And then I learned James was you.
At first, I was angry. So, so angry, but then I realized you couldn’t have made that part up. Everything I thought I felt for James, I was really feeling for you. Finding out that it was you I’d been sharing those moments with? It broke my heart because I knew you weren’t capable of feeling what I was feeling. Every bit of hope I had invested in us crumbled in that one split second.
When I saw you sitting at that bar, I felt like my world had fallen apart. Because I was falling in love with you. I don’t even know if you’ll read this or if you’ll care, but I had to get it out. Maybe now I can move on and forget about you.
Darcy.
I sit back on the couch, not sure what to do with this.
Is she being serious?
This is the last thing I expected to find in my inbox, especially for an email account I haven’t checked since I replied to her ad. I’m not even sure what possessed me to check it today, but I did. We’ve barely been chatting for a week. She couldn’t possibly have fallen that hard, that quickly, could she? I shake my head. No. No fucking way. She’s obviously just trying to mess with me.
But then she did kiss me…
I click back, remembering there were another couple of emails waiting for me from Darcy. Actually, make that four, because in the ten minutes I’d been reading the first email, another two had dropped in, plus five texts messages waiting on my phone.
What the fuck is going on?
I run my hands through my hair and groan, anxiety pooling in my stomach. Every guy is secretly terrified of finding the crazy girl and I think I’ve just hit the jackpot.
My mind is screaming do not engage her, but she’s going to be family soon. I can’t just ignore her, right? I have to reply with something. But if do I reply, it might just encourage her and lead to something even worse. I rub my head and sigh. I’ve got no idea what to do. The only thing I do know is that it’s too early to deal with this. I stand up and stalk back down to my room, slamming the door shut.
Maybe if I go back to bed, all of this will just resolve itself.I roll over and crack open my eyes when the doorbell rings.
What the fuck…
I fumble for my phone to check the time, but I’m distracted by the fifteen fucking messages she’s sent in the last two hours. Fifteen? What could she possibly have to say that warrants fifteen text messages? I’m not sure I want to know. I’m too afraid to check my email, because God knows how many of them there are waiting for me.
“Fuck,” I hiss.
The doorbell rings again, reminding me that that’s what woke me up in the first place. I jump up, throw some pants on and then walk down to answer it. I open it to find a guy who looks way too happy to be delivering flowers. He holds up a bouquet of roses and beams at me.
“Well, someone is popular,” he chuckles. “This is our largest posy.”
“Lucky me,” I mutter.
He hands me the flowers. I frown and scribble my name on the electronic pad he holds out for me.
“You have a great day,” he comments, grinning at me.
Unlikely, given how it’s starting off.
I shake my head. I don’t even have to look. I know they’re going to be from her. But still, I decide to torture myself by opening the card. Just as I thought, it’s from Darcy.
C: If you reject me, my heart will shrivel up and die, just like these flowers will. Love D xx.
“What the actual fuck?” I growl.
Is she serious? I laugh. No, this can’t be real. I toss the flowers on the counter and study the card again. It’s just as ridiculous the second time reading it. I'm torn over what to do here. She’s clearly unstable. Forget working at Emerald Lodge, I think she needs to be admitted. Do I reply or ignore her?
The doorbell rings again, cutting through my thoughts. I jump up and walk over to it. I consider not answering, but then for whatever strange reason, I do. Another delivery guy stands there, this one carrying a huge basket of candy.
“Cameron Hunter?” he asks.
Sighing, I nod in defeat and then I sign my name.
“Thanks,” I mutter, taking the basket from him.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had someone look so annoyed when accepting one of these,” he chuckles. “I mean who doesn’t like candy?”
I close the door in his face. These upbeat, annoyingly happy, delivery guys are starting to annoy me more than Darcy is. I put it on the counter with the flowers and then stand back to study them. There's another note sticking out of the basket, so I reach forward and snatch it out.