“Fuck.”
Keri laughs. “Oh, honey! This is a good thing. Owen is finally stepping up and showing that he really cares about you. You could finally be getting everything you want. You’re going to get married to a man who loves you. A man who can support you and take care of you. You don’t have to be alone anymore. You don’t have to live in this shithole anymore.”
I know her words are meant to comfort me, but they are doing the exact opposite. Twenty-four hours ago, I wanted nothing more
than for Owen to propose. I would have said yes. I would have done anything for him. But that was before Sean. Before I realized that I like rough, dirty sex that leaves me wanting more. I don’t like boring sex with Owen, who doesn’t even know how everything works. I want a man who knows my body just as well as he knows my soul.
“It doesn’t matter now. I slept with Sean. Owen won’t want to marry me now.”
Keri frowns. “I wouldn’t say that. He doesn’t even have to know if you don’t want him to.”
I look at Keri, feeling a little empty. “I’m not going to lie to him. But, honestly, I’m not sure that I want Owen anymore.”
Keri’s eyes widen again as she gently strokes my back. “What? Are you sure? I don’t think this Sean guy is going to be dating material. He might be hot, but I doubt he will want anything serious.”
I shake my head. “It’s not because of Sean. I’m just not afraid to be alone anymore. I don’t need a man to be happy.”
Keri doesn’t move or say anything. She just stares at me.
I start clicking my tongue as I call for my cat, “Here, Milo.” I search for my kitty under the bed where he usually likes to hang out. But I don’t find him there. “Where’s Milo?” I ask Keri.
She frowns and bites her lip.
“What happened to him?” I ask, jumping up.
“Relax. Owen took him. He said he bought the cat. That he was his, and he needed the comfort in a time like this.”
“And you just let him take him?” I scream at Keri as I run toward my door to grab my purse and some sort of jacket. I froze on the L train on the way over here, and I’m not going to do it again. I open the door just as a delivery person knocks.
“Are you Olive?” the man asks.
I nod. “Yes.”
He hands me a package, and I step back inside for a second to open it. I pull out the coat. It’s gorgeous. It’s Gucci. It’s expensive. I slip it on as a note falls to the floor. I pick it up and read it.
A coat fit for a boss. Prove to me that you are one.
—Sean
I smile at the note. He got me an expensive coat. A beautiful coat that costs three times what my rent is.
“How did you afford that coat?” Keri asks.
I frown as I look at her. “Sean.”
Keri blinks several times but doesn’t say anything.
I grab my phone and begin typing a message to Jamie. Now, more than anything, I need to know what Sean does. I have to know how I hate a man that I also kind of love. He’s taken care of me more in the last few hours, not even being near me, than Owen did the whole year we were dating.
I press Send and then walk out the door with Keri running behind me.
“Where are you going?” she asks.
“To get my cat back and to make sure that Owen knows we are still broken up.”
11
Sean