Damaged (new adult romance) (Never Leave Me, #2) by Eileen Cruz Coleman Page B

going to miss out on meeting him…”
    I was defeated. Sinking into the couch, I said, “This should be a hell of a lot of good fun.”
    “Indeed,” she said, with a big smile.
     
    ***
     
    The clocked ticked its way to 11:30 a.m. and still no sign of Reece. He hadn’t even called me. Maybe he had stood me up as payback for when I had done the same thing to him, except that I had at least left him a note. I guess I couldn’t blame him, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I was hurt and embarrassed. Grace had quietly slipped out of the living room when the clock had gotten to 10:30. I knew she felt bad for me and didn’t want to make matters worse by hanging around. Lisa, we discovered, wasn’t even home. She had probably spent the night with someone she had met at Happy Hour the night before.
    So here I was, all by myself, pathetically waiting for someone who had known all along he was not going to show up. Damn, I was dumb as all hell. I had let my guard down, forgotten about my homeless father, if only for a moment, and for what? It suddenly occurred to me that I would have to deal with Reece at work. He was my boss’ nephew for goodness sake! If I didn’t l ie down, I would end up hurling or flat out, dying!
    I shut and locked my bedroom door and then buried my head in a pillow on my bed. I wish I could sleep for the rest of the day, but I knew that my nerves would not let me. I had actually convinced myself that I could be part of the normal population, that I could go out on dates with nice guys and pretend my demons were gone, that my childhood had been one filled with pony rides, cotton candy and parents who stayed together, who loved each other, who loved me.
    I would allow mysel f one day of self pity. I’d indulge in a huge bowl of chocolate ice cream. Hell, I’d even add whip cream, sprinkles and hot fudge.
    There was a knock on my door.
    “Jadie, it’s Lisa, I heard what happened. Feel like talking?”
    Grace and her big ole mouth!
    “I’ve got some work to do, so I’m just going to hang in my room, okay?”
    “Come on, girl, open the door. We can watch Bridget Jones’ Diary and pig out.”
    Her invitation was tempting. Releasing a long, exaggerated breath, I dragged myself out of bed and opened the door.
    “All we have is rainbow sherbet, hope that works?” she said, holding up a container.
    I hugged her. “It’s perfect.”
    “All right, let’s do this,” she said.
    “Wait,” I said.
    She stopped and turned to look at me.
    “Is it okay if we don’t talk about it?” I asked.
    “As you wish,” she said, handing me the sherbet.
    Three Bridget Jones’ Diary movies , a bottle of wine, and two pints of sherbet later, I finally got my butt off the couch. Not once had Lisa mention Reece. I owed her, big time.
    “This was fun, but I told myself I would only allow myself one day of se lf pity,” I said to Lisa who was basically asleep on the couch.
    She opened one eye and said, “I’m here if you need me.”
    I blew her a kiss. She pretended to catch it.
    Feeling much better, and a little tipsy, I made my way to the bathroom, but before I got there, the doorbell rang. My heart stopped. My hands started sweating at the thought that it could possibly be Reece who was standing on the other side of the door.
    Slowly, I walked to the door and said, “Who is it?”
    “It’s Reece.”
    My knees nearly buckled.
    “Who’s at the door?” Lisa asked.
    “No one,” I lied.
    “Oh my God, is it Reece?” she asked.
    Seconds later, she was standing next to me, peeping through the peep hole. “It’s a guy, all right. Dang, he’s a hottie. What are you going to do?”
    I pushed her aside. “Mind leaving us alone?”
    She ignored me and opened the door. “Well, hello there, you must be Reece.”
    He nodded and then stared at me. “Jadie, I’m so sorry. I came over here as quickly as I could.”
    “Yeah, um, you do know it’s no longer morning, right?” Lisa asked.
    “It’s