Page 49 of Fear of Intimacy

“I… I…” I didn’t know what to say. Pressure clogged my throat as I struggled to come up with words. I really needed to get out of there before I did something stupid. “Goodnight,” I said like a complete idiot, turning on my heel and strutting away.

I felt Trevor’s eyes on me as I walked. I held the stuffed turtle to my chest as I headed for the exit to the airport, every step making me feel like I just made a huge mistake.

By the timethe Uber parked in front of my building, I wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed. Maybe it wasn’t the smartest idea to vacation somewhere in a different time zone. After paying the driver, I dragged my suitcase through the doors, waving to the doorman, and into the elevator.

Looking at my phone, I found myself clicking through my photos. I flipped through ones of us at the club, at the beach, and selfies with the girls until I landed on one I forgot I took.

A picture of Trevor when we went hiking to the secluded waterfall. We had stopped for a second to catch our breath—okay, my breath—and I brought my phone up to see if we had a signal. I remember Trevor standing there, joking about something when I ended up snapping a quick picture before he noticed.

Afterward, we got too busy with the hike and the proposal that I forgot to look at it. Thankful that I was alonein the elevator, I zoomed in, staring at Trevor’s face. God, he really was hot. With his brown hair curled at the back of his neck, those bright green eyes focused on me. It truly should have been a crime that he was so good looking.

I was so busy staring at the photo that I almost missed the elevator doors opening to my floor. Pocketing my cell, I headed for my apartment. It was still dark outside when I entered my bedroom, rolling my suitcase off to the side. I’d deal with that tomorrow after I got some much needed sleep.

With a quick wash of my face and a change of clothes, I was ready to fall into bed and snooze until the late afternoon. Plugging my phone in, my eyes lingered on the stuffed turtle I placed on my nightstand. The thought of Trevor going out of his way to get it for me was enough to bring tears to my eyes.

I lied there staring at the turtle until I fell asleep with only one thing on my mind.

Trevor.

16

TASHA

For the second day in a row, I was woken up by my phone. Letting it ring, I rolled over, burrowing deeper in my bed. There was no way I was getting up, not when it felt like I had just fallen asleep. When the ringtone stopped, I hummed, feeling myself slowly going back to sleep, only for it to start again.

Nope. Not answering.

Wasn’t until it started for the third time that I groaned, rolled over, and grabbed my phone from my nightstand. Whoever it was better have a good reason.

“What.” My words came out harsh.

“Is that how you speak to your mother?”The voice on the other end of the line made my heart stop. I was not expecting my mother to be the one calling me.

“Sorry.” I cleared my throat and started again. “Good morning, Mother.”

She made a sound between a hmm and a tsk.“I've been trying to reach you the last few days.”

My eyes were still closed as I responded. “I told you I was going on vacation with some friends.” Of course, she didn’tremember that part. Too busy only talking about her and my father’s gala to pay attention to what I said.

“Anyway.”Immediately glossing over what I just said, she continued.“Your father and I have been talking, and we think the gala is the perfect time to make the announcement.”

There was something about her tone that had my eyes opening. Nothing ever good happened when my mother used that tone. Like the time I was forced to do an apprenticeship at their law firm right out of high school when I didn’t want to.

“What announcement?”

“Your engagement.”

My entire body froze at her words. Engagement?

“What the hell are you talking about?” I demanded.

“Language,”my mother scolded.“We’ve talked about this.”

“No, we haven’t. What engagement?”

“I told you. With the merger happening with Caplin Brown,we all want a united front, so the decision was made that you and his son will marry.”My mother said it so casually, like she didn’t just drop a bomb on me. Like she didn’t just make a life-altering decision for me.

“Did you just say that in order for your firm to merge,Ihave to marry someone’s son?”

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