Dirty Bad Boys Box Set: Forbidden Romance Collection

I try again, closing my eyes and praying she will pick up. Nothing.

Fighting back the tears, I send Wesley a text. It’s all I have to say at this moment.

Me: I can’t do this. It’s not me. I’m sorry.

My cell is hidden away in my purse, switched to airplane mode and out of sight, out of mind. The plane begins to fill with passengers, some walking past me without interest and some watching me followed by whispers to the person next to them. The announcement is made for all passengers to take a seat. Minutes later, Emerson sits down beside me without saying a single word.

After the safety presentation, the engine roars as we take off and head to the sky.

Emerson has organized for me to sit at the window so I can experience the city from above. It’s beautiful—another piece of the world that I wouldn’t have experienced had I not taken this job with Emerson. Resting my head against the chair, I think about all the things I have done in the past month that have both terrified and excited me at the same time.

And they all lead back to Wesley.

“How long?” Emerson asks, keeping her voice low.

“Only three weeks.”

“Three weeks with Wesley Rich is enough to send anyone over the edge.”

She isn’t telling me anything I haven’t experienced. Though part of me questions how much she will truly understand. Yes, they had a relationship, but it was so tainted that she saw nothing but black. Or perhaps, I’m living a lie behind my set of rose-colored glasses.

“I d-don’t understand…” She stumbles on her words. “Why on earth would you want to be with him?”

I’m slightly offended. “Emerson, you dated him once upon a time. In fact, you were engaged to him. You were willing to spend the rest of your life with Wesley. I’m sure you still remember something about him that kept you there.”

“I’d rather not.”

“Well, that’s your own opinion.”

I hate arguing with her. I respect her as my boss and a friend but the jealousy, it gets a hold of me and knowing that she once had something with Wesley becomes my focus, again.

“It’s just that Wesley is so infuriating. You deserve better than him.”

“What if he deserves better than me?”

“Not possible. Do you even know what he did to me? Not only did he go to Amsterdam and get high while sleeping with someone… plural. He cheated on me with multiple girls in some gang-bang hurrah. He’s not good for you.”

I hold back the tears that stem from anger, not hurt. Emerson can’t possibly understand what Wesley and I have. Nobody can. I want to tell everyone, I love him and it’s stupid, right? After three weeks, how can I be so in love with a man who I know isn’t good for me? Everyone has an opinion on Wesley, and majority rules that he’s nothing but a bad boy.

“I think I can decide what’s good for me. I don’t expect you to understand. You see Wesley the way you want to see him. It’s different with him and me. He’s different when he’s with me.”

Emerson laughs, shaking her head and acknowledging her own private joke. “That’s what all the girls say. Why don’t you have a chat with Farrah? I’m sure Wesley has spun the same story, and that’s how he wooed you into bed.”

I turn to face her, quick and sharp. “What makes you think that Wesley wooed me into bed? You don’t think it’s possible for two people to be sexually attracted to each other and make a joint decision to be intimate with each other?”

“Milana. Trust me when I say this to you… Wesley is no good. He will hurt you. He’s destructive by nature. You’re smart, you’ve got good morals. Run while you can.”

“If you think he’s so destructive, then why are you still business partners? Why won’t you let go of him? Are you still in love with him? Is that why you’re so worked up about us?”

With an incredulous look, Emerson stiffens her shoulders and crosses her arms with a slight huff. “I love Logan. I love my family. I’m offended that you’ve suggested such a thing. We’re business partners because he won’t let go. I’m not giving up what I built from nothing. This is my dream, not his. And, of course, because he’s being an asshole, he holds onto it. Or maybe, because he’s still in love with me.”

The words cut deep exposing a wound that’s surfacing slowly. My silence speaks volumes, my stare outside equally painful. For the rest of the flight, I run every moment with Wesley through my tired brain. The way he treats me, the way he smiles, our intimate moments when it’s just him and me. Alone with our souls. The way he laughs at my silly jokes. The way he romances me and opens his heart. All things he can’t have done if he’s in love with her.

Halfway into our flight, I fall asleep. I dream of Mama sitting on my bed watching me read to her. She laughs, holds me tight, and sometimes, if I’m lucky, she falls asleep beside me.

The voice, loud and rudely awakening me from my blissful sleep, is the captain announcing our descent. I rub my eyes, unaware that I had fell asleep for hours. Beside me, Emerson is sitting, still staring at the chair in front of her.

“I shouldn’t have said what I said. I’m sorry,” Emerson apologizes, quietly and keeping our conversation low again. “I don’t know where that came from. That’s Logan talking, not me. He has an obsession with Wesley. I get it, sort of. He’s my ex, and Logan’s jealousy is unruly at the best of times. But what I said, Milana, it was uncalled for.”