Page 95 of Away With You
I huff out a bitter laugh, replaying the image in my head. “Don’t worry, drunk George’s aim wasn’t great. He ended up falling over instead. Then he started crying.”
“He didn’t?”
“He did,” I confirm, feeling sorry for the state my brother was in. Even if he was the master of his own shitty future. “Heconfessed he’d been worried this would happen. That Victoria still had feelings for me.”
“And he’s still going to marry her?”
I shrug, equally baffled. “It’s not for me to judge. The two of them have stepped so far over the line of what is decent and kind that they’ve lost sight of their humanity. It’s like they’re a caricature of themselves at this point.”
“And then what?”
“Then he had another drink and calmed down. It didn’t matter what I said after that; he is going to marry Victoria because that is what he is expected to do.”
She takes two steps to stand next to me, leaning into my side as the anger seeps out of her. “After everything, he still wants to marry her?”
“He does. They’re getting married as planned later today.”
We stand in silence; Katie staring straight ahead, my gaze stuck to her perfect profile.
“Tell me what’s going on up here.” I tap on her temple after a drawn-out pause, desperate to know that I’ve done it. That I’ve fixed the mess I made.
She sighs, turning to stare back at me, her expression filling me with dread. “I’m thinking, perhaps, we’re moving too fast.”
I grasp her hands in mine. “What do you mean?”
Her nose scrunches as her eyes fill with tears, and she draws in a long breath. “Nathan, I believe you. That nothing happened between you and your ex-girlfriend. But after what you said after the Stag Do and then finding the two of you together like that, when I thought something had happened, that you were still in love with her…it hurt me. A lot. And that scared me.”
I pull her closer, so our chests are touching. So she can feel how hard my heart is thumping. How hard it’s thumping for her. “Tell me how to make it better.”
She draws back, her lips pulled down in a sad frown. “I need some space. To get my thoughts in order. This morning was a wakeup call for me. Everything has happened so fast. I mean, we only just reconnected a few weeks ago, and now we’re…here. I’m having all these feelings, and it’s frightening. I’m not sure I can handle my heart being broken, not so soon after everything that happened with my mum. It’s not healed enough for that.”
“But Katie, I won’t break your heart. I’ll treasure it. Iloveyou.”
She places her hands on my cheeks and presses the softest kiss on my lips. “I know youthinkyou do, Nathan. But right now, I’m confused. I’m overwhelmed. I need some space.”
The air deflates from my lungs. She’s running away from me. From us. “I can give you space. I’ll move to another room, I’ll move to another resort, I’ll give you all the space you need.”
Her lips tip into a small, sad smile as she smooths my hair back from my sweaty forehead. “I’m going home, Nathan. I need a minute to figure out how I feel, what I want and whether I’m ready for whatever we have here.”
My hands fall away from her as she walks back inside the bungalow. “Can’t you figure that out here with me?”
Her steps falter before she marches forward to where her packed luggage is waiting for her. She’s really leaving.
“Please, Katie.” I rush after her. “Please stay and let’s work this out together.”
She shakes her head. “I can’t. I need to figure this next part out for myself. I have to go.” She stands on her toes and kisses me goodbye, her lips salty with tears.
My head spins as I watch her go, unable to trust in my eyes that she’s actually leaving.
“Katie—” I call out. “I’m sorry.”
She doesn’t turn this time, her back straight and her shoulders set in a stubborn line. “I’m sorry, too.”
The door closes, and I sink onto the floor, hanging my head in my hands, as my brain begs me to follow her. To not let her go. To make her love me enough to stay.
“Nate?” Theo’s voice startles me a few minutes—hours? days?—later, and I glance up to find him standing over me, his normal stoic expression wavering. “What happened? Rosie saw Katie at the helipad.”
I stand slowly, my insides quivering as I stare at my manager and friend. “She’s leaving.”
