When the Contract Ends

11. Paisley's Return

"Good night!" Paisley chirps and I hear Simba meow. "Simba says goodnight too. He's excited to see you tomorrow."

"Well, good afternoon to you. Did you finish all your packing?" I hold the phone between my cheek and shoulder as I help Mark move a black couch against the wall.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing," I tell her way too fast and cringe. "I'm not doing anything."

"Okay, don't tell me what you're doing."

"No, it- I just..." I can't think up a good excuse but I refuse to tell her what I'm really doing...

"Yes, I finished packing." She changes the conversation and I don't know if that's a good thing...

"Are you ready for your surprise?" I ask her, looking around the house. There's fresh paint on the walls and furniture all around.

"A surprise?"

She sounds confused and my brows furrow.

"Yeah..? I drag the word out. "A few months ago on the phone, I said I had a surprise for you and you said you had one for me?" Which reminds me, I haven't given much thought to her surprise.

Maybe-

"No, I just said I had something big to tell you not a surprise for you..."

"Oh, well, that's okay." I guess it's a good thing I haven't put much thought into it. Putting my phone on speaker, I set it down so I can continue helping Mark move furniture.

"No, now I feel terrible." I can hear the pout in her voice. "I don't have a surprise for you. Just something I was excited to tell you."

"Paisley, really, it's not a big deal. What were you excited to tell me?" I'm not going to be surprised if she tells me she rescued another cat.

"Well, I waited this long to tell you. Might as well wait until tomorrow." She mutters. "It's really not a big deal."

A soft, stupid smile appears on my face. "If you're excited by it then it's a big deal. Does this thing make you happy?"

"Yes." This time there's happiness in her voice.

Yeah, it's another cat.

"Then I'm excited to hear about it over lunch tomorrow."

"Ohhh, we went from coffee to lunch. You must miss me."

I do.

"Well, it has been pretty lonely around the penthouse since you and Simba left."

"Oh," She scoffs sarcastically. "Don't act like you haven't had a new friend in the penthouse every night."

My fists clench and Mark cringes.

"I haven't." I ground out through clenched teeth. This is why I haven't told her my feelings. She sees me in a terrible light.

Mark points around the house and nods at me. This house will change her mind, this house will show her I'm serious.

"Sureee."

I bite my tongue to stop from snapping at her. I should just tell her I fucked a bunch of different women in the guest room right after she left. That probably would ruin all my chances though...

"You should probably get a few hours of sleep before your flight tomorrow." I never thought I'd feel this way. Hurt. God, I'm a pansy.

"Okay, goodnight." She says after a moment of silence then hangs up immediately.

"Ouch.." Mark frowns. "That sounded rough."

"Shut up." I sigh, dragging my hand down my face. This house better show her how serious I am about her or else I'm screwed. "Did the gardener get the trees planted?" The trees are the most important thing.

"They're lining the driveway."

"Great." I grab my keys off the coffee table and turn out the lights. "I guess the house is ready."

"You're not staying here?"

"No." I've decided I won't stay here until Paisley's fallen in love with me.

———

"Flight eight-one-nine from Sydney Australia- carousel four."

My hands at sweating around the stems of the peonies I'm holding. My suit tie feels like it's tightening around my neck.

I'm standing around carousel four, Paisley's flight has just landed, and they're about to start unloading.

My mind is swirling and I try to remember the last time I felt this way... The answer is never. I've never felt this nervous.

I run through both the best and worst scenarios that can happen.

Worst: she tells me she feels nothing and makes me fight for her.

Best: she somehow realized she loved me while being gone.

The chatter around me suddenly gets louder as a bunch of people start walking toward the carousels. The fourth one, which I'm standing next to, starts moving and suitcases start filling it.

My eyes focus down the hall for a specific head of blonde hair.

The face I haven't seen in six months suddenly appears and I can't stop the grin that comes to my face.

She's beautiful. Her hair is longer and her face is practically glowing. She looks happy. Good, she's happy to be home.

He wandering eyes suddenly connect with mine and she grins. Her hand comes up to wave and I grin at her, keeping the flowers behind my back.

They suddenly slip from my fingers when I see who's next to her grinning. His hand is intertwined with hers. He catches my eye and smirks, pulling Paisley to a stop.

Everything goes in slow motion as she turns to him, her grinning growing, and he presses his lips to hers.

What the fuck?

I'm frozen, confusion and anger flow through me. I start toward them but stop. I want to run I'm to them and tear her away from him but something is stopping me. Not just something, it's the large grin on Paisley's face when she pulls away. Why is she so happy.

I feel a though I'm going through an out of body experience when Paisley runs to me and hugs me. I'm frozen in shock and can't focus on what's happening. The image of her lips on someone else's is seared into my mind. I feel sick.

She pulls away and grabs the hand of the fucker behind her.

She bites her lip, grinning. "Sebastian, this is my boyfriend- Landon."

***

Thoughts? Was Paisley coming back with a boyfriend predictable? What do we think about the boyfriend being Landon?

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