Page 16 of Cru's Crush
“Messy, are you? That surprises me.”
He shook his head. “I left in a hurry the last time I was here. Beau, uh, needed my help.”
He opened the door, switched on the lights, and motioned for me to come inside.
“You don’t have to tiptoe around mentioning him. I already told you I’m not upset about him and Sam. I actually knew they were together before the rest of you did.”
The color left his face. “That’s right. You saw them in Vegas.”
“You don’t have to tiptoe around that subject either. I’m not afraid to talk about it. Actually, the more I do, the less horrific it’ll seem.”
“Glass of port?” heasked.
“I’d love one.” I smiled when I saw he’d pulled out a tawny bottle. I preferred it over the traditional style.
We both sat on the sofa, and he handed me a glass. Our fingers brushed, and my breath caught when I looked up at him. It was more than his classically exquisite looks that stopped my heart. His mere presence was so dynamic, so full of virility, that I wondered how I’d ever managed to form words when I was around him.
He caught me studying him, and his gaze held mine as if questioning why my cheeks were flush and my palms so sweaty.
When I looked away, it was as though an invisible string tying us together snapped, and Cru’s expression turned somber.
“You haven’t said much about what happened.”
I rested against the cushion. The police who took my statement wouldn’t allow Cru in the room with me. After telling them what happened, I hadn’t felt up to repeating it. Out of everyone, Cru deserved to hear the story the most, but he hadn’t pressured me to tell him. The hardest part was having to admit how reckless I’d been.
“I met Ryder and two of his friends—a couple—at the airport in Los Angeles. They were headed to Las Vegas like I was, except I’d planned to catch a connecting flight from there to Nashville. We ended up seated next to one another on the plane, and they talked me into waylaying my trip and spending an evening in Vegas with them. Since I had no real plans in Nashville other than that I was bored and had never been, I took them up on their offer.”
I looked into his eyes, expecting to see disappointment or something akin to it. Instead, Cru gazed at me with an understanding I’d never known with anyone other than him. Even my parents.
I told him that, coincidentally, the group was staying in a hotel my father had invested in on the strip. I booked my own room and met up with them later for a night on the town.
“Beau has a stake in that place, doesn’t he?” Cru asked.
“Yes, so I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised when I ran into him and Sam on our way to dinner, but I was. Did you know he was there?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t have any idea until he called me a couple of days later, saying he was in a small town outside of Buffalo.”
“He wasn’t exactly happy to see me.” I could hardly blame my impetuous behavior in the days that followed on him. However, his attitude toward me that night had certainly fueled it. It still hurt when I thought about how rude he’d been when all I said was I was sorry to hear about his mum. It was like he couldn’t get away from me fast enough. Maybe because he was with Sam. Like everyone else, did he think I wasbutthurtabout it? I was really starting to hate that term.
Too ashamed to look at Cru while I recounted the next part, I studied the wine in my glass. “After far too much partying, I agreed to travel to New York City with them. I told you two of the three were a couple. I’m sure Ryder expected we’d hook up, but I wasn’t interested in sleeping with him. He was good-natured about it when I turned down his advances. He even understood when I booked a room at a hotel rather than stay in the apartment he and his friends had let.”
I took a sip of the wine, followed by a deep breath. “The next night, the four of us were out for dinner, and by the time it was over, I wasn’t feeling well. I went to the ladies’ room, and when I came out, I overheard them mention my parents. They said they were worth billions. It was then I realized the dizziness and confusion I was feeling was likely brought on by something they’d put in my drink.”
Cru shifted closer. “You don’t have to go on if you don’t want to.”
“I’d rather get it all out.”
He nodded. “Go ahead.”
“I returned to the ladies’ room and called the first person I thought of—Beau. I was able to tell him I was in trouble, but not much else before I heard the restroom door open. Fearing it was Janine, the other woman, I ended the call. I don’t remember anything after that until I woke up in a strange place and found the bedroom door locked from the opposite side when I tried to exit it. It wasn’t long before you arrived.”
“Thank God you’re okay,” he said, barely above a whisper.
When I looked over at him, my eyes filled with tears. “I don’t deserve you.”
“What does that mean?”
“Most people would tell me how stupid what I did was and that I’m lucky to be alive.”
