OBSESSED

36

LEAH

My Monday afternoon was passing like any other. I had been helping a family set up a savings account for their daughter until lunch.

Now that lunch was over, I was exhausted and ready to be home. My phone dinged from its place beside my monitor. I tore my tired eyes from the screen to read the new message.

JARROD: hi, gorgeous 😍 just got to the airport. Be on the way home soon

We hadn't spoken since he left Saturday morning
and he hadn't answered any of the texts I sent. So when my phone lit up with his message, I felt more then just a little surprised.

I knew he'd been with his family. It was unfair for me to be upset. Still, he could've sent me a text before bed or something. He couldn't have been busy every hour of every day he was gone.

In truth, I knew he didn't owe me anything. I wanted to believe he thought of me during our brief time apart, but maybe he didn't. Maybe he told Tiffany about me because he was going back to her. None of that made sense, but I didn't know what the hell was going on.

At any rate, I still hadn't figured out how to approach him about Tiffany's accusations. I wasn't sure how he'd react. I silenced my ringer and pushed my phone away. I wasn't completely ignoring him; I just needed more time to sort through my thoughts and feelings.

It felt like I blinked and the afternoon had passed. I finished up work and gathered my purse and lunchbox. Before I shut off my office lights, I went back to the desk and grabbed the vase of flowers he'd sent me last week. I'd kept them alive for as long as possible but they were wilting now. Once I'd tossed them into a receptacle by the door, I carried the empty vase with my bags out to the car and drove to the gym. I went directly to the locker room and changed into some stretchy clothes to spend the next hour sweating my brains out. To my delight, Danny was nowhere in sight. I grabbed my things from the locker room and headed home.

My stomach dropped at the sight of Jarrod's Maserati sitting in my driveway. As soon as I pulled up beside it, he stepped out. I felt a thousand volcanoes explode under my face. Well, shit. I was so not ready to deal with this. My pulse galloped while I got out of the car. Jarrod dressed his face in a smile, rounding the hood of my Benz.

"I missed you," he said.

"You too," I squeaked when he grabbed me up in a hug.

He nestled his face into my damp hair and groaned. "You feel so good."

"Jarrod?"

"Honey?" he asked, pulling back to glimpse my face. "What's wrong?"

I stumbled for a response that wasn't a flat lie. "We, uh, need to talk."

His brows stitched together, hurt coloring his eyes. They were looking especially red today.

"It's just—" I cut myself off with a sigh. "Just come inside. Please."

The tendon in his jaw ticked but he nodded. After unlocking my front door, I led the way into the living room. He glanced at the sofa but neither of us sat down.

"What's going on?" he asked.

I just stood and stared at him for a moment. He was unfairly good looking. Standing here in my living room, looking like a god in his jeans and blazer. Could we just get naked and talk later? My shoulders sank.