Page 84 of Dear John

“It was actually Kavanaugh. I literally just walked you here.”

“It doesn’t matter! I should be in there right now, sipping scotch with that man, but instead, I’m down here, pissed as hell.”

He flinched as tears sprang to my eyes. “Are you crying?”

“Of course I’m crying!”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, because I know how to handle this one.” He straightened and narrowed his eyes at me. “Suck it up and move on. You didn’t get what you wanted. Boo hoo. Are you going to sit here and whine like a little girl or are you going to pull up your britches and be the badass bitch you are?”

I stared at him in horror, wanting to cry even more now. And I never cried! Tears spilled down my face as he continued toyell at me. But I didn’t hear anything over the horrible cry that spilled from my lips.

His eyes widened in horror and he stepped back. “Holy shit. That is not the way Anna reacts when I yell at her.”

Fox was still staringat me like I was about to explode as I made my way up to the hotel room. I was so mad, and I had no clue what to do from here. I’d basically sunk the best deal I would ever get in my career, and it was all for nothing.

“Stop looking at me,” I snapped.

“Sorry!” He faced straight ahead, his muscles locked tight in case I made the slightest move on him.

I rolled my eyes, wanting to yell at him some more for his part in all this, but how would that be fair? The only thing he did was come along for the ride.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you,” I muttered.

He flinched like I was about to attack him, shoving himself against the farthest side of the elevator. “Please don’t hurt me!”

The reaction was beyond ridiculous. “Fox, you’re stronger than me.”

“Right, but you’re a woman. And more than that, you’re Kavanaugh’s woman. And even further than that, Anna would castrate me if I laid a hand on you. I have no recourse here if you attack me.”

“Why would I attack you?”

“Because you’re a woman. Because you’re pissed at all men. Because I have Funyun breath. Take your pick!”

“I’m not pissed at all men,” I grimaced, looking up at the numbers flashing at the top of the elevator.

“Just remember to tell Kavanaugh that when you see him.” The doors opened and he slipped out, barely sparing me a glance as he rushed down the hall. Even in the short time I knew him, I could tell his actions weren’t normal. Was it all my fault? Had I broken Fox?

That was something to think about another time. In the meantime, I still had to go to my room where Kavanaugh would be waiting. I was almost positive Fox had sent him some kind of alert on our way here. Maybe Kavanaugh saw the SOS and got the hell out of dodge before I could get home. If only I could be so lucky. I was in no mood to deal with him right now, even if he was super sweet and rescued that kitten for me.

I stopped in my tracks as happy thoughts filled my head. That kitten was so sweet and she was all mine. And it was all due to Kavanaugh. Fuck, I really hated it when you wanted to be mad at a man, but then he did something super sweet.

I took a deep breath, determined not to start fighting the moment I walked through the door. Kavanaugh was sweet most of the time. And it wasn’t totally his fault—even though my decision to walk away today was based solely on his ridiculous paranoia. We were adults and we would talk about this like rational, sane people.

Now that I was feeling a little better, I finished the walk down to my room, only to be cut off by Fox, who suddenly appeared in the hallway with a huge grin on his face.

“Isla! Long time, no see!” He charged at me, wrapping me in a massive hug. It was like he had totally forgotten he’d been afraid of me not two minutes ago.

“Uh…Hey, Fox,” I said, patting him on the back. “I just saw you.”

“Did you?” he asked, pulling back from me. “Gosh, it seems like it’s been forever!”

“Well…it hasn’t.” I tried to step around him, but he shifted with me, blocking my path.

“You know, I was thinking, we sort of got off on the wrong foot. I didn’t offer you any Funyuns, we had no sing-alongs, and I didn’t even offer you my new drink.”

The last thing I needed was to go on a shopping trip with him for snacks. It was time to tell him a hard truth. “I don’t actually like Funyuns.”

He gasped, stepping back in shock. “You…” His fingers pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes and breathed deeply. “It’s okay. You’re alright. It’s not the end of the world if someone doesn’t like Funyuns. It just means there’s more for me.”

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