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Chapter 151
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Miss Goody Two Shoes Chapter 152
“Oh my God.” Her voice shook with the laughter caught in it. “You really have been in more magazines than you’ve read.” “That’s an accurate assessment.” He kissed her again—mouth this time—and then rolled away, settling on his back beside her, one arm flung casually above his head. She curled into the space. It was something she was getting weirdly good at it: lying hopefully in the shape of a hug. She was close enough to feel the heat from his body, to smell the sex on him, but he still didn’t touch her. “Maybe,” she said, “we could do a knowledge exchange.” His eyebrow twitched. “I could teach you about popular culture…like…any popular culture. And you could—” “Educate you on the impact of emerging economies on price movement in global equity, currency, and commodity markets.” “I was thinking more…get me into sci-fi?” She wasn’t sure how seriously she’d meant it, but he ten
Miss Goody Two Shoes 153
Unfortunately when Friday rolled round, Cole was too wrecked for anything they had planned and promised and hoped for. Instead, she was sitting on the sofa, dazed and half crying, and clutching helplessly at her phone. It was only when Aiden said, "Cole, what’s wrong?” that she realized he was there. Or even remembered that he was supposed to be coming. She glanced up. Noted—with a terrible sense of distance—how lovely he looked just then. Charcoal gray suit, lilac shirt. And, in what must have been a moment of unusual opulence, a Liberty print tie in shades of silver and indigo. God, he had dressed for her. And she was— “It’s Harper.” The words burst out of her in a teary blurble. “She’s been hit by a car or something. I don’t know. She’s in surgery. That’s bad, isn’t it? When people are in surgery?” Aiden was silent for a moment. Startled, possibly. “Well, it depends on the surgery.” “Right. I… I…” Her attention reeled from Aiden to the apa
Miss Goody Two Shoes Chapter 154
Cole kept nodding. “Do you have your phone with you? The one Aiden gave you?” Did she? Apparently she did. And her own phone, too. Go her, and her brief moments of competence. “I’ve sent you all the details. And call Aiden when you land. He’ll be worrying.” Aiden? Worrying? “Um, okay.” “I don’t suppose you thought to bring the credit card Aiden provided when you first moved into One Hyde Park?” She honestly wasn’t sure if she had remembered to pack her socks.“I didn’t think so. Here.” Another card. Coutts again. Quietly black on the reverse. An artfully faded image of a Chinese street on the front. The logo a flash of silver. “I… I, that’s… You know I can’t take his money.” Bellerose’s lashes—which were reddish-gold, like his hair—fluttered, as if he was trying very hard not to roll his eyes. “Given you don’t have any of your own, you don’t really have a choice.” “I do! I have £50.56.” “There’s no
Miss Goody Two Shoes Chapter 155
Cole landed in Boston at around 7 a.m. Or rather at 2 a.m. EST. Which was instant jet lag, her body insisting that there should be morningness, when it was still the middle of the night. She had set an alarm for an hour before landing, which had given her time to shower and de-rumple, but she still stumbled off the plane like a zombie who had partied too hard. She couldn’t tell if it was her brain being porridged or the inherent sameness of airports, but it didn’t really feel as if she had flown across the world or that she was in another country. At least not until she had to talk to people who sounded like they had left their r’s in seventeenth-century England. And then the realness of it all became almost uncopeable-with. Once her passport had been checked, luggage retrieved, and she had been welcomed to the USA, she was whisked along gleaming concourses, past travelers and lingerers and an honest-to-goodness Dunkin’ Donuts stand, and finally bundled
Miss Goody Two Shoes Chapter 156
By the time dawn filled the room with fresh gray, Harper was still sleeping and Cole was beyond exhausted. Sodden with it like heavy rain. She dozed off and on through the morning, but by early afternoon one of the nurses had pretty much ordered her out of the hospital, telling her she’d be useless if she didn’t get some proper rest. Not sure where the hotel was, or even if she was capable of walking, she got the limo back. And discovered the place was literally just up the road. Except she was too knackered to be embarrassed. She crawled out of the car and wove her way to the front desk. Signed things and received her keycard and some other shit in a blur of words she barely understood. Lift.Corridor.Room.Bed. Face. She groped for her second phone. Hit the shortcut for Aiden with a barely functional finger. He picked up immediately. “Are you all right?” “I’m sorry,” she slurred, “I dunno wha time it is.” She heard him m
Miss Goody Two Shoes Chapter 157
He had made Cole smile. When ten minutes ago she wouldn’t have imagined it was even possible. Of course, it was immediately followed by a shard of guilt that she was smiling and flirting and being comforted while Harper was alone in a hospital bed. Although she also knew that was just her brain being mean to her. Harper wasn’t going to get better or worse depending on how miserable she was. But, then, thoughts were thoughts and feels were feels, and, if she were in Cole’s shoes, their power to influence each other was less than zero. “How’s London?” Cole asked. “Much as you left it, I suspect it. Warmish, with some scattered showers.” “How’s the humidity?” He thought about it. “About sixty percent—now why is she laughing?” “Because you are legit terrible at small talk.” “And you,” he said crisply, “are legit terrible at going to sleep.”“You’d better get on with lulling me, then.” He gave an un-lullful snort. “Is
Miss Goody Two Shoes Chapter 158
When Cole returned to Harper’s room, she found her propped up in bed, appearing calmer but with redness around her eyes and nose. She offered her an awkward grin, and she mirrored it with her own awkward grin. They had never fought before, at least not about anything more serious than Disney princess, so this was unfamiliar territory. Neither of them could determine if it was solid ground, eggshells, or broken glass beneath their feet. Finally, Harper spoke up. “I’m really sorry, Cole.” “Honestly, you don’t have to be,” she replied. “You’re not the boss of me. I can be sorry if I want.” Cole placed her hands on her hips. “I might be the boss of you. How do you know? Do you have paperwork?” “Girl, you’re barely capable of being the boss of yourself.” “So harsh.” But they were laughing, and it felt unnervingly fragile yet good at the same time. “I’m shit scared, you know,” she whispered, almost too softly to hear.
Miss Goody Two Shoes Chapter 159
In person, Poppy Carrie was an impossible mixture of normal and extraordinary. She turned up wearing jeans and boots, a cream cashmere-silk sweater, and Audrey Hepburn sunglasses—nothing about her at all screamed "famously beautiful person." However, looking at her for too long made it hard to breathe. She had this dreamy, summery English loveliness, with corn-gold hair and eyes like freshly turned earth, and a shy scattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. There was definitely a trace of Harper around her cheekbones and in the generosity of her mouth. She had come from LA, accompanied by her boyfriend, Colt Dawson, a six-foot-something hunk of weathered manhood who had a ranch in Montana and worked with horses for Hollywood. They had apparently met on the set of Madame Bovary. Cole quickly gathered this information from frantic internet searches, hoping to find something to say to Colt as they sat together in the waiting room, giving Nik
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