Page 125 of The Right Kind of Wrong

CHAPTER 44

Evelyn

My hand was in his, such as it had been many times before. Except this time it was different; it was the last time we'd hold hands. His thumb drew circles over the back of my hand out of habit, unknowingly soothing my worries and concerns.

I closed my eyes, reaching across the console and placing my head on his shoulder. I could picture Nathan's smile despite not seeing him as he placed a kiss at the top of my head.

“You okay?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah,” I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “It's just been an overwhelming day.”

“Mmm, I know. Once you get to New York City, you rest, okay?”

“Hm. Yeah, that sounds nice,” I replied with a small smile.

“You'll text me once you get there?” he asked, turning right. We were almost at the airport. Carter was in the backseat, quiet, probably eavesdropping on our conversation.

“I will, I promise.”

“Just making sure,” he chuckled.

As overwhelmed as I was, I believed I was making the right decision. Nathan deserved someone who had their head on straight, someone who was okay with themselves. And I needed time to think. Some things are better done alone and this was one of them.

I loved him, there was no doubt about that, and I knew he loved me too. I just needed to learn how to trust again, gain the self-confidence that had been taken from me.

There was Josh; naively I'd believed that he was my friend. That his intentions were honest only to be betrayed in the end. Thankfully, along with my sister, he was in jail, but I knew it was only a matter of time before his family paid his bond. Money can buy you many, many things. Freedom was one of them. At least I would be far away from him, in another state, never to see him again, or so I hoped.

For months, it was shot after shot, wound after wound. Eventually, it all added up. It all snowballed into insurmountable pain and I was about to explode. There was no need to bring Nathan down with me.

Perhaps with time, we would meet again. Our relationship would start in a normal way, without anyone else involved and we could be happy. For now, however, I had to look out for myself. Be happy with who I was, before truly being able to be happy with anyone else. It's not easy to leave behind the person you love, but sometimes it's necessary in order to find closure.

That’s exactly what I was doing.

“We're here,” Nathan announced, tilting my face up.

Our eyes met and I bit my lip nervously, needing to feel his lips on mine one last time.

“Uh, I'm going to get one of those luggage carrier things,” Carter cleared his throat. “Yeah, that's what I'm going to do.”

“You do that, Carter,” Nathan smiled, his unwavering gaze still on me.

Carter still hadn't fully stepped out of the car when Nathan's mouth was on mine, lips moving with passion and intensity, tongue searching out mine desperately. His hand was at the nape of my neck, pulling me closer, kissing me deeper while my fingers tugged at his hair.

That kiss said more than words ever would.

It said that even if I met someone else, I'd still belong to him just as he'd still be mine.

“God, I'm going to miss doing that,” he admitted between kisses, searching out my lips once again.

When the kiss was finally broken off, I smiled, happy to have been able to feel him against me for one last time. “Promise you'll be happy,” I whispered. “I don't want to feel bad about doing this. I need you to promise me you'll be happy.”

“As long as I know you're okay, I'll be fine,” he comforted.

“We'll stay in contact like always?” I asked.

“Of course. We were friends before all this, Evie. We're not losing that, okay?”

I nodded, sighing when I heard the trunk being opened.

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