ログインALICEThe next morning, I felt a lot better and it sure helped when I walked into the office and everyone greeted me like they normally did. I didn't make the mistake of searching up our story on the internet, so in my eyes, things were finally settling down. Hopefully, by the end of the month, it would be like none of this ever happened. I stopped by Freddie's office to greet him, but he wasn't in yet, so I went to mine. I was hoping Francesca would be in, too. I wanted to talk to her and figure out where we stood after what happened. But she wasn't in, either. Ten minutes later, Freddie came to see me. "Feeling better?""Yeah," I admitted. "I mean, it sure helps that everyone's acting so...normally."He leaned against the door and slid his hands into his pockets. "How did you want them to act? Scandalized?""I don't know. Maybe."He snorted. "You're with the boss's grandson. Do you really think anyone here is willing to risk their position for a moment of judgment?"Now that he
THEODOREAfter leaving Alice's apartment, I headed straight home. If I were a different man—a coward—I'd spend the night in a hotel instead, but I couldn't run from my responsibilities forever. And when I said responsibilities I really meant my mother. There were cars parked right in the driveway. A cold smile tugged at the corners of my lips. Of course. My phone had been off all day to avoid her pestering, but it was time for me to face the music. The sooner I got this done and over with, the sooner I'd have peace. I focused on that and not on the fact that I was a grown man being hounded by my family for the decisions I made concerning my life. My only solace was that Granny was here, too. I parked my car and headed inside. Even from the door, I could hear Mom and Granny arguing. Whenever those two are in the same room, there’ll always be disagreements. It used to bother me before. Now, not so much. I neared the living room and they both fell silent. I looked at Granny first
ALICEI was just starting to fall apart when Theo rang the bell downstairs. I paced the living room floor while I waited for him to come up, and as soon as he was standing on the other side of my door, I threw myself at him. He wrapped his arms around me and kicked the door closed. Sobs bubbled up my throat and I let them spill out. "I'm sorry," he murmured against my hair. "I'm so sorry.""My parents...""I know, baby. I know."I felt a tight squeeze in my chest at his words. He carried me toward the bedroom and set me down on the bed. He removed his blazer and his tie, and I kicked my shoes off. I hadn't even had time to take my clothes off. Whatever. It could wait. I was back in his arms with my left leg hooked over his hip. I was so damn glad that he was here. This day had been awful so far and I said so many things I didn't mean to my father because of all this. Well, no. That wasn't entirely true. I meant those things. Saying them to his face hadn't been right. He stopped g
ALICE"So," Todd began before taking his phone out of my hands, "that's what you've been up to, huh? I must admit that I honestly thought there wasn't anything else between you and Theo, but I was wrong. You're quite the actress."My mind was racing. My parents. If they saw this...God. How the hell did this happen!?"I have some connections in the film industry. If you want, I could—"My eyes snapped up to his face and I burst out, "What the hell are you still doing here?"I stood up when he stared back at me with a stunned look on his face instead of answering my question. I was already fuming about what he showed me, so it was easy for me to let it all out on him. "I'm struggling to understand why you even bothered to come all the way here just to show me this. Don't you have anything better to do with your time? I'm starting to think that I need to get a restraining order against you!"A slow smile spread across his pathetic face. "Shooting the messenger, I see." "Get out!"He pl
THEODOREI was sick and tired of hanging around the hospital, but nothing exhausted me more than acting like I gave a shit.I stayed here all night.All. Damn. Night.Carl kept talking about her accident like it had been life-threatening when, in reality, it really hadn't. She was fine. In fact, the only reason why she was still hospitalized was that she was trying to see how far she'd be able to milk this story.I didn't mean to be a dick about the whole situation, but that was how I felt. I knew Carmella long enough to know this.The hours kept passing and I was still here. Fuck, I was bored out of my mind. Everyone had already come and gone twice and I was still here, sitting around and doing absolutely fuck all.I contemplated heading inside her room and telling her that I wanted out of the engagement, just so I could get rid of this shitty feeling.But maybe that would be taking things a step too far and I was trying to avoid the drama for as long as possible.Dammit, what was I
ALICEAs soon as I strode into Ember & Ink, I was told that Francesca wanted to see me and I had no time to prepare myself.She stood up when I walked into her office and smiled at me. I realized that I didn't feel any resentment toward her at all. She tried to help in the best way she could and things actually turned out in her favor.I wasn't sure if Theo told her anything. I didn't trust myself to do it because we'd arranged to talk about it after he broke off his engagement."Alice," she began, tilting her head to the side. "I'm glad you're here. Please, have a seat."I sat across from her and a few beats of silence passed. I tried thinking of something to say to break the ice, but nothing came to mind.She spoke first. "I thought you wouldn't come back.""I'm sorry for not saying anything yesterday. I felt so overwhelmed and I needed time to think.""You don't have to apologize for that. I was in the wrong, too. I overstepped my boundaries in trying to bring you and my grandson t
THEODOREThe morning came with way too much clarity for my fucking good and I no longer knew how to move forward with this situation with Alice.I went overboard and my possessiveness surprised even me. I hadn't meant to sound that way at all, but the minute I buried myself inside of her, I knew de
THEODOREThis was the second day since the power outage and things weren't looking too good.Our surroundings were getting colder by the hour, and the network was still down. Contacting our host, Airbnb, or even the authorities was pointless. It was impossible to see anything outside.By the time t
ALICE"Yes," I whispered as he rubbed circles with his expert, expert fingers. The funny thing? My panties were still on.This had no business feeling this good."You never did anything like this, huh?""N-No," I whimpered. I parted my legs even more and ground myself against his hand. No such luck
ALICEMortification woke me before my alarm did....because what the fuck got into me last night?My whole face felt tight as I recalled how I said those words with so much anger and indignation. God, I was such a fool sometimes. I should've never embarrassed myself that way.Hell, I even let him h







