Chapter 74 Summer
SEVENTY-FOUR
SUMMER
It turns out, the men have booked into a hotel suite just minutes down the street.
I’m silent with shock as they let me inside.
It’s a sleek, three-bedroom suite with cream furniture and a view over the city.
A couple of suitcases have been hastily shoved by the front door.
It looks like the guys dropped off their bags and immediately went to find me at the club.
“What’s going on?” I ask as Fraser leads me inside. “Guys, how are you here? What about the farm?”
The men exchange a look.
“We called in some help from the village,” Alec says roughly, watching as I step out of my heels. “We’re planning to stay here a while.”
“What? Why?”
Fraser grins. “Well, we need a place to stay while we woo you.”
“Woo? Me?” I don’t understand. People don’t woo me.
“Aye. I reckon we have some apologising to do.” He nods to the sofa. “Here, why don’t you sit down? You want something to drink?”
I shake my head and plop onto the squashy sofa, rubbing my fingers against the fabric to try to ground myself. Fraser looks like he wants to join me, but he doesn’t. Just stands and watches me, longing all over his face.
Cameron crosses his arms. “You left,” he says quietly. “Didn’t say goodbye.”
I squirm. “Sorry,” I say. “Sorry. It was rude. I just…” My eyes flick to Alec, who’s back against the far wall, his face half in shadow. “I couldn’t stay. I didn’t mean to be dramatic, I just…think I got in deeper than I meant to.”
“Aye,” Cameron growls. “Alec told us everything that happened. Trust me, we had words.”
“Plenty of them,” Fraser says, teeth glinting as he smiles humourlessly.
I nod awkwardly.
Cameron shifts his weight. “Can I sit,” he says. “Leg’s stiff.”
“Of course.” I try to bundle up my skirts as he drops down next to me. It doesn’t work, and the fabric immediately puffs out as soon as I let it go. He looks at the pink frothing over his knee with an expression I can’t read.
“Me too,” he says roughly.
“What?”
“I…” It looks like he’s struggling to get the words out. “I got in deeper than I meant to.”
“As did I,” Fraser adds cheerfully. “I think we all knew that. But to avoid any doubt—” He sits on my other side and smiles down at me. “I love you, Summer. Miss you. Want to be with you always.”
My heart stops. “What?” I croak.
“Aye,” Cameron says. “Me too.” I stare at him, and I swear his cheeks dust with pink. “Love you, I mean,” he says gruffly.
Ten seconds pass. Twenty.
“What?” I say again. I’m shaking. My skin is cold. I feel a bit like I might faint. “You can’t just say that,” I burst out.
“I want to be with you,” Cameron says levelly. “All the damn time. Hurts me when you’re hurting, and makes me feel good when you’re happy. I want—” He pauses, eyes narrowed on me. “She’s not okay,” he announces to the room.
That’s a bit of an understatement. My heart is flopping in my chest like a fish. I can’t process this. For the last four days, I’ve been getting used to the idea of being alone. And now Cameron and Fraser have flipped everything on its head again.
A foot steps in front of me. I look up to see Alec standing over me. Even though he’s obviously exhausted, he still looks unfairly beautiful, his black shirt open at the collar and exposing the line of his throat.
“Me too,” he says quietly. “I am so, so sorry, Summer. You scared me, and I massively overreacted. I should have never let you go. I love you.”
His words hit me like a bucket of cold water. The dizziness fades away, and my head clears. A hot feeling pricks at my stomach. It takes me a second to realise what it is.
Anger.
“I don’t believe you,” I say.