Damn him! She’d gone into the relationship with her eyes wide open. There had been no need for him to try and convince her that there would be more after their four days. She’d expected to say goodbye that morning and never see him so he’d played with her emotions by sending the note and giving her hope that he might want more than just a weekend fling.
Okay, she thought as she sat outside her office building for lunch one day, so maybe there had been a hope that there could be more. She had to be perfectly honest with herself because she’d been wondering how to handle a long distance relationship, how often she could fly over to England to see him. Had he somehow seen that in her looks? Had she revealed too much too soon?
She dumped her uneaten yogurt into a trash can and stomped back to her office. She didn’t need this kind of self doubt and recriminations. She was a grown woman, she’d had sex with a gorgeous man, get over it! Women did that all the time and didn’t have any issues moving on in their lives. She had to put that weekend into perspective and give up her anger.
She’d trusted him and now she was paying the price! Damn him! She’d been a fool over a man who didn’t deserve her attention much less her hopes.
That one letter had been so cryptic. What kind of emergency had taken him away that last day? Had a horse gone down or was it more serious? Had something happened to him? And why should she even care? She’d been dumped, she reminded herself.
She had no idea what had happened to him or what kind of emergency had come up. And what’s worse, no way of finding out. She had to just hope and pray that he was okay. And in the back of her mind weak, hopeful mind, she wondered if there was any possibility of running into him again someday. She’d even searched horse training web sites, searching for news of him but how probable was that? The man lived outside of London, she didn’t even know if he was a well known horse trainer, or if he really was a horse trainer or a veterinarian or just a stable hand.
No, he wasn’t a stable hand. Rashid had too much confidence, too much arrogance for him to have that kind of role in life. Not that there was anything wrong with being a stable hand, but she’d always thought of those roles being filled by teenage boys. Perhaps she’d read too many romance novels in her lifetime to realize what kinds of people worked at a stable. She didn’t even know how to ride a horse, much less take care of one.
“Want to grab a bite to eat?” Mindy, one of the other associates asked as she poked her head into Sidra’s office.
Sidra looked up and sighed. “I’m not really hungry,” she said.
Mindy stepped inside and looked at her friend curiously. “What’s going on? You’ve been in a funk since you came back from vacation. You’ve lost probably a good five or more pounds because you never eat, or at least I don’t ever see you eat anything lately. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you met a guy over there in glorious, old England,” she said that last part with what she perceived as a British accent and Sidra laughed, possibly the first time she’d done that in two weeks.
She then stepped into Sidra’s office and plopped down into the only available chair in the small work space. There was a flutter of purple and lavender ruffles and lace since Mindy was a more dramatic dresser than Sidra, who chose more conservative, classic designs. Mindy was wearing a purple ruffled blouse with a lavender vest and purple, wool straight skirt. While Sidra had slipped on a black sheath dress, only pausing to add a pearl choker and pearl stud earrings.
Sidra couldn’t help the blush that suffused her cheeks and looked away once the laughter died down. “I was only there for four days.”
Mindy gasped and sat up straighter, watching Sidra more closely. “You did! You met someone! Was he hot? Was he buff? Oh, you’ve got to tell me all the details!”
Sidra couldn’t believe she’d revealed so much in just seven words. How had Mindy figured out what was causing her recent funk? “What are you talking about?”
Mindy leaned forward in the chair, her eyes never wavering from Sidra’s face. “You’re blushing! You never blush! Tell me who he is and when are you going to see him again!” She moved to the edge of the chair, leaning her forearms against Sidra’s desk, eager for the latest gossip.
Sidra knew she’d have to nip this in the bud or Mindy would have it spread all over the firm in a matter of hours that Sidra was pining for her lost love. “Mindy, I promise you that, besides my brother Ryan, there isn’t anyone important in my life.” That was the absolute truth, she thought miserably as she considered that Rashid hadn’t even bothered to call her or contact her. He knew where Laura lived and Laura had explicit instructions to give him her contact information.
Mindy frowned and sat back against the chair seat once again, deflated that there wasn’t an interesting story to hear. “Then let’s go out tonight. My boyfriend, Jonas, has a friend who has been looking for someone interesting to date. Let me set you up with him. He’s a really nice guy, very cute, about three inches taller than you so you can still wear heels when you get married,” she teased.
Sidra was already shaking her head. “No thanks. I’m not ready for a blind date.”
Mindy clapped her hands together excitedly. “I knew it!” Mindy exclaimed, her eyes alight with enthusiasm. “You did meet someone! That’s why you’re not ready because some guy broke your heart and left you hanging! Is that it?”
Sidra hid her exasperation. How could Mindy have picked up on the true issue so quickly? She really had to watch what she said around this woman. Mindy was a good friend, but also too perceptive. “Mindy, there isn’t anyone.”
“Good! Then you won’t mind meeting Tom. Tomorrow is Friday so you have no excuse to avoid a date since you can sleep in on Saturday. Jonas and Tom will meet us at the Willard Hotel around the corner which I think is convenient for the guys as well. It’s suitable, elegant and a block away from the subway which will make it easy for you to get home after you meet this fantastic guy, but hopefully you’ll want to stay out and party with us. So there’s no way you can back out.”
Sidra thought hard, trying to come up with some way to avoid going on this blind date. They were never good, always awkward and she normally avoided them like the plague.
When Sidra still tried to figure out how to say no, Mindy nodded her head and crossed her arms over her stomach. “I get it,” Mindy said with a knowing look. “You’re still pining over the guy from England. I can understand and I’m…”