrilling to be surrounded by American
accents. I spent so little time with Americans in general that I forgot how
nice it was to be around people whose body language was familiar to me, whose
expressions I could read.

Truthfully, though, there was only one person I was interested
in reading, and my nerves refused to settle down. Frankly, I don’t think I’d
ever been that nervous. Even when I’d almost died of dry mouth before asking
Cindy Collins to the prom didn’t come close.

Then again, when it came to asking for Audrey's forgiveness,
every bone in my body knew that the stakes were much higher. 

If I blew it this time around, Audrey Lawrence- as Megan so
kindly informed me- would become a distant memory, too, and that was the last
thing I wanted. 

Fortunately, Megan was significantly more pleasant to deal with
than Matteo… and not just because she didn't make me diagnose any fungal
infections to get the information I was looking for. 

In fact, when I explained what happened, she was relieved and
agreed it seemed reasonable that I should want to apologize.

She also admitted that she hadn't seen Audrey much since the
holiday as they were both settling back into their own routines, but she was
nice enough to give me her address and tell me when she was likely to be
home. 

And with a little arm twisting, she agreed not to tell Audrey
we'd spoken, which was important because if Audrey knew I was coming, she might
decide she didn’t want to see me. Then my whole trip would be for nothing.

Therefore, the element of surprise was vital to my plan, though
I hadn’t thought much about what might happen after I surprised her.

It was impossible to know how she would react or what it would
be like to see her so far outside the environment in which we met, to see her in
her comfort zone instead of mine. However, I had a pretty good idea how my body
was going to feel about it considering its reaction every time I thought about
her. 

I did have an old friend based in Seattle, but I decided not to
tell anyone about my visit just yet. As far as I was concerned, I was traveling
strictly on business and only once I was back in Audrey's life (and hopefully
her pants, though that was temporarily secondary) was I going to let myself worry
about anything else.

I didn't want there to be any confusion in my mind or Audrey's about
the purpose of my visit. I wanted her to know that I came all this way for her.
That was the only way I might be able to make up for how rudely I'd abandoned
her on her last night, embarrassing her quite badly according to Matteo's
estimation… though he didn't exactly seem like a ninja when it came to reading
people. 

I was pleased to discover I could rent a motorcycle at the
airport. And despite the fact that it cost about the same to rent it per day as
it cost to buy one outright in Thailand, I was still more comfortable on two
wheels these days.

Within the hour, I checked myself into the nicest hotel I could
find. Then I got cleaned up and put on clothes that were more appropriate for
the Seattle weather and stared at myself in the mirror. 

My body was tired enough that I would definitely fall asleep if
I lay down on the comfy looking bed.

But I was dying to get this over with. I'd wanted to see her
since the night my Dad's accident had prevented me from doing so which meant
I'd been waiting almost two weeks to lay my eyes on her face, my hands on her
hips. 

I brushed my teeth and headed out, stopping in the florist on
the first floor for a bouquet. Unfortunately, I realized just after paying that
I'd chosen an arrangement that was far too big to take on the bike so I had to
walk. 

I figured it wouldn't be too bad, but the looks I kept getting
from women were wearing on me a bit. Half of them looked between me and the
flowers warmly as if to say "aren't they lovely and aren't you lovely for
buying them for whoever they're for." But the other half almost seemed
resentful of the smile that was plastered across my face. 

To be honest, my expression was mostly down to stress, but the
bouquet did have a funny way of lifting my spirits. It was like having flowers on
top of the element of surprise gave me the confidence boost I needed to carry
on. 

As I put each block behind me, I could feel my nerves beginning
to settle, as if they were calming themselves before the storm of seeing her
again.

Ideally, she would throw her arms over my shoulders, wrap her
legs around my waist, shower me with kisses, and say "I was hoping you'd
come!"

But I didn't want to get my hopes up. The possibility of that
happening seemed a little farfetched considering what her last impression of me
must have been. 

Best case scenario, she would be patient enough to hear me out.
And if I was really lucky, she might consider giving me another chance. 

However, there was a worst case scenario which was that she
might not be willing to forgive me and had already moved on. Of course, even in
that case, she still would've changed my life for the better. 

After all, caring about her had woken me up from the lazy
lifestyle I'd become so comfortable with. She made me want more and she made me
believe that there was more out there, more to life. For the first time since I
ran away to Thailand, I actually felt like I might be able to turn things
around, like I might be able to adjust my personal priorities to better reflect
my values. 

She made me look forward to the future in a way nothing and no
one had in years. So no matter what happened when I knocked on her door, she'd
already been the best thing that ever happened to me. 

So when I looked up the front of her building and swallowed, all
I could think was here goes nothing. 

And by nothing, I mean everything. 

Thank you
for taking the time to read this story.

If you
enjoyed it, please take a moment to leave a review and tell your friends!

To find out
what’s next for Jack and Audrey, check out the next book in the Craved Series,
Consumed
by a Stranger
.

Coming
Soon!!

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again for your support and until next time,

Happy
Reading,

Xo Hazel

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