The Fashion of Love | Adult F/M Romance [COMPLETE]

ch. 14 - April

Sora rose late the next morning feeling so-so. Her congestion lingered, but the coughing and sneezing were abated. A cardigan smothered the tremors from her frame. Memories lightened her mood.

She'd woken on her own to a silent living room where a low flame burned in the fireplace. The TV was off, the lights dimmed to a mere haze. She'd kicked off her comforter to allay her sweltering discontent and found a note on yellow legal paper on the coffee table:

Had a great time.

Gone to HM.

Get well. Miss you.

Ravi

Sora had mulled over those words throughout her day and not come to any solid conclusions.He misses me. How could he miss me already? Ravi remained a mystery to the woman in whom he confided the most. What are you hiding?

By evening Sora felt fine. She put out the trash and disinfected the house, taking special care to wash Tommy's soft toys. Anthony used to call her anal for being so particular about cleanliness where Tommy was concerned. He used to say, "Kids are resilient. Don't worry so much." Well, he has three sons. I only have one. I will not lose my son to a childhood illness. She accepted her paranoia.

Sora spent the rest of Thursday and much of Friday fighting off the last of her symptoms and reviewing Sam and Cristina's reports on the meetings she'd missed in the latter half of the week. Facetime videos from Aiko kept her spirits up. Disgruntled texts from Ravi in meetings he didn't care to be at lifted them higher after she had Tommy home.

To: Sora

I know more about Yelena's love life than I wanted to.

To: Ravi

Not a family reunion w/o TMI.

To: Sora

A cowl neckline on a bathing suit? Where did they get these interns?

To: Ravi

Design snob.

To: Sora

Not snobbery. The voice of experience.

To: Ravi

Snob.

To: Sora

See if I bring you soup again.

To: Ravi

I'm back at fighting strength. I don't need it.

Sora's ringtone sounded a minute later.

"I thought you were in a meeting."

"I'm the boss in this department. The meeting's adjourned when I say it is."

"Somebody's drunk with power."

She heard a door shut. She presumed it was his office door.

"More like afraid for the future of fashion design. Where did these kids study? Who were their mentors? I want names. Somebody's gotta be held accountable."

"Snob."

"Not getting into that again. Anyway, you're all better now. What's the plan?"

Sora watched Tommy re-familiarize himself with his play area.

"I'm going to spend some quality time with Tommy. I've grown accustomed to it being the two of us—and he has, too. I don't want to disrupt his routine any more than I have already."