Page 11 of GAF Factor

“What exactly did happen?”

“He lied to me. Again. Well, before that, he showed up at my interview and asked all these really inappropriate questions, which now I realize weren’t inappropriate because the interviewer was the psycho who took me. But he made me think the man was after me and was trying to poison me. Which he probably was, so I suppose I have to let that go.”

“Don’t you hate it when men are right and you can’t even be angry about it?”

“Yes, it’s very frustrating,” I sighed. “And after I turned down the job, I went back to the hotel and the senator was there with Kavanaugh’s fake fiancée. Apparently, I was all over the news as the other woman. Not that any of that matters right now, but Kavanaugh knew about it and didn’t tell me. And then I found out that his fake fiancée—who is extremely gorgeous, by the way—knows all this stuff about him. Like, super personal stuff. And stuff about his brother! And when I asked Kavanaugh to tell me about it, he flat-out refused.” I shook my head in annoyance at the whole thing. “And now it all seems super petty to be upset with him, but…” I shrugged, not sure she would even understand. “And to make matters worse, I found out when I came home that he announced everything that happened with his brother in a news conference. He couldn’t tell me anything that happened, but he told the whole world.”

“To get you back,” she pointed out.

“That’s just it,” I sighed. “His hand was forced. That’s the only reason the truth came out. And he didn’t tell me. He told everyone else. Would I have ever found out?”

“Maybe it was one of those really traumatic things that he just couldn’t talk about.”

“He talked about it with her, and he didn’t even tell me about it. I think that’s why it makes me so upset. If there are lies this early in, what about a year from now?”

“Do you trust him?”

“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I think…it’s like the shine has worn off and…we rushed into everything. We could have had something good, but it’s tainted now. After everything with Shawn, I just want someone I can trust.”

“Then you need to tell him.”

“He’s really weird right now. He thinks he’s going to lose me.”

“Isles—” she said, stopping me with a hand on my arm. “You can’t stay with him because of his own fears. Do what you need to do. Even if that means ending it. Besides, it’s better to stop things now instead of dragging it out.”

“What if in three months I want him?”

“Do you really think you will?”

The sad part was I didn’t think so. Our romance was, unfortunately, fun for only a short time before it became a complicated mess.

“I think you already know what you need to do.”

“I do,” I sighed. “I just don’t look forward to ending things.”

“Nobody does. But this is Kavanaugh.”

I wasn’t sure if that made me feel better or worse for what I was about to do.

4

KAVANAUGH

I couldn’t stop pacinguntil she walked through the door. Sure, I did other things, but my feet never stopped moving. I was a nervous wreck. Even Bowie was irritated with me.

I shoved my fingers through my hair as I glanced at the clock again. “How long does it take to go out for the day?”

He looked up from the TV with a weird look on his face. “I thinkthe dayimplies that it will be most of the day.”

I scoffed at that. “Well, she shouldn’t be. She just got out of the hospital.”

“I gotta tell ya, if I could operate a vehicle right now, I’d be out of here most days. It sucks sitting around all the time. That was a hint, by the way.”

I started walking again, wondering where the hell she was. The flea market couldn’t possibly take this long. I doubted she went grocery shopping. So, where the hell else— “She wouldn’t go to him, would she?”

Bowie popped a candy in his mouth, still staring at the TV. “What?”

“IKE. Would she go to him?”

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