Page 32 of The High Price Of Loneliness

Finally, and this was the straw that “broke the camel’s back,” she stood still leaning on the bar as the other man put his hand on the middle of her back, exposed completely naked by the sexy black gown, and he watched in disbelief as she allowed him to slowly slide his hand down to the very lowest part of her back—dangerously close to her barely covered derriere.

He stopped about six feet from them as the awkward moment continued to unfold. “Angelica,” he said in a strong voice. She turned to see the hurt and anger in his eyes.

“Edward.” She looked at him in a bit of surprise. “I was. We were…” she stammered. “This is Keirlen. He plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” she finally fumbled the words out.

The tall athlete at the bar didn’t reach to extend a friendly handshake but rather looked at Edward as one predator to another with a half grin as he had been pawing at Gray’s date in a hot black dress.

Gray glared back at the football star, known around town for his way with women and often in a bit of trouble over it. “It’s time to go,” he said curtly, offering his elbow to Angelica.

“Nice chatting with you,” she managed quietly as she turned to leave with the one who brought her to the Straz. Angelica explained, “I’m sorry. I was just waiting at the bar as you said,” sensing that Gray was angry at what he found.

“I think it’s time to leave,” said Gray. “I’ve had enough of the Straz for this evening.”

“You mean we’re not going to stay?” Angelica queried. “They are just about to start.”

Gray texted his driver to pull up front. “Perhaps you would like to stay with your new date instead?” he said, looking at her with his mouth tight and eyes focused.

“It wasn’t my fault,” Angelica stammered. “I was just standing there waiting for you at the bar like you said.”

Gray cut her explanation short, interjecting, “Flirting with strange men is not just standing there, Angelica. I saw what I saw walking over to you from across the entire lobby. And you weren’t exactly looking for me, were you?”

She tried to minimize the damage done, adding, “Well, we started talking while I was waiting. That’s all.”

Gray opened the Straz doors for Angelica; this time, the smile had gone missing from both faces. The Escalade was just pulling up, and this time Taylor quickly circled around to open Angelica’s door. Gray went to his door without aiding Angelica unlike earlier at home. The driver closed her door in Gray’s absence and then climbed into a silent SUV to chauffeur the now estranged couple home on what would become a long ride back to Sarasota.

Gray did not offer any explanation to his driver for the early departure. The two simply sat in the back in silence. Angelica’s mind was racing. Her heart was in her throat.

She wanted to plead her case further, but she found Gray’s intense energy intimidating when he was angry. She had never seen this side of him before.

They were halfway home when she finally summoned the courage to ask, “May I speak?”

Gray shook his head slightly and replied, “Best not to talk right now.”

Angelica bowed her head submissively and continued squeezing her hands together, rubbing thumbs back and forth against each other. She knew Gray had assumed the worst when he walked up. She wasn’t sure how long he had been standing there. What had he seen and heard? She didn’t know what to do or what to say. She was not used to socializing with famous and celebrity people, and when the NFL star talked to her, she didn’t mean to do anything wrong. But Gray had walked up, right as the guy put his hand on her back, and she knew it probably looked way worse than it was in her mind.

Oh crap!she thought to herself.There has got to be a way to fix this.

The driver backed the Escalade into Angelica’s driveway as he had earlier that evening when they picked her up. Gray told his driver, “I will get Ms. Hart’s door for her.” The driver nodded the unspoken instruction for him to simply wait in the vehicle.

Gray opened her door but did not extend a helping hand for her to exit the big SUV. She stepped down carefully in her new designer shoes. He extended his elbow to take her to her door. The first piece of civility since they left the Straz.

“Can we talk, Edward?” Angelica asked with a pleading tone in her soft voice. “Please?”

Gray responded with a resoluteness that left little room for interpretation, “No. Not tonight.” He added firmly, “Let’s talk in a couple of days. I need to cool down first … or…” He paused. There was a moment of dead silence.

“Or?” Angelica said, seeking more explanation.

“Or, I might say some unfortunate things that can’t be unsaid,” Gray explained. “Good night, Angelica.”

Her hands were shaking as she fumbled to unlock her front door as Gray returned to the waiting SUV. She looked out the now-open doorway and watched the taillights of the black Escalade rolling away. He was gone.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Pleading Her Case

Angelica was stunned and now left alone moments after Edward had left her in his silent rage. She closed her front door and looked around her house. All was completely quiet, except for the first few sounds of her sobbing then deep, hysterical crying as she said aloud, “How could this have happened?” All the way home from Tampa, her mind had been racing thinking about what to say to fix this. But Gray had given her the silent treatment all the way home. She would have preferred it if he had hollered and raged at her—anything but silence.

She wept on the couch for several minutes as she felt her energy draining out of her. And then a new steely resolve began forming. She was not going to lose Edward over a misunderstanding. Letting him cool off for a couple of days could surely spell a full and final goodbye, she imagined.

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