Page 85 of Fake Dating Daxton Hawk
“Do you know how humiliated I was when your mom referred to you as Steel? When she told me you were engaged to Felicity?”
“I can only imagine, and I hate that you had to find out that way.” My words barely feel adequate. “I was coming to tell you the truth right now. My mom convinced me that there’s no good time and the truth needs to come out. I’ve wanted to tell you for so long but I couldn’t find the right way.”
“How about just saying the damn words when you first found out? Or when you realized I was starting to develop feelings for you. Better yet, how about telling me the truth before youfuckedme?”
“I know. I screwed up. I never meant to hurt you. I just…”
“Just what?” Her voice shakes with anger.
“I was so afraid of losing you.” The excuse sounds weak. I’m drowning in a sea of regret and shame. “Please believe me when I say none of this was calculated.”
“How can I believeanythingyou say? Everything between us is a lie. You know how difficult it is for me to trust people. But I opened up to you. I thought I was safe with you and that for once in my life I’d found something real. I took a risk with my heart and flew across the country because I was so stupidly in love and wanted to support you this weekend. Fuck, what is it with me and always believing in the wrong people?”
“That’s not true. I fucked up. I fucked up real bad, Jordan, and I’m so sorry. But what we have is real.”
“It’s not real.Nothingis real between us.” She opens the door, and as she wheels her luggage out of the cottage, it feels like the room is closing in on me. The air is thick and I can’t breathe.
“No, Jordan, please.” I chase after her as she paces toward the road. “We need to discuss this. Give me time to explain this all to you properly.”
“You don’t deserve any more of my time. My ride to the airport is waiting for me.”
Ahead of us, there’s a private car service waiting for her in the driveway. As soon as Jordan arrives at the car, she passes her luggage to the driver and opens the passenger door.
Before she sits inside, I spin her to me, my hands trembling as I cup her jaw. “Jordan, please. This is real—you and me. Don’t leave. You’re the one for me. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I love you.”
Her eyes grow watery as she looks up at me, and a stray tear falls down her cheek. “Yeah,” she whispers. “I thought I loved you too.”
She slips out of my hands and into the car, saying one last thing to me. “Goodbye, Daxton. You won’t see me ever again.”
ChapterForty-Four
Daxton
The New York penthouse is quiet without Jordan.
Everything is lifeless.
Painful.
I hate being here without her.
Despite Jordan only living here a few short weeks, everything about this place reminds me of her and what I’ve lost—the gym where her aerial equipment still hangs and where I never got the chance to race her on the treadmill like she joked about; our night in the movie theater; the couch that she touched herself on; the pool where I first kissed her and made love to her.
The money she earned while living here has been deposited back into my bank account. All of her clothes remain in the closet and I know she won’t be returning for them. She’s cut all ties.
I am inagonyin this penthouse. But I won’t leave. This place is ours. The Hawk Grand Hotel LA is days away from opening and it’s crucial that I be there over the next few weeks. But business will have to suffer because I can’t leave New York. Ineedto be close to Jordan, even if she is ignoring every one of my texts and phone calls. Ineedto find a way to fix this.
I lean back on my bed and call Jordan. As with every other time I’ve called her in the last forty-eight hours since she left the vineyard, the line just rings. So, I open our messaging history, finding the countless texts I’ve sent her, all of them unanswered too.
Daxton
Please just tell me where you are so I know you’re safe.
I’m so sorry, Jordan. I will never stop being sorry.
We were real. I love you.
Please let me explain what happened.
