His Alone (For Her #2)

I release the folder, and she pulls it to her chest, still staring into my eyes. I wonder if she knows she belongs to me. That I belong to her. I can’t help myself, and I reach out, touching her cheek softly. There’s only a heartbeat of a moment between us, but in that time it’s enough. Enough to last me until I can see her again. I expect her to recoil, or to have a sharp comeback. But instead she blinks away our connection as if it never happened. I drop my hand, yet it’s still tingling like I placed it on a hot stove.

Then she turns and leaves without so much as a goodbye. I follow her out of my office and watch her get on the elevator. When she’s inside, I turn, running toward the stairs, taking them as fast as I can. When I fly out at the bottom, I see her leaving the building. I quietly trail her until she stops, looking in a window at something. She stands there for a long moment, longer than I expect her to, before shaking her head and moving down the street. I carefully trail behind her until I see my guy at the crosswalk up ahead. He nods at me before following her, taking over his job as her secret guard.

I watch her go until I can no longer see even the blurry shape of her silhouette. The longing in my chest is a hollow ache.

When I can’t stand there any longer, I turn back and go to where she stopped, curiosity getting the best of me. When I look up at the sign, I see it’s a jewelry store, and I glance at the display window. My eyes scan the items and stop when I see it. There, nestled in velvet, is a ruby ring almost as beautiful as she is. I take one look, and I know that’s it. That’s the ring I’m going to put on her finger, or die trying.