Chapter 9
The morning commute was silent, with Harrison in his typical stoic mode while I scrolled through Instagram to fill the awkward void.
Then I saw it. Our resident ice prince had posted last night:
[Family dinner has a new addition today ❤]
The photo showed my embarrassingly full plate of rigatoni, my hand with its distinctive Tiffany bracelet just visible in the frame. Despite Instagram’s quality compression, there was no hiding how I’d practically engineered a pasta skyscraper – I have a healthy appetite but was too self–conscious to ask for seconds at the Astors‘.
The comments section was a war zone.
Sage: [Who is she???]
Matteo, clearly recognizing my bracelet:
[She’s at your place?! What the hell is this?]
[I’m outside your gate. Tell her to come out.]
[You’re going to regret this, Harrison.]
“Dr. Astor,” I turned to him slowly, “what possessed you to make that post?”
“People think I’m emotionally unavailable,” he replied, eyes fixed on the road. “Thought I’d prove I can be hospitable.”
“And how exactly do you know Sage and… Matteo?”
“Sage was a friend of a classmate. When I took that fellowship at Oxford, she coincidentally appeared there too. Then Matteo started following me, sending these bizarre messages about ‘looking after her.“”
Something clicked. Everyone had said Sage followed some guy to England…
“Hold on – you were the one Sage chased to Oxford?”
Harrison’s blue eyes met mine with unexpected intensity. “There was never anything between us.
15:39
The Ice Prince’s Love Prescription: I’m Your Remedy to Forget Your Ex
3.6%
Chapter 9
We weren’t even friends.”
“So you’ve seen all of Matteo’s posts these past three years?”
“Yes.”
I flashed back to our first meeting at Mount Sinai, how Harrison had stared at me until Sloane’s dramatic entrance broke the spell.
“That day at the hospital – you already knew who I was?”
“Not quite.” His grip tightened on the steering wheel. “I met you first. Then came Matteo’s follow request, and I saw you on his feed. Without seeing you there… I wouldn’t have kept him on my following list.”
The implications hit me: While dating me, Matteo had been desperately trying to stay connected to his “one that got away” through her supposed love interest.
Harrison wordlessly passed me a Kleenex from his console.
“There are better men out there.”
“Could I… see those messages he sent you?”
Harrison looked absolutely horrified. “Absolutely not.”
His mortified expression only made me more curious about what Matteo could have possibly said.
