Page 24 of Mine Forever
They get paid millions to play a fuckinggameand never have to worry about losing a business due to lack of money.
Okay, that isn’t fair.
I don’t know much about Nate, other than what I’ve seen on ESPN. He keeps his private life private.
But my life is unraveling before my eyes, and logic isn’t factoring in to my thought process at the moment.
Chase is right, the rat bastard. Iamabout to lose my shit.
I start to pace. “Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just peachy keen. I’m about to lose the business I’ve worked my ass off to build over the last decade because some young Hollywood star decided it would be fun to drink—underage I might add—and drive her Porsche down the PCH and hit the keynote speaker I had lined up for the biggest event my company has ever hosted.”
I gesture toward Chase. “He’s the only person I could think of to step in but refuses because I ran out on him after we slept together four years ago after his wife’s funeral.”
Lifting my arms to the sky, I continue my rant. “Now this storm is making its appearance early, closing off my escape hatch to the mainland where I’d have a bed to sleep in, which is more than I can say for this fucking island!”
My voice ends on a screech, and in the ensuing silence, I freeze and it dawns on me what I just said.
Oh. Fuck.
I drop my arms and stare at the ground, my face warm from the humiliation weighing me down.
Nate clears his throat. “Okay, yeah. I need to head home. Hunker down, guys.”
Twigs and tree debris already littering the driveway crunch under Nate’s footsteps as he walks away, leaving Chase and me alone with nothing but the wind and regret.
I turn to face him, but keep my gaze on the small expanse of grass between us. Grass that reminds me of his eyes depending on his mood.
“Eden, look at me.”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll pass.” I start to turn and stalk away when he catches my hand.
“Eden. Look. At. Me.”
I jerk my hand from his because I can’t continue to have skin-to-skin contact with him and think straight. But I bring my gaze to meet his. “What?”
Between the bill of his ball cap and the darkening of the sky overhead, it’s hard to tell what his eyes are saying.
Damn it. I could always read them before—it’s how I knew his moods. In Chase’s case, his eyes really are the window to his soul.
Even when his soul is empty.
“I…” He rubs the back of his neck, then lifts his cap and wipes his brow before replacing it on his head. “You don’t have a place to stay tonight?”
“Oh, I have a place to stay. In Jacksonville. You know, on the mainland I can’t get to.”
“Did you check the inns here?”
“Are you serious right now? Of course I did! How do you think I found out about your fortress out here?”
I blow out a breath and try to rein in my temper. As much as I want to blame him for my being stuck here, I can only lay part of it on him.
If he’d let me tell him what I needed from him to begin with, I’d be gone.
And if I hadn’t been so arrogant as to think getting on a plane with a hurricane headed to my destination was a great idea, I’d be outta here.
Or if I’d listened when he told me no and had gone on my way, I’d be on a plane right now back to safety.
God, thewhat-ifgame sucks.
