Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 116708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
His hand fell away, but he caught it with his foot. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry.”
I’m sorry.
I’m sorry.
He could have pissed on my shoes and angered me less.
“Don’t you dare utter those words to me,” I seethed.
Absolute understanding slashed his face. “You’re right. I just…” The bob of his Adam’s apple was barely visible under his beard, but his desperation was palpable. Flicking his gaze off to the side, he dragged a shaky hand through the top of his hair. “I just need to come in and sit down for a few.”
“What part of closed do you not understand?”
“I’m not asking you to be open. I’m asking you to let me come inside.” His dark eyes came back to mine—the overwhelming intensity stealing my breath, but not my fire.
“You have to go,” I stated.
“I won’t bother you. I swear.”
“It’s not about you bothering me. This is weird, Truett. Really freaking weird, even for you.”
It was a low blow, but what was I supposed to do? He was too close, and not because we were only inches apart, fighting for control of the same door. No, he was too close because Truett West was currently sharing the same timeline as me. He was the past and I was barely surviving the present without those two worlds colliding.
“Gwen, come on.”
“No.”
His wild eyes shifted from side to side. “You won’t even know I’m here. A few minutes and I’ll be out of your hair.”
“Sure, until next week.” I cocked my head to the side. “Wednesdays. That’s your thing, right? You come up here, don’t eat a club sandwich, and then head back to that godforsaken house.”
He sucked in a sharp breath. “How do you know that?”
“Because people talk. Especially when it’s about creepy shit that makes them uncomfortable, just like this entire conversation right now.”
He shook his head rapidly. “You don’t understand.”
“You’re absolutely right. And I don’t care to understand, either. I have a whole life to get back to, and quite honestly, I can’t believe you, of all people, are standing here arguing with me about it. Riddle me this, True. When exactly did leaving me become a problem for you? Because you were damn near a professional not too long ago.”
A myriad of emotions washed over his face, pain prominent in each one. The truth hurt. It sure as hell had destroyed me. He hadn’t given one single fuck back then, so I figured he wouldn’t mind if I offered him the same courtesy.
He didn’t reply, and when the silence stretched, I couldn’t stop the bitter laugh that escaped my throat. Not that I’d tried hard—or honestly at all. The entire situation was beginning to feel more and more like a bad case of déjà vu.
Fuck it then.
Fuck it now.
Fuck it all.
“We’re done!” I snapped, my frustration boiling over.
At my outburst, he jerked so violently he stumbled back a step.
With the door freed from his blockade, I wasted no time pulling it shut—the lock clicking with bone chilling finality.
Rushing forward, he placed both palms to the glass and stared at me with a torrent of emotions storming in his eyes. “Please don’t do this.”
“Go home, True.”
“Gwen, please.”
“Jesus, what the hell is wrong with you? Just go home.”
And with that, Truett exploded.
“I can’t!” he boomed, his deep baritone echoing off the glass. “You don’t have to like me or understand me. Or, fuck, even care about me. But please, just let me come inside.”
My throat got tight, and for a brief moment, my frustration waned. I did care about him. Or I had back when I’d existed in a magical land filled with beauty, invincibility, and fairy tales—also known as youth.
The problem was I didn’t live there anymore. I’d grown up, even if he hadn’t.
Desperation flickered in his eyes like a dying flame as I stared at him.
As a people pleaser by nature, I had caved way too many times in my life.
With Truett.
With Jeff.
With the whole damn world, which seemed hell-bent on keeping me down.
But not this time.
The Rosewood was my fresh start. A new life, a new path, a new me.
This was my future, and Truett West didn’t exist there.
“I’m sorry,” I said, speaking the two words from our past that would never stop haunting me.
I saw the verbal blow hit him, his whole body absorbing the shock. It sucked to witness, and I hated that I had to be the one to cause it, but I had nothing left to give. My cup was already empty, so I wasn’t about to let him stab another hole through the bottom.
With my chin held high, I walked back to my office and shut the door.
There was no more banging or yelling.
No more arguments or pleas.
I wasn’t sure how long Truett stayed after that, but a few hours later, as I locked up for the night, I felt nothing but relief when the only thing waiting for me outside was a full moon.