Page 35 of Nomad
At first, I’d wanted to honor Aaron’s wishes, and I’d believed to do that, I’d had to keep them at arm’s length. Suffer in silence to keep my promise to him. Jade had helped me see that Aaron would approve of the love we shared. He’d trusted me enough to ask for my help if he passed away. He would trust me with their hearts. Would she still trust me?
“You want another one, baby?”
My head dropped. Once again, I questioned why I’d come to this shithole in the first place, especially if I wanted peace to drown in my misery. I’d start buying beer from the grocery store and stop coming here, listening to Sadie’s shit.
For the past few months, I’d been able to avoid Sadie, much to my surprise. So, I’d had no problem coming here tonight for a few hours after I’d shut down the garage then headed home to my empty house.
The laughter of the bar patrons as they played pool and darts only made my sour mood worse. There wasn’t a fucking thing to be cheerful about.
Why in the hell am I here?
“Not in the fucking mood tonight, Sadie,” I warned, taking another swig from my bottle of beer. “I want some peace and quiet.”
“Well, what’s crawled up your ass, William?” she asked, blowing an enormous bubble with the gum she chewed before popping it. “Let me guess, got something to do with a woman, huh?”
I glared at her then frowned when she leaned forward, pushing her fake tits closer to me than I would have liked. She smiled, ignoring my mood, and it pissed me off more than what I already was.
“None of your fucking business, Sadie.”
I slammed the bottle of beer down on the bar. The bitch didn’t flinch. In fact, she leaned closer, planting her elbows on the bar.
“I can make you forget her,” she said, smacking her gum.
No chance of that happening.
“Leave me the fuck alone!”
Her eyes widened. She huffed, then stalked away. Gerald, the mailman, who sat on the wobbly stool next to me glared like he wanted to punch me in the face.
I deserved it.
He had the hots for Sadie and pined over her pretty much every night he came into the bar when I was here, despite her fucking Donnie and trying to get into my bed. I didn’t give a fuck if he didn’t like the way I spoke to her. If he were any kind of man, he’d stand up for her. Of course, he didn’t. He took his beer and moved to the farthest end of the bar after I scowled back at him.
A giggle from the corner table by the rundown jukebox caught my attention. When I faced the familiar sound, Angie sat with some guy who had CEO of some Fortune 500 company written all over him, not someone from Windhaven. And definitely not a man like me—more like the type of man she should have been with from the beginning. Although I was a miserable prick, it was great to see her smile, especially how we had left things. It confirmed I’d made the right decision about us. Hopefully, she’d found a man who returned her love.
Angie’s laughter trailed off when she noticed me staring at them. She touched his arm, whispered something in his ear, and then motioned to me, the glint of the ring on her finger catching my attention. He nodded, then she stood, kissing him on the cheek.
Gorgeous as ever, she strolled over to me, the luxurious golden strands of her hair tumbling down her back in large curls. I inwardly smiled; for the first time in over a year, she wore something other than yellow, a purple sheath dress molded to her slender frame.
“Hi,” she said. A smile found its way through the mask of uncertainty. I wasn’t sure if she thought I’d be angry for her being with another man or she was being cautious because we hadn’t seen each other since that night at my home a few months back.
“Hey, Ang.” I took a swig of beer while she remained unsure of what to do. “You look… happy.”
She released a breath and broke into a wide-open grin. “I am.” She glanced over her shoulder at the man who sat the table. He winked at her, and a pink blush stained her cheeks. He didn’t act like a jealous prick because she wanted to talk to me, confirming she’d found someone who trusted her completely, and he was confident in their relationship. It was what I always wanted for her, someone she could give her heart to, and they would give her theirs.
“That’s great, Ang.”
She pulled her attention away from the man, focused on me, then nodded.
“I’m happy for you, sweetheart,” I said, and that was the truth. She was a wonderful woman. Any man would be lucky to have a girl like Angie. Mr. Money Bags had landed himself a keeper.
“I wanted to say thank you.”
My brows bunched in confusion. “You want to thank me… for?
“For that night.” Her smile broadened. “If not for you, I wouldn’t have rekindled my relationship with Chase. He was my high school sweetheart, and we found our way back to each other. You said the man for me was out there, and I couldn’t be more grateful to you for opening my eyes. I thought I loved you, but I realized I didn’t the moment I saw Chase again.”
“He’s a lucky man.” My face split into a wide grin for the first time in months. Although things had ended with Angie, I believed if it weren’t for our sexual relationship, we would have been good friends in another life.
