Good Morning Heartache (27 page)

“Regina, what do you think?”

The petite redhead stared
intensely at the papers. “There has to be more. I can’t print a 30-page book.
Can you connect them in some way? A frame story or something?”

“I’m certainly willing to
try. I’ve recently had an influx of ideas.”

Regina reached into her
alligator skin attaché and pulled out a blue and white business card. “Email a
proposal by the end of the week. I can’t guarantee anything, but I’d like to
see more.”

Alexis’s heart pounded
against her chest, threatening to break out. “Not a problem.”

“I need ideas, timelines,
everything. If it’s half-assed, I won’t even consider it. Last time you got
lucky with one short story. I’m not going to spend a ton of money on a one hit
wonder. You need to be committed.”

She wanted to kiss the woman
full on the mouth and promise her that she would work hard. “I have a novel outline
and two chapters. Would you like me to send them as well?”

“No,” she said curtly.

Alexis’s heart sank.

“But, if I like your
proposal for the short stories, I’ll want to look at it. Don’t forget a letter
that tells me exactly why I should publish you.” Regina rose from her chair and
grabbed her bag. “One week. And get a proper agent. Stop using Eleanor, she’s
got enough on her plate.” She turned and walked out of the small office,
closing the door behind her.

Alexis turned back to Dr.
Lehrer, who broke the silence. “That wasn’t bad news. Regina is very good at
saying no.”

“Apparently.” Alexis took a
deep breath. “I’m going to be busy this week.”

The professor pointed a
finger at her disciple, “You should have done more work last week.” She picked
up the small stack of paper on her desk. “This wasn’t much to go on. She’s
taking a leap of faith. Prove her right.”

“I wish I could have had
more. There just wasn’t time. I have time this week.”

“Then what are you waiting
for? Get the hell out of my office and start writing.” Dr. Lehrer gave her a
grin.

Alexis grabbed her stuff and
stood from her chair, smiling back at her mentor. “Thanks. I appreciate what
you’ve done for me.”

“You’re welcome.”

Alexis turned to leave the
familiar space. A space that once reminded her of the past, but now only gave
her hope for the future.

“And Alexis,” Dr. Lehrer
stopped her before she left the office, “if you ever stop sending me your work
first, I’ll hunt you down and...”

Alexis stopped her with a
laugh. “I wouldn’t dare.”

Alexis walked down the
hallway quickly, almost skipping. She wanted to go out and celebrate, but she
was four hours from everyone she cared about.

Well, not everyone.

She pulled her black Gucci
tote bag closer to her shoulder. If there was one person that she really wanted
to share this with, it was Ryan. She knew the name of his company. She could
just…

No.

She stopped in the middle of
the hallway and folded her hands together and attempted to twiddle her thumbs.
She stood there for several minutes collecting weird looks from passersby,
trying to push him out of her mind. What if Caitlyn was right? What if she just
told him she was wrong? What if she told him she loved him?

Twiddle, damn it, she
thought. Eventually she threw her hands into the air and started walking out of
the building. The best thing she could do at this point was get out of the city
as quickly as possible before she made a colossal mistake.

Alexis opened the front
doors of Philosophy Hall to a very warm, bright day. It took a moment for her
eyes to adjust, and she was only able to fully adjust when she put her big
sunglasses on her face. She looked out toward the Buell Center, took a deep
breath, clenched her fists, and let out a loud scream. It was the kind of
congratulations to herself and release of energy that she needed.

She had to call someone and
tell them, or she would burst on the four hour drive home. She dug her hand
into her purse. Her fingers ran over the surface of something smooth and thin.
Curious, she pulled it out and looked it at it. The business card that Daniel
had given her stared back at her, but it didn’t have Daniel’s contact
information on it. She read the card, “Webb and Montgomery Designs; Ryan Webb,
Lead Architect.”

“This doesn’t make sense.
Ryan works for Pontus in New York,” she said to no one in particular as she
stared at the Framingham address.

This is ridiculous, she
thought. I want to call him; I should just call him.

She dug back into her purse
and extracted her phone. She dialed the cell phone number on the card with the
212 area code. She figured that was her best bet because as far as she knew
this business didn’t exist. She hesitated before she hit the call button, and
her palms began to sweat when she heard the first ring. Maybe they could just
meet for coffee.

The phone rang several
times, and it wasn’t until Ryan’s voice gave a standard voicemail message that
her heart sank to her stomach in disappointment and sickness.

It figures, she thought.
He’s too much of a workaholic to pick up his phone at work. Alexis couldn’t let
this go. If nothing else, she just had to know from him that what they had was
over. That it didn’t mean anything. Then maybe she could cry it out like a
girl, and then get some sleep.

§

Ryan sat in front of a
drafting table in his office. For the first time all week, his phone had
stopped ringing, and he could focus on the designs in front of him. He had this
feeling, one that he had felt all week, that something was amiss, but he
couldn’t put his finger on it.

The Taggart project was big
and time consuming. He had slept in the office for a couple of hours the night before,
so that he could work late and be there early. The project manager job was not
all that he hoped it would be. It was more people managing than project
managing, and this was the first time that he was able to look at the plans
with the intent of designing something. All the other times that he looked at
the plans it was to approve something that another architect did.

Sure, his office was nicer,
but Ryan was realizing that it was because he spent every waking hour there,
and some of the sleeping ones too. The big window that overlooked the city and
the comfortable couch were there to make it feel better than a prison cell, but
it was really no different. Ryan hadn’t felt the warmth of the sun on his skin
since he left Maple Field.

The thought of that small
town made his head pound with regret. He missed Alexis more than he could have
imagined. He wasn’t able to go back to the city and immerse himself in work to
forget her. Life was never that simple. It didn’t help that Daniel called about
once an hour to let him know there was still a job for him in Massachusetts if
he wanted it. Ryan finally had to turn off his cell phone and tell his
assistant to give Daniel the run-around if he called the office. If he wasn’t
calling to offer his services on the Taggart project, Ryan had no reason and no
time to talk to him.

Focus, he demanded himself,
but it hadn’t worked for the past four days. Even when he managed to get his
mind off of the last two weeks, someone would inevitably call him about something
or burst into his office with a “major issue.” He dealt with people too much in
this job and was questioning why he even wanted it in the first place.

A knock sounded on the thick
wooden door, and Ryan’s assistant entered. She was a tall, large-framed woman
with long blonde hair that was always in a bun at the top of her head. She
looked mean but was probably the sweetest person in the office.

“There’s a woman here to see
you.”

Ryan sighed; drafting would
have to wait again. “Send her in.” Ryan stood and walked over to his desk. He
sat in his tall back leather executive chair and leaned back to prepare for the
next disaster to walk through his door.

When Alexis Conner walked
in, he sat up straight and tried to keep his mouth from falling open.

“I have a bone to pick with
you,” she said as she stormed in and sat in the chair across from him. Her gray
dress clung tightly to her curves, and her chestnut hair was pulled back in a
knot at the nape of her neck. She was dressed for business and the look on her
face, an exasperated scowl, matched. Ryan remained silent because it was the
only thing that he knew to do.

“First of all, you didn’t
say goodbye, twice. I thought that we were friends. You saved my life, and you
just took off. Who does that?”

Ryan didn’t know how to
answer the question. He had thought that he was doing the right thing, but the
fire that lit up her bright hazel eyes made him doubtful.

“I have to know something.
It’s been driving me crazy, but you disappeared and I couldn’t ask you. Did you
mean it? When you told Richard that you loved me, was it to rile him up?”

Ryan’s face grew red hot. It
was the moment he had been dreading since he realized that he loved her, so he
responded with, “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

Alexis held her hands together
tightly, bit her lip, and then choked out, “I want you to be honest. I want to
know if you love me because I have felt like a damned fool since you left. I
have been resisting love since Frank left, but somehow it snuck up on me. I
fell in love with you, Ryan. I wish I could say differently, but it would be a
lie. So I need to know if you love me.”

Ryan rose from his chair and
walked around the desk to sit next to Alexis. “No,” he said, and she looked
down at the floor. “I wasn’t lying to Richard. I do love you. More than I ever
realized was possible. I left because I didn’t think there was a chance that
you would have me. I was trying to make it easier for the both of us. When I
fell in love with you, it was the best and worst thing that had ever happened
to me. I thought you wouldn’t feel the same way, and so I left. I’m sorry.”

Tears glistened in Alexis’s
eyes. “I didn’t want you to leave. I don’t want you to be four hours away, but
your job is here and Riley is staying with me permanently. I don’t know how to
make this work with you leaving all the time, and I don’t think I can stand not
having you around.”

Smiling, he leaned over, and
gave Alexis a quick kiss on the mouth. “I do.”

Ryan held her hand and
pulled her out of the chair as he stood. “What are you doing?” she asked in a
low voice as they moved across the office, down the hall, and through Steve
Lipenski’s door.

Before Steve could begin
yelling, Ryan spoke, “Steve, this is Alexis. I’m in love with her, but she
lives in Massachusetts. So, I quit. I’ll have someone pack up my office.” Then
he pulled Alexis back out of the office.

“Why?” she asked.

“Because I want to spend
every moment I can with you, and this job won’t allow that. Besides, I have
another opportunity lined up.”

Alexis reached into her
purse and handed him a card. “Is this what you’re talking about?”

He pushed his way out of the
doors to Pontus Architects and into the elevator waiting area. He took the
card, and after reading it, laughed. “It appears that this was meant to be.”

“Should you call him to let
him know that you’re coming?”

Ryan smiled at her, “I think
he already knows. Besides, I have more important things to do right now.” He
pushed the button to summon the elevator.

“You do?”

Ryan slid one hand behind
her neck and wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her against him,
and he kissed her deep on the mouth. She softened into him and fell into the
rhythm of his hard, wet kisses. He held her like this, memorizing her body, her
mouth, her taste, her movement. Everything. The elevator dinged to signal that
it was ready for them, and when he pulled away, he wasn’t quite ready to let
her go, but he knew that he would always remember exactly how she felt in his
arms in this moment.