Chapter 7
SEVEN
ANGELA
Staring in disbelief, I shake my head. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I paid for this room.” Kevin scoffs. “I think the better question, Angela, is what in the hell is he doing here?”
He directs his scowl at Wade, who is eerily silent beyond mouthing my name.
My gut twists. Of course, the one time I do something truly spontaneous and reckless, I get caught. Worse, I had to go a develop feelings for the man who was supposed to be my no-strings attached fling to get over the heartbreak of being dumped by Kevin.
Well, heartbreak is a stretch. This turd of a man didn’t break my heart. He did bruise my ego. And now, thanks to my stupid ego, I’ve gone and royally screwed up my love life.
Torn between wanting to assure him this isn’t what it looks like and kicking my ex-situationship to the curb, I realize the first will be easier to start if I finish the second.
“Kevin.” I take a deep breath. “You canceled our date last night and told me this… whatever the hell this is we were doing was over.”
“Can’t a guy change his mind?”
I narrow my eyes. “You ditched me for another woman?”
“That was a mistake. She was”—he grimaces—“anyway, after a night with her, I realized I’d made a mistake. So I came here right after I left her so I could tell you I screwed up.”
I arch an eyebrow. “The only mistake you made was thinking I’d ever give you a second chance.”
“But Angela… We had some good times.”
“Good times? Yes. Great times?” I shake my head. “We both know we were just killing time together. Until something—or someone—better came along.”
When he looks like he’s going to protest, I hold up my hand to stop him. “You know I’m right.”
He stares at me a moment longer, and then shoves his hands in his pockets, his shoulders slump. “No, you’re right.”
“Just because this woman you were with last night wasn’t ‘the one’ it doesn’t mean I am either.”
“And this guy is?”
“Maybe.” I lift a shoulder. “It depends.” Mostly on whether or not he’s willing to overlook the lie—and it was a lie, not a fib—I told the moment we met. “But, I’d rather risk finding out whether it’s real with him then keep on living a lie with you. I think we both deserve that.”
Kevin doesn’t look entirely convinced. But at least he doesn’t trie to deny it again. “If you’re sure?—”
“I am. I’m positive.”
“Then, I guess I shouldn’t be going.”
“That’s probably for the best.”
With another parting glance as if to see if I’ll change my mind, Kevin mopes as he walks through the door. I close it behind him, sliding the lock into place.
“I thought he’d never leave.” Releasing a shaky laugh, I turn to give a sheepish explanation to Wade.
Except, he isn’t there. Wade is gone.
* * *
“You’re never going to believe what happened,” I blurt out as I burst through the doors of the restaurant from the night before and find Heidi polishing glasses behind the bar. “When I tell you it’s a shit show…”
I give a short humorless laugh. “Shit show hardly seems to cover it. But it’s a disaster.”
“Let me guess.” Heidi sets the glass and towel down and leans against the bar. “You and the hunky mountain man spent the night together. And it was incredible.”
“Mind-blowingly incredible.”
“Of course it was. I never had a doubt it could be anything else.” She taps a finger on her chin. “Let’s see, after your mind-blowingly incredible night, you never got around to telling him the truth. And before you could even decide whether or not you should, he got a text from the real Tonya and fucking Kevin showed up at your hotel room.”
My jaw falls slack. “That’s almost exactly what happened.”
“Almost exactly. Hmm.” She tilts her head to the side and studies me. “Oh, I see. You wanted to tell him. You just didn’t know how. Because you went and caught feelings for the guy who was supposed to be your one-night stand.”
“Seriously, are you a psychic or something? Or were you spying on us all night?”
“Nope. Neither of those things. Scout’s honor.” She holds up three fingers in salute. “I was just guessing about that last part. You fell for him.”
“Head over heels fell for him.”
“And you wanted to tell him the truth?”
“Of course I did.” My bottom lip quivers. “I just…”
A tear slips down my cheek. I wipe it away with my hand furiously. “How do you tell a man you’ve only known for one night that you can see a future with him? Especially when you only met him because you were pretending to be someone else. Because you wanted to make yourself feel better after your ego was bruised after being stood up by a guy who isn’t even worthy of the title ‘man.’”
A deep ache blooms in my chest. I press a palm against my heart and rub it absently, as if that will somehow help.
“Wade is the most incredible man—no, human—I’ve ever met.” I take a shallow breath and swallow past a lump in my throat. “He’s been through so much already. I wanted to tell him the truth—I should have told him the truth. But I was being a selfish jerk.”
Heidi’s face softens. “You didn’t set out to hurt him.”
“But I did. I know he probably hates me. And it’s fair if he does, but—” A sob pops out of me. I clamp my mouth against a second one and take a few breaths through my nose.
Heidi reaches across the bar and covers my hand. The silent show of strength helps me pull myself together enough to finish what I started to say.
“I just… I wish I could tell him the truth. The whole truth. I wish I could tell him I’m sorry. Most of all, I wish I could tell him he’s the best man I’ve ever met. And that he deserves to fall in love and be completely loved in return.” I release a shaky breath. “Even if that’s not with me.”
Heidi blows out a breath. “That’s a lot for sure. That said, I may have some good news for you.”
“I find that hard to believe.” I sniffle and blink to keep another tear from falling. “What is it?”
“Well, for one, I’m pretty positive your mountain man had an equally good time.”
“You mean, before I blew it.”
“That goes without saying.” Her eyebrow twitches. “I’m also pretty sure he felt the same way about you.”
“How could you possibly know that?”
“The same way I know about how it all went down.” She, jerks a thumb over her shoulder. “He told me.”
“He told…” I trail off as I follow the direction of Heidi’s thumb. There, standing at the other end of the bar, is the man himself. Wade. Looking even better than he did an hour ago. “Oh.”
My heart doesn’t seem to know whether to drop or leap. It settles on a skip.
“Wade, I…” I take a step toward him but stop.
As much as I want to run to him, throw my arms around his broad shoulders and beg for him to give me a second chance, I need to give him the choice. Does he want to give me a chance to explain?
Or, would he—understandably—want me to turn around, walk back out of that door, and never bother him again?
The dull ache in my chest spreads.
Moistening my lips, I open my mouth, but before I can say anything, Wade turns to Heidi. “Could we have a moment?”
Heidi darts a glance between us and nods. “I’ll grab some wine from the cellar.”
Once she’s gone, Wade and I face one another again. Unlike me, he didn’t have a change of clothes. He’s wearing the suit from yesterday, though he’s left the tie off and his collar undone. His white shirt is no longer crisp, and is rumpled after spending a night on the floor.
He looks good enough to nibble on. Especially that exposed skin at his neck.
“Did you mean what you said?” he asks slowly moving closer to me. With every step, my senses come more to life, completely aware of everything about him. His musky scent. The heat radiating from his body.
His piercing gaze.
I nod, and a fresh wave of tears threaten to wash over me. “Every word of it.”
“And the guy?”
“Done. Over.” I shake my head. “It was stupid to even feel hurt for one second after that jerk ditched me.”
He gives a slow nod, but says nothing.
That’s okay. I still have more I need to get out. “I… I really didn’t meant to hurt you. I just… I just saw you and I stopped thinking.”
“I suppose I understand that.” His lips twitch. “I couldn’t think when I saw you either.”
“I just… I wish I would have told you the truth from the start. I wish…” I swallow past the lump in my throat. “Do you think there’s any chance we could start over?”
Shifting from one foot to the other, he studies me silently. His hot gaze leaves my body smoldering, even as my heart races. With each beat, the same words fly through my head.
Please say yes. Please
He thrusts out his hand. “Hi, I’m Wade.”
“I—I’m Angela.” I place my hand in his, savoring the familiar feel of his work-hardened palm against mine.
“Would you like to join me for a drink?” he asks, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. “I have a feeling we’re going to hit it off.”