CHAPTER 22 #2
I muster up a nod and make my escape, throwing on my clothes and hightailing it out of here. My only thought is to get to Nathan and to hash this out. I need to confront him with all of this. I need him to make it make sense.
“Oh, there you are.”
No.
“Hello, Mrs Jackson,” I say, staring up at Nathan’s intimidating mum and groaning internally. I’d been in such a hurry to avoid a landmine that I’d walked straight into a nuclear bomb.
Her blue eyes, similar to Nathan’s but with less warmth, roam over me, and I wonder what image I’m presenting. After my detoxification wrap, my skin is tight and sore and now, glancing down at my arms, it looks worse than it feels. Red blistering patches everywhere.
Fantastic.
“You’ve been missing these last few days. We were just about to send out a search party for the two of you,” she says, baring her teeth in a poor imitation of a smile.
I shift on my feet, glancing around for a way out. On one side, ocean. On the other, more ocean. It’s either stand here and talk to this horrible woman, or swim with the sharks.
It’s like Sophie’s choice.
“Ah, yes. Nathan has been showing me around this beautiful place. I’ve never been anywhere like it.”
She sneers. “From what I’ve heard, you’ve never been anywhere at all.”
Okay, wow. The gloves are off.
I draw myself up to my entire five-feet-three-inches and I stare up at her. “Is there something you want to say?”
Her brow wrinkles, like I’ve taken her off guard. Clearly, in her circles, people prefer to trade thinly veiled barbs instead of coming right out and saying what they mean. In my circle, of me, this is a waste of time.
“Well, yes. I do have a few things on my mind.” She shocks me by threading her arm through mine, walking us away from the spa in a move that, from afar, would make us look like two people going for a friendly stroll. “I want you to tell me what you’re really doing here.”
“I didn’t think we were being opaque with the details of this, Mrs Jackson. I’m here as Nathan’s girlfriend.”
Gosh, I’m so glad this is now the truth. Otherwise, I may have succumbed under the weight of her withering glare.
“But where did you come from? From where I’m standing, my son was heartbroken about Victoria a mere few weeks ago, and now suddenly you’re here and you are both acting very much in love. And I’m not sure I buy it.”
I gape at her. “I’m sorry, it sounds like you’d prefer he was still heartbroken about Victoria. Which seems all kinds of wrong.”
She frowns. “You misinterpret what I’m saying, dear. I very much want Nathan to move on. I was just hoping he’d move on to someone more…appropriate.”
The air flows out of my lungs like I’ve been punched. What is wrong with these women? What makes them think they are superior to me?
“In what way am I inappropriate for Nathan?” I ask through clenched teeth. I’m holding myself together tightly, knowing if I give an inch here, I’ll fall apart.
“Well, for one, your background.” She puts a hand up to stop me from responding. “And it’s not just money; it’s knowing the way things work in our world.”
My body shakes, and I blink away angry tears. “It sounds like it’s just about money.”
Her head bobs, her immaculate hair not moving an inch. “Perhaps. But there’s also the matter of your career.”
“What about it?”
“Do you plan on keeping it? Because if so, how will that work for Nathan? He travels the world ten months of the year. Do you think he wants a relationship with someone who isn’t out there with him? Someone who is too busy focusing on themselves to come out and support him?”
Her words are like bullets. And unfortunately, some of them are hitting the target. Nathan and I haven’t spoken about how this will work in the real world. But he wouldn’t want me to give up what I do for him. Would he?
“I don’t doubt you’re a good person, Kaitlyn,” she says with a kind smile while sinking the knife in by calling me the wrong name.
“You may even be the perfect person. But you’re not the perfect person for him.
Nathan needs someone who will fit into his life, or else he will end up sacrificing himself for you.
That’s who he is; he’ll twist himself into knots for the people he loves, and he will lose what makes him the happiest in the process. ”
A heavy silence sinks between us, and I refuse to fill it. Not because I have no words, but because if I speak now, I’ll cry.
Mrs Jackson pats my arm like she’s trying to comfort me. Rich, given she’s the one inflicting the pain. “You know what I’m saying is true. Nathan needs someone like Victoria. Someone who grew up in this world and can understand how it works. And that person is not you.”
I blink up at her, and after she ensures all her barbs have hit the mark, that I’m now an open, gaping wound, she nods. “Enjoy the rest of your stay.”
Through tears, I watch until she’s out of sight before turning on my heel and rushing away from the resort.
Whereas before this encounter with Nathan’s mum, I’d been on my way to find him to talk this out, to fix this, now I need a minute to process.
There’s no way I can go back to the bungalow looking and feeling like this.
He would take one look at me and rush to make it better.
“What just happened?” I ask out loud as I sink down into the sand, running my hands through the grains to ground myself.
This morning I’d woken up in the arms of the man I was sure was falling for me, and now I’m not sure of anything.
If what I heard from Victoria and her evil bridesmaids is true, then Nathan may not be as over his ex-girlfriend and their relationship as he wants me to believe.
And it’s not like this is a shock; he’d all-but confessed to this after drinking himself into a stupor to deal with the idea of his brother marrying his ex.
It’s just that he also seems to be so over her, that he seems to despise her. So, which one is real?
And then there’s his mother. What if what she said is true?
That I am fundamentally unsuited to be with Nathan?
I mean, from the outside, we are an improbable match.
He’s a world-famous Formula 1 driver. A world champion, no less.
His family also has more money than the King of England, who, as it happens, is a friend of his family.
He spends his life living fast and furious, rubbing shoulders with important people, while I can’t even get my cat to like me. In what world are we well-suited?
I rub my temples, all relaxation from my trip to the spa long gone. A tension headache threatens to take hold, and I draw in a deep breath to pull myself together.
“One step at a time,” I mutter, lying back on the sand and blinking up at the brilliant blue sky. “I need to talk to Nathan. He deserves the benefit of the doubt.”
Nodding, I draw in and hold another deep breath, the sea-air soothing me.
Time to engage your rational brain, Katie.
Look at the facts. Apart from the odd comment here or there, and of course, that drunken confession, Nathan has given me no real reason to doubt his sincerity or his feelings.
His actions show that he likes me, that he wants me, that he wants to take care of me.
All I need to do is tell him what happened, tell him my concerns and talk about it like adults.
And if we decide we want to be together out there, in the real world, then we’ll have to deal with the concerns his mum raised. The very real logistical problems we will be facing. And how he needs to draw some firm boundaries with his family. His mum, in particular.
“Tomorrow. I’ll talk to him tomorrow,” I mutter into the sky, my heart rate slowing as my scientist brain takes over and straightens out my thoughts. “After the wedding.” There’s no need to upset him before then. My need to get this all sorted must come second to whatever turmoil he’ll be facing.
With another calming breath, I sit up to peer out onto the horizon and gasp. There, in vibrant colour, is the perfect rainbow. A full rainbow.
“Wow. I’ve never seen that before.”
A warm sensation, like a hug, settles over me, and I stare at the colours beaming down on me.
It’s a sign. Or a message from my mum. Telling me that I’m doing the right thing.
She always told me to trust my gut, and right now my gut is saying to trust in Nathan and what we’ve built together in the short weeks since we re-connected.
It may not be perfect, and right now with doubts flying everywhere, it may not even be pretty, but it’s real. And we can fix it. We can fix this.
“Wish me luck, Mum,” I whisper, my words disappearing into the sea breeze. “With these obstacles in our way and all these people working against us, I think I’m going to need it.”