Page 94 of Trusting Mr. Sterling
Knox called at seven.
“Have you eaten?”
“Not hungry.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. You’re punishing yourself, and it isn’t going to win her back.”
“I’m not trying to win her back by punishing myself. I’m trying to feel something I have never felt.”
“Three days without food isn’t going to make you understand poverty.”
“No. But it’s a start.”
Knox was quiet for a long moment. “Eat a piece of bread. Tomorrow is Thursday. You’re going to need your strength.”
“I will.”
“For what it’s worth, I think she’ll listen.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she hasn’t blocked your number.”
He held onto that.
He ate a piece of bread.
Thursday morning. It’s been five days since she found The Oath. Five days of silence, unanswered texts, and phone calls that went straight to voicemail.
She had an event today. She’d be finishing up around five.
Gabriel stood on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Fifty-Ninth Street, watching the crowd flow around him. Businessmen with purpose. Tourists with cameras. Office workers escaping for late lunches. Everyone moving with the certainty of people who knew where they were going.
Gabriel knew where he was going. He wasn’t sure what would happen when he got there.
The Oath sat folded in his pocket. This was either going to work or destroy whatever dignity he had left.
His phone buzzed.
Knox: Are you sure about this?
Gabriel: No.
Knox: Good.
He turned off his phone, took a breath, and pulled out the sign Knox had helped him make at three in the morning.
WILLING TO STARVE FOR LOVE.
It was ridiculous. He knew it was ridiculous. Sometimes ridiculous was the only language that made sense.
He stepped into the middle of the sidewalk, held up the sign, and waited.
The reactions came fast. A woman in yoga pants paused, read the sign, and laughed. “Honey, I’ll feed you. What are you in the mood for?”
