Page 6 of Dustin
But it can’t be. Dustin Rowell might be among the most good-looking men I’ve ever met. He’s funny and sweet, and I know he has a good heart. But the worst mistake I could ever make would be falling for him again.
Not for my sake but for his.
Chapter 3
(Dustin)
______
“You’re late,” Madison says as soon as I’m standing in front of her.
She’s wearing black joggers and brown boots, topped with a fuzzy brown jacket and sunglasses on her forehead. She looks like she’s going to a fashion show instead of spending nine hours on a flight. Her face is devoid of makeup, but she looks beautiful regardless.
“More like incredibly early,” I tell her with a smirk.
Her hazel-colored eyes narrow.
“What does that mean exactly?”
“It means…my flight doesn’t leave for another three hours,” I inform her.
“You changed your plane ticket.”
“Astute observation,” I say dryly.
It took some pleading before Sam agreed to do me a favor, but eventually, I got him to hack into the airport’s server and change my departure time.
“Can you even do that?”
I shrug. A part of me knows I’m being a little ridiculous and immature. Shit went down between us five years ago. I should be able to find it in my heart to forgive her. I don’t want to be this cruel, petty person, but with her, it’s like I can’t help myself. She broke my heart. When she left, I felt pain like I’d never feltbefore, and it scared me—scarred me even. I don’t want to put myself in such a position again. I want to do better, and if that means being a terrible asshole to Madison Thrash, then that’s what I’m going to have to be.
“What are you going to do? Tattle on me to your daddy?”
She glares.
“Fuck you, Dustin. We were supposed to arrive together. You just ruined the plan.”
“It’ll be fine. I’d rather things get derailed for a little while than spend all that time in the same space as you.”
She breathes in deeply before stepping closer to me until our chests are touching. At 6’4, I tower over her, so she has to look up at me. I pretend her sudden closeness doesn’t affect me. Her scent is still as intoxicating as it was back then—strawberries and sweet-smelling perfume that clouds my thoughts. Or used to, at least.
“Dustin,” she begins, her voice low, “We’re going to be spending the next few days together whether you like it or not. I get it. You hate me. That’s fine. But enough with the harsh words and the anger. We’re not going to be on the same flight, and that’s fine. You have about ten hours to work through your feelings and cut the attitude.”
With that, she grabs her suitcase and walks towards boarding. I watch her walk away and force myself to tamper down my irritation when I see a guy check out her ass.
This trip is the embodiment of a bad fucking idea.
****
I arrive at Portugal’s airport late in the evening and immediately call Madison, but to my surprise, her phone is switched off. I’m supposed to head to the hotel, and as I already have the address, I decide to do just that. She's probably asleep in her hotel roomand forgot to charge her phone. Or she went to her house instead to avoid me.
Thankfully the receptionist at the hotel speaks English, so getting my key is a breeze. She also informs me that a woman already checked in on my behalf, and was waiting for me upstairs. I’m guessing it’s Madison. I’m wondering why she’s in my room though as I start heading there.
“Madison?” I call, knocking on the door of the room.
There’s no reply which leads me to assume she’s asleep.
I knock a few more times until panic begins to appear. She’s a really light sleeper. If she was asleep in there, she should have woken up.
