Page 44 of No Faking a Second Chance

Wesay our goodbyes, thenIgo home with plans of talking toBishoptomorrow whenIgo in to work.Otherwise,I’llhave to wait until the weekend is over, andIrefuse to do that.

WhenIget inside my house,Ifrown at the silence.Silencewas somethingIused to love, untilIrealized my heart lies withBishopAdler, and nowI’mgoing to fight like hell to keep him in my life.

Iwon’t go down without a fight.

* * *

Ispent the rest of the day yesterday going over everythingIwould say toBishopwhenIgot into work, but nothing prepared me for being face-to-face with him.Itwas a lot easier when it was a conversation in my head, but nowI’mdrawing a blank as he stares at me with a blank expression.There’sno ounce of feeling in his gaze as he stares at me, and it’s throwing me off.

AmIreally that easy to toss aside, without getting my side of things?

“CanIhave a minute?”

Hesighs, waving his hand toward the office door, andIwalk inside with my head held high. “Whatis it,Ms.Flowers?”

“Georgia,”Imutter, then flash him a smile. “Iwanted to explain what you think you saw a few days ago.”

Hehums in response. “Notnecessary,Iwas clear with you when we went to dinner.”Thenhis gaze falls onto the papers on his desk, quickly dismissing me from his room without saying a word.

Istand tall and clear my throat, waiting until his gaze falls on me. “CanIcome by this weekend, please?”

Bishopshakes his head and smiles. “Sorry,Ihave plans this weekend.”

There’sa stab in my heart, butItry not to let the tears fall at his words.Hehas plans, on a weekend.There’sno doubt those plans involve a woman.Washe even going to tell me, or wouldIhave had to find out from the gossip chain in town?I’mworriedI’llcrack ifIsay anything, soIsimply nod before rushing out of his office and throwing my own office door open.

Assoon as the door is shut,Ilet the tears fall down my face, then grab my phone and callWinnie.IfIwas so important to him, how could he have done exactly whatWinniedid to me?Allhe had to do was ask me what the meaning ofCamdenbeing at my house was, andIwould’ve told him the truth.

I’mnot sure if he would’ve believed me, but at leastIwould’ve gotten the chance to tell him.Hedidn’t even give me that though.Instead, he set up a date with another woman, while making me think this entire time he was still with me.IunderstandIdid that exact thing to him, but that was before anyone’s feelings came into play.

OnceIfigured out how he saw me,Iimmediately regretted whatIdid and realized thatIfelt the same way.But, he tossed those feelings aside and is acting likeInever meant a thing to him.KnowingIwanted him.Hemay not have knownIfell in love with him and thatIwant a life with him, but he could’ve if he had given me a chance to tell him that.

WhenIimagined my future withCamden,Inever imagined kids, and watching them run around the yard withCamdenchasing after them.ButwithBishop, that’s exactly where my mind goes.Iwant to grow old with him, watch our kids have kids, and travel when the time comes.

GeorgiaAdleris allI’vebeen repeating to myself sinceIrealizedIlove him.Iwant to walk down the aisle to him, but that won’t be happening now.Notwhen he’s determined to push me away without getting my side of things.

Winniebursts through the door, a frown on her face. “Okay, let's figure out what to do.”

Whenshe finally leaves, we have a plan in place thatI’mhoping like hell works and doesn’t just make him angrier.Guesswe’ll find out.

Chapter26

Bishop

Abar seemed like the best place to meet a woman for the first time, soIchose the one right here in town.Shehas to travel about thirty minutes toDaisyCreek, but she assured me she didn’t mind doing so if it made me more comfortable.I’vechecked my phone about half a dozen times, waiting for her to let me know she’s on her way, that wayIcan get there before her, andI’mgetting nervous that she’s never going to leave.

Thisis the first woman since living here, other thanGeorgia, thatI’vehad my eye on, andI’dhate to screw it up before anything even happens.Sinceit’s just a bar,Idecided on a pair of light color jeans with a black t-shirt, andI’llprobably sport the cowboy bootsIhave thatI’veworn a total of three times.

Myphone pings with a text andIbreathe out a sigh of relief whenIsee it’s from the womanI’mmeeting tonight for drinks.Hername isVioletand she’s a veterinarian, something that makes me respect her even more —Icouldn’t imagine being around sick animals all the time.Iquickly run a hand through my hair, making sure it’s not sticking up all over the place, then spray myself with some cologne.

Itonly takes me a few minutes to get outside and into my car.Myhands are shaking with nerves andI’mpraying that they stop beforeVioletgets to the bar, otherwiseI’llbe embarrassed.

WhenIwalk through the door,Donny, the usual overnight bartender, waves to me from behind the bar andIsaunter up to the empty seat in front of him. “What’llit be tonight,Bishop?”

Ishake my head. “Nothingright now,I’mwaiting for someone.”

Hewinks at me. “Nice!”Thenhe hurries over to a rowdy group of men on the far side of the bar, grabbing beers for them along the way.

WhileIwait forVioletto get here,Iwalk over to the pool table situated in the center of the room with my hands in my pockets and watch the men competing.Whenthe scrawny older guy loses, he lets out a string of curses before placing a wad of cash into the hand of the tatted guy across from him.Theguy is smirking, as if he knew damn well he was about to win the match, andIchuckle.

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