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How Rhett leaned into Ashton, clutched him close spoke volumes. He adored the man.
The second image showed them both laughing, and the sparkle in Rhett’s dark eyes swooped through me, taking my heart to my toes. Ashton had stated Rhett was gorgeous, but Jiminy Cricket on a cracker.
I swallowed a rush of saliva and pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t still dreaming.
Pain radiated from the skin I abused.
“This is real,” I muttered to myself, hoping to see that carefree smile in real life. That sort of happiness he portrayed in the picture meant he wasn’t a complete grump like my sister. “This is happening.”
Jitters skittered through me, and I quickly replaced the pictures, traipsing around the office to see what else I could find.
College degrees for business hung on the walls.
Leather chairs hugged the desks.
The air smelled of cologne, coffee, and something rich and earthy. I filled my lungs over and over, sucking the scent in until I memorized its deliciousness.
Coffee…
My gaze flitted over the desk…files. Papers on one along with strewn pencils. The other sat cleared except for a closed laptop of sorts.
A sticky notepad lay beside it, I noted while moving closer.
Three rainbow-colored intertwined hearts printed along the top of the first piece of paper.
The Missing Link logo.
Grinning, I picked it up and ran my fingers over the edge like the pad was a deck of cards, the soft flicking of papers loud in the silence around me. The app had possibly given me the one thing I dreamed about, and I bit my lip, trailing my fingertips over the edges again.
I wanted to tuck the treasure away…
Ashton would tell me where they’d gotten it, and I would find a way to land some notepads of my own.
But I had no job. No money. And I still had my sister’s cell phone.
I should have left that behind, I thought while leaving the office and heading toward the kitchen, realizing I’d yet to have a sip of caffeine. With the state-of-the-art-space I’d taken in the night before, I expected some newfangled coffee machine with gadgets and gizmos galore.
They had a Keurig.
I squealed and started looking in cabinets and drawers until I found a mug, sugar, and spoon. “Hurry up,” I poked at the machine as it gurgled slowly into my cup. “I need you in my belly.”
Snickering at myself, I threw open the double doors of the huge fridge, and my jaw dropped. It was packed full of heathy food—cuts of meat, fresh veggies, and fruit. Organic milk and creamer, eggs, and yogurt. Non-nitrate bacon, sprouted grain bread, and orange juice.
The same type of items Nora had always put on her grocery list for me to buy.
I pushed aside thoughts of my sister, determined to move forward on the path I’d chosen, chasing squirrels and nuts for as long as I could.
Still grinning like a dork, I loaded up my arms, ready to fill my stomach. For the following half hour, I enjoyed having the house to myself so I could sing at the top of my lungs and not make faces cringe.
A songbird I was not, but that didn’t keep me from twittering my happiness to the stainless steel six-burner stove and wine fridge that held more bottles than I could count.
I moaned at the first sip of coffee. Rolled my eyes at the crunch of bacon between my teeth. Bit into the toast with its slather of pure Irish butter and whimpered.
A girl could get used to this…
My cell jangled from the pocket of my sleep shorts I’d pulled on before exploring, my pulse picking up. Ashton had already left a good morning text I’d found after rolling from bed but hadn’t replied to my response.
The grin on my face faded at the name on the screen.