Free Raindrops on Roses: Book One of the Favorite Things Trilogy by Millenia Black Page A

"Give me one second."
    Leaving her friend in the den, she jogged up
to her bedroom. The text had had a more sobering tone than she was
used to from Michael, so she wanted to call back right away.
    "Hey. Glad you made it home safely," she
said when he answered. "Hope everything went well."
    "It was okay," he said, his tone sounding
rather dull. "You know, Priscilla..." He hesitated. "I did a lot of
thinking while I was away...about us and what I've sort of forced
you into here."
    She sighed, rolling her
eyes. "Haven't we been through all that? You didn't force me into
anything—it's okay."
    "Yeah, that's what I
thought. But after speaking to my father this weekend, he convinced
me I was wrong. You do need more time to grieve, Cilla. And it was selfish and
rather immature of me to push in on you the way that I did and not
allow you that time."
    "So, what are you saying?" she asked.
    "I'm saying you were
right. The timing is wrong. And I'm gonna back off for a while. But for the
record,"—he sighed heavily—"this is really hard for me, because I like
you a lot ,
Priscilla, and I do want to be with you. But you were right. It's
bad timing."
    "Well, if that's the way you feel," she
replied, "I respect that." She prayed her disappointment was well
masked. "I won't argue. Under the circumstances it probably is for
the best."
    For a moment neither spoke.
    "I'm glad you liked the bracelet," he said.
"And I hope you won't forget about me."
    "No, I'm sure I won't,
Michael. Bye." She ended the call feeling like something inside had
deflated. His words had sounded sensible enough...but Priscilla
couldn't help feeling that something was off about them.
    Closing her eyes, she
remembered the earnest and eager reassurances he had given her in
her sitting room, and again down on the beach. But all the shame
she had felt about having slept with him on sight —the day of the funeral of
all days—still came rustling back.
    Well , she thought. At least now I don't
have to bother saying a word about him to anyone . The horse never even left the
gate .
    Bearing her disappointment, she headed back
downstairs, resigned to forgetting about this complete lapse in
judgment—a.k.a. Michael Frost—and just putting the whole episode
behind her.
    If nothing else, at least Douglas would be
relieved.

 

    • CHAPTER ELEVEN •

    I t had been only a few short days since Michael had ended
things with Priscilla, and his life was now back to the dismal
routine he realized he'd been drowning in. Slowly.
    Jason had convinced him
that it was best to work things out with Amber, and after that
conversation he realized that leaving her would be akin to swimming
against the tide—his father would be against it, his best friend
was advising him
against it, and Amber was certainly against it. So nobody wanted
it. Nobody but Michael. And everyone else couldn't be wrong, could
they?
    So, he had made the difficult decision to
let Priscilla down as gently as possible, and then he'd gone home
to Amber.
    But today, as he locked up
at the office and went out to the parking lot headed for his car,
Michael had to swallow an overwhelming urge to reach out to
Priscilla again. He wanted to hear her voice so badly he could
taste it. What was she doing right now? Who was she talking to?
Was she thinking
about him? Would
they ever see each other again?
    He sat there in the car
for several minutes, scrolling through their texts. It's over, he thought as
he finally clicked them off. Let it
go .
    Pressing the button, he
started the Corvette's engine. His eyes closed as it roared to
life. You'd better get home now, he thought. Amber's
waiting .
    But Michael didn't go home. He couldn't. Not
just yet.
    Instead, he called Jason
to see if he was free and they agreed to meet at Stools .

    •~•

    Stools Bar &
Grille was an off the road sports bar with
a billiard set up Michael and Jason had always enjoyed. It had been
a sanctuary for them over the years, a problem-solving haven as
they