Page 25 of A Touch of Heaven

CHAPTERELEVEN

BROOKE

Ithrow myself on my bed. My heart is beating so quickly that I can hear it. What the hell is going on? I feel so overwhelmed as I try to make sense of today. I jump off the bed, look at myself in the mirror, and run my thumb over my lip where Nate kissed me.

What was that?

I pace as I try to control my mind, which is going so quickly I can’t keep up. I sit back on the bed, kicking my shoes off as they land with a thud, and take a long, deep breath, closing my eyes.

Nate kissed me… Not like a kiss kiss, but still a kiss. He said I was perfection. The complete opposite of Chase calling me a frigid bitch.

Fucking Chase.

I fucking hate him.

I run my hands through my hair, pulling it a little too hard. What an utter prick. I feel the tears coming again, and I grab my pillow, screaming into it. I will not cry over him again.

How dare he.

How dare he say those things to me?

I feel sick, the bottom of my stomach threatening me to come up again.

I don’t understand the switch. It’s like I’m talking to two different people sometimes. My Chase—the one that stares at the stars with me and calls me his princess. The one that’s had my heart and allows me to see his vulnerability. The man I am truly and completely in love with.

Then, the other Chase, the imposter. The one who wears a mask of control and hates me. I don’t know what I did to deserve that hate. Was it all a lie? All those nights under the stars or the smiles between us. The secrets we kept as kids.

Was it all fake to him?

What did I do wrong?

I just don’t know which Chase is real anymore. All I know is I’m going to find out once and for all, but for now, I need time away from all of them. I grab my phone, texting Harper, and she’s at my door within seconds.

“Hell yes!” she screams, and I laugh. “I really need this!” she says.

We’re both dressed up and ready to go within half an hour. I opt for a short, deep black dress that clings to my body. My skin is exposed by a low-draped back that sits just above my ass. My feet are in my favorite red high heels with matching lipstick. My long brown hair straightened into a sleek but sexy style. Harper grins at me.

“We look smoking, girl.” I smirk back at her, agreeing. She’s wearing a red dress with a very low-cut V, showing off all her assets with her blonde hair pulled up into a high ponytail. I can’t help but smile at us in the mirror, knowing we look hot but for us and not for anyone else.

I’ve spent the last thirty minutes catching her up on today’s events. She listened attentively with the odd gasp or occasional insult thrown out before understanding why I needed to blow off some steam.

“I just don’t get it, B. That guy worships the ground you walk on. I know he’s worried about Nate, but still… If you both feel the same way, Nate will understand,” she says, applying the last swipe of mascara.

“What do you mean he’s worried about Nate? Is he worried he wouldn’t approve? Being honest, it’s not up to him. I love Nate, but his opinion on who I should date only goes so far.”

Harper looks over at me and shakes her head. “You really are blind, you know!”

I go to reply, but we hear the guys downstairs, and my stomach knots at the thought of facing them.I won’t cry,I won’t cry, is all I repeat to myself, worrying I’ll come face to face with the man who just left me alone on the beach.

“You ready?” she asks me, and I nod, breathing unsteadily.

“As I’ll ever be.”

I walk down the stairs, laughing as she snaps a few shots of us. Nate is the first one I see, and he can’t take his eyes off me. His gaze roams over my body. My breath hitches a little. I’ve never seen him look at me like this before. Or maybe he has, but I never noticed. It’s intense like he’s thinking of stripping this dress of me right here and not caring who sees. Part of me responds to that.

Nate is gorgeous, honestly, he’s like a Greek god, and he makes me laugh. He’s caring, sweet, and cheeky. I know we would probably make a good couple like everyone says. If only I could bring myself around to think of him as something other than my best friend.

He walks over to me, and I watch his Adam’s apple bob as he swallows. “You look…incredible.” It’s like he couldn’t think of a word that was good enough, and I blush at that thought.

---