Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
“You don’t deserve to know anything that happened to me. You don’t deserve to know anything about me at all,” she seethes quietly. “Don’t ask me for anything else. I don’t have any more to give.”
She throws her napkin on her chair and stalks off. She managed to rip me a new one in a low tone, so no one’s watching. I stare after her, my heart in the pit of my stomach when she turns the corner and I can no longer see her. Fuck. I can tell she’s been holding that in. Probably since the dildo incident. Maybe even before that. I can’t even process what she just told me. She ended up in the fucking hospital? That wasn’t in the folder. I should kick Liam’s ass for his half-assed job. I’m still staring across the restaurant as if she’s going to magically appear. Finally, I swivel my seat and wait to get the bartender’s attention to pay the check and take the food to go.
“Lachlan, right?” Pat asks as he walks over to me. I look at him for a long time, trying to figure out how he knows my name. Hockey fan, maybe?
“Yeah,” I respond after a moment.
“She’s told me about you.” He looks in the direction she disappeared to.
I can’t even imagine what she must have said about me. What could she have said? My curiosity must show because he smiles.
“Whenever they showed your face or said your name, she’d make me change the channel.” He points at the television on the other side of the bar. “One day, she saw you on the screen and. . .” He swallows, glancing away like it hurts, which further hurts me. “I asked who you were, so she told me.”
“She comes here a lot then,” I say.
“Only for lunch when the place is practically empty. She always sits right there, has her burger and fries, listens to me babble, and leaves.” He blinks and shakes his head, focusing on me again. “I’m sure it doesn’t mean much coming from me, but I’ve never seen her truly smile or laugh. Certainly not the way she did tonight.”
A harsh laugh leaves my lips. Yeah, she smiled, and then I went and fucked it all up. I take a large gulp of my drink, hoping it’ll get rid of the knot in my throat and the guilt in my chest. It doesn’t.
“I guess her lack of smiles and laughs isn’t an issue. She has a lot of admirers,” I say because I can’t seem to let that shit go.
“She does.” Pat chuckles. “Those poor souls.” I feel myself smile a little, which seems to egg him on, because he continues, “I know I’m a complete stranger, and I probably shouldn’t be saying this,” he says. “But that girl is so fucking in love with you that none of the men in this city ever stood a chance.”
Fuck. I thought that was what I wanted to hear, but right now, all it does is make me feel worse.
“It was good to meet you.” He taps the bar twice and pushes off to help someone else.
I’m about to call him back to ask for the check when my body becomes aware of her presence. The way my cells seem to sense hers is inexplicable. It’s also how I know that this will never end. Lyla gets back in her seat, picks up her napkin, sets it on her lap, and takes a sip of her drink as if nothing happened. I stare at the side of her face.
“Don’t.”
It’s all she says.
It’s all she has to say.
She only speaks to Pat. Even with him, it’s just short answers and tiny pretend smiles. I realize that I’m seeing her shutting down right before my eyes, and the only things I can think about are that she has pictures of me in her office and that she has spoken to all of these people about me. I came into her life demanding things from her, and thought she agreed purely out of guilt, fear, or money, only to find out that she agreed because she cares. This is why Marissa and Prescott guard all of her secrets. This is why men chase after her despite her standoffish attitude. This is why I fell so fucking hard for her. I’ve met more people than I can count, so I know gems when I see them, and this fucking girl has a heart of gold. Black gold, if that’s a thing, but gold nonetheless.
I pull out my phone and text my brother.
Me: she went to the hospital the night i did. Why was that not in the file?
Liam: damn. She’s okay tho right?
I stare at his words. I didn’t even think to ask that. I mean, she’s obviously okay. I’ve seen her running and jumping since I got here, but still. I haven’t even asked her if she’s okay. I haven’t asked her if she’s happy here, or whether or not she missed me. I know she did, but I should have asked her. Nicely. I couldn’t. I’ve been holding onto this anger for too long. She fucking left me. That’s the one thing she knew — she fucking knew — would hurt me the most, and that was what she did. I understand that she thinks she had to do it, but I can’t just forgive her for that. The knife is buried too deep in the wound. I take a deep breath and look at her again. Her expression is completely blank now. When she tilts her face and examines the bottles on the shelf, I can’t even read her fucking eyes. Damn it.