Chapter 36
Paige
C lint looks as handsome as always, sitting across from me at the table. We have been hiding here for over an hour because Katherine has decided to make one of her rare appearances, which is awkward as always. I have been telling him about how I have been thinking about working at a trauma center in Denver for a few months.
“I think that sounds like a pretty cool opportunity,” he says with a smile.
“Maybe. There are a few details I need to figure out first.”
I don’t want to specify anything further. My head has been a mess since we got back from the river. I even have gone a few days without returning Graham’s texts or calls before caving yesterday.
“He would wait for you,” Clint says with a chuckle before sipping his wine.
I lock my eyes on him, deciding how to proceed with this conversation.
“I’m not worried about Seth,” I say in a playful tone.
Clint takes another sip of his wine.
“Who said I was talking about Seth?” he asks in a tone that he usually saves for Graham.
“Why do I have to keep reminding everyone he is engaged?”
I try to sound irritated, but I don’t think Clint buys it.
“He isn’t in love with Katherine,” Clint says with so much certainty that I am startled.
Bre’s voice drifts in from the kitchen as she joins us at the table.
“He isn’t wrong, you know. Tell Clint about the river.”
I could have killed her then and can tell this is an unavoidable conversation. Curiosity finally gets the better of Clint.
“What happened at the river?”
“Nothing,” I bark too quickly as a mischievous smile dances across Clint’s face.
He turns to Bre, repeating his question.
“What happened at the river?”
I can’t help but laugh at the desperate need in his voice and shake my head when Bre proceeds to recap the whole day’s events in between her uncomfortable, mushy love stories. I honestly feel like it is an over-share, and I pray none of the guys walk into this little gossip session.
I roll my eyes.
“He isn’t my boyfriend, Clint.”
“Please, he has never looked at her like he does you,” Bre says with a wink as she sits.
Realizing the wink isn’t toward me but toward Graham.
Who was now occupying the space behind me.
He smiles and kisses my cheek before sitting next to me. I can’t help but smile and shift my attention toward him.
“Hiding from your fiancé?” Clint asks, sipping the large glass of wine he has just poured before checking his cell phone.
“No, she wasn’t feeling well and went to lie in my room,” Graham says, annoyed. “She bitched about being excluded from family dinner, then pulls this shit.”
I look over at him and stick out my bottom lip. Graham lightly traces my stitches. Bre laughs, and Clint abruptly excuses himself from the table. My eyes follow him as he disappears.
“Do you have any idea what that was about?” Bre asks, watching Clint head down the hall towards the back bedrooms.
I just shake my head and turn my attention back to Graham. Even though we have been talking again, I miss him terribly. I look over his shoulder as he shows me a few pictures from one of the last surgeries he observed, and I just want to act like the river didn’t happen.
Chris pops in from the backyard with the grilled steaks and veggies. Bre has already brought everything else to the table. Realizing it’s time to eat, I head towards Chris’s bedroom to get Seth. Only he isn’t there.
The house isn’t huge, but I know the only place he can be is one of the bedrooms. I hear a low giggle that sounds like Katherine and a slight shuffling from down the hall. A door opens, and Clint freezes dead when he sees me.
“What are you doing, Paige?” He says oddly loud.
I feel confusion all over my face when a thud sounds from behind one of the doors. Then another. I turn my head toward the noise and see Seth open the door of the room I have just checked.
He rubs his eyes as if he has just been sleeping on the made and empty bed this whole time. Katherine then exits Graham’s room, which is conjoined by a bathroom. I lock eyes with Katherine, who immediately lowers her eyes from mine. She bolts towards the dining room when I hear Seth.
“Gorgeous, is it time to eat?”
“You weren’t on that bed.”
My mind is racing as I bounce my eyes from where he stands and where she just left. I look at Clint, who is still frozen in place. Eyes fixed on me.
“Bre will come to hunt us down if we don’t get into that dining room.”
I feel the panic start rolling off Seth when I walk toward Clint and grab his hand before pulling him down the hall to the dining table. Seth follows behind, weariness dancing across his features.
I am royally pissed because something does not sit right with all I just witnessed. Clint’s odd behavior and the looks of disappointment and pity aren’t helping. It has been so long since someone looked at me that way. How he is still doing now and other people are beginning to notice.
“Everything okay?” I register Graham asking.
I am so busy staring at my plate of food, lost in my thoughts, that I have secluded myself from the conversation. Katherine is chugging what I assume to be the whole bottle of wine, and Seth just sits there.
Seth is just sitting here doing nothing!
I fight back the tears I feel building from what I just saw.
“I think I’m just tired from work,” I say, not meeting his gaze.
There is a long moment of silence before Katherine decides to open her mouth.
“Honey, I’m not feeling too well myself. Do you mind if we head home?”
I look towards her to see her hand touch Graham, and a new rage simmers me as he is still at the contact. I can feel my jaw clench.
Seth looks at Katherine and studies her gaze briefly before looking at me. I make an annoyed noise. Graham’s face is confused, and Katherine snaps her head towards me. Stare full of venom.
“Am I missing something here?” Bre asks.
I suddenly realize everyone has been watching the awkward moment.
My cheeks flush with embarrassment, and I jerk my chair back and attempt to leave the dining room when I feel Seth’s hand grab my arm. I stop, look down at where he is touching me, and pull my arm away.
“I’m going home. Alone.”
The rage simmers in my eyes. I need to process through this feeling that I am missing a massive part of their story. My head and heart have been in constant conflict over these two men, but I don’t know if I am the only battle they are waging.
“Paige,” Graham says, partially standing.
I roll my eyes and walk out of Clint’s. Once I finally reach my car and calm down enough to drive home, Seth somehow manages to be next to my driver-side window.
I don’t bother rolling down my window, but part of me wants to hear what bullshit excuse he is about to feed me. I close my eyes for a moment before unlocking my car door. He doesn’t hesitate to open it and drops to his knees beside me.
“Please don’t leave me. Nothing is going on.” Seth says panicked, making it hard to hold back my angry tears.
He puts his head down on my lap and tries to hold me close. The audacity of this man right now is unreal, and I shove his head off my lap.
“What the hell was that, Seth?”
I give him one chance to come clean.
His eyes lock on mine, realizing I’m not budging, and we both know he won’t be honest.
“Nothing you have to worry about.”
“Right. Just like Graham.”
I was done.
Rage shows in his eyes as he stands from the ground next to my car and slams my door shut when I refuse to acknowledge him any further. I don’t even wait for him to move before I pull out of the neighborhood and call David.