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Back First Comes Love Save as PDF
Chapters (92)
  1. First
  2. Love Connection
  3. Zero
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. One Month Later
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Six Months Later
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-one
  27. Twenty-two
  28. Twenty-three
  29. Twenty-four
  30. Six Months Later
  31. Twenty-five
  32. Twenty-six
  33. Twenty-seven
  34. Twenty-eight
  35. Twenty-nine
  36. Thirty
  37. Thirty-one
  38. Thirty-two
  39. Thirty-three
  40. I Have Never
  41. One
  42. Two
  43. Three
  44. Four
  45. Five
  46. Six
  47. Seven
  48. Eight
  49. Nine
  50. Ten
  51. Eleven
  52. Twelve
  53. Thirteen
  54. Fourteen
  55. Fifteen
  56. Sixteen
  57. Seventeen
  58. Eighteen
  59. Nineteen
  60. Twenty
  61. Twenty-one
  62. Twenty-two
  63. A Christmas Date
  64. One
  65. Two
  66. Three
  67. Four
  68. Five
  69. Six
  70. Seven
  71. Eight
  72. Nine
  73. Ten
  74. Eleven
  75. Twelve
  76. Thirteen
  77. Fourteen
  78. Fifteen
  79. Sixteen
  80. Seventeen
  81. Eighteen
  82. Nineteen
  83. Twenty
  84. Twenty-one
  85. Twenty-two
  86. Note from the Author
  87. Sneak Peek – To the Stars and Back
  88. Two
  89. Three
  90. Four
  91. Also by Camilla Isley
  92. About the Author

Finally dressed, I do a frantic scan of the room to locate all my scattered possessions. I toss everything in the duffel bag and put on my gym shoes. Ready to leave, I turn toward him. “It means that I just told you ‘I love you’ and I deserve to hear more back than a never ending silence.”

Again, silence is all he gives me.

I push past him and storm out of the bedroom. In the living room, I hook Chevron to her leash. Richard hasn’t followed me. Oh, no, he prefers to stay hidden. Easier that way. Bastard. Asshole. Coward. Tears blur my vision at last. I wait a few more seconds for him to come out. He doesn’t. With my heart shattering, I dash out of the apartment, banging the door behind me as hard as I can.

For the entire walk home, I keep looking over my shoulder hoping to see a silver car following us. Every time a car passes us, my heart jolts in my chest. But it’s never Richard. I make my way toward Manhattan, sobbing uncontrollably. So much so that a few people stop me to ask if I need help. I turn away the kind strangers, explaining it’s only a problem of the heart. Only. Why is it that I’m more heartbroken after a two-night stand than I was over a three-year relationship? Is this what love does to you? If that’s it, I hope I can fall out of it as quickly as I fell in.

Nineteen

Never Stress Eat

A few hours later, Nikki arrives home to find me in a state of utter misery. I’m on the couch, in my PJs, surrounded by used Kleenex, and eating ice cream.

My best friend takes in the scene and is at my side at once. “What happened to you?” She takes the bowl of ice cream from me to sniff it, and her nostrils flare. “Is this real ice cream?”

I nod.

“Industrial, processed ice cream?”

I nod again.

“No soy?”

I shake my head.

“Dairy?”

Nod.

“Saturated fats?”

I make a wimpy sound.

“Ah.” Nikki places the bowl out of reach and drops onto the couch next to me. “I thought you’d spent the weekend with the boss…”

I stare at her with big eyes, trying to transmit telepathically what happened because saying it aloud is too painful.

She catches my vibes at once. “And before the day was over, you asked him where you stood…”

Nod.

“He freaked out.”

Nod.

“You went on the defensive and lashed out.”

Whimper.

“Richard got mad, too, the argument escalated, you both became petty, hurt each other as much as you could until you stormed out of his house, banging the door behind you. How am I doing?”

I drop my face into my hands and shake my head.

“Awhooo,” Chevron comments.

Nikki sighs. “And all this in front of the dog?”