Page 26 of Lemon Drop

“And?”

A long pause, before he admitted. “I still do.”

Then, the call ended. I stared at the phone. Coming from Damien Montana, that might’ve been the nicest shit he’d ever said to me.

I shook my head as my phone rang again.

“What?” I answered him.

“Don’t make me regret it, cuz then you’ll regret it.”

I couldn’t help smiling. There was the real Damien Montana. But I didn’t give a fuck about his threat; I had no intention of breaking that promise.

Ever.

Monday morning started normally despite the fact that part of my life was in shambles. At least, I thought it did. For one thing, I wasn’t in Port Isle, despite Dream’s coaxing and Demon’s sullen scowls. Yes, I realized I could’ve been waking up in a house situated on soft white sand overlooking blue-green, sun-kissed water with nothing but sunning myself and reading something from my ridiculous TBR on my agenda. Instead, I woke up in my bed at five-thirty and took a long shower as I mentally ran through my workweek. I did my hair and makeup and made a delayed coffee order for me, Lori, and our picky boss. I checked my calendar one more time before leaving home. By seven-forty-five, I was walking into Masters Capital with my laptop bag and my purse on my shoulder. Reception wouldn’t open until nine, so I went straight to our floor.

“Normal,” I murmured. “Everything is normal.”

I had to convince myself that the turmoil I felt inside wouldn’t be visible to my colleagues. I feel normal. If I said it enough, it would be true. I gave my usual cordial greetings to the rest of the eight AM staff as they left the breakroom, headed to their workspaces. Walking into my own office, I closed the door, set my things down, and grabbed the edge of my desk until my hands hurt.

“You got this, Paz. One no good man is not going to affect your whole life. You didn’t even know him long enough for all that. Chin up, chest out, girl,” I encouraged myself.

I just needed to believe it. I powered on my desktop, pulled the laptop out of my bag, and checked that it was charged. By now, the coffee shop should have dropped our coffee order off to Lori. Lord knew I needed it. I slipped on the jacket to my suit, feeling like I needed the extra armor. Picking up the tablet I used in meetings, I performed a few breathing exercises, squared my shoulders, and stepped back into the office’s common space. Moments later, I knocked on Lori’s door, opening it after her cheerful, “Come in.”

“Morning, Topaz,” she greeted, gesturing toward the coffee and pastries.

I didn’t order the sweets regularly, but I absolutely wanted them this morning.

“Good morning,” I responded.

Something in my tone, I guess, drew her attention back to me. She frowned, her head tilting sideways as she studied me.

“You good?” she asked.

“Always,” I lied breezily, looping the handles of the bag over my wrist and picking up the coffees.

She looked at me a moment longer before saying, “You have a good day.”

I returned the greeting and walked out of the office. A minute later, Reign gave me the same look after we exchanged “Good mornings.”

“What?” I finally asked.

She shook her head, her eyes dropping. “Nothing.”

“Something, ’cause why is everybody looking at me?” I demanded, my irritation showing even though I knew it was unfair.

How could I be mad at them because my normal was apparently a little frayed around the edges?

“I’m not,” Reign denied.

I kissed my teeth. “Girl! You are.”

“I’m good. You good, Topaz?” she asked softly.

I pasted on a smile. “Completely.”

Reign nodded once. “Okay, then.” She smiled, pulled the tablet from under my arm, and disappeared into the conference room.