CHAPTER SIX
ANIKA
We got here around the same time. I thought I’d take Winter for an early morning ride after how upset I was yesterday. I’m not even a big morning person but Nathan Wolfe’s handsome dumb face kept flashing in my head throughout the night and I barely got any sleep.
Which is annoying. I love sleep. Sleeping is my favorite activity.
As soon as day broke, I made my way here. Thankfully, the horse groomer was already here and she helped me get Winter out. We were starting our ride when I saw him.
Because of course not only was he plaguing my sleep but he’d decided to be act as a plague during the day as well. I noticed him heading towards the gym but I didn’t approach. I went on my ride and it was nice. And during the ride, I made a decision.
I’ve spent over a year thinking about all the things I could have said to him when he spoke to me like that at Emilia’s wedding. Regardless of what he heard or the conversation he stumbled upon, he had no right. And he was so rude and condescending about it too.
After dropping Winter back at the stables, I headed towards the gym. And now I’m here, staring at a tall sweaty man who’s sexy as sin and distracting as hell. He was in the middle of lifting weights when I walked in. I hadn’t realized how long I’d been looking at him until he cleared his throat shaking me out of the trance.
Why is he so distracting? He’s not even my type. I don’t like assholes.
Liar , my subconscious says.
Shut up.
I inwardly groan, steeling myself as I meet his gaze head on. I came here to let the guy know he’s an asshole, not get lost in his soulless dark eyes.
“Are you stalking me, Cameron?” he asks, lifting his shirt to wipe the sweat from his brow.
I’m almost sure it’s a distraction technique but I’m made of stronger stuff. Under no circumstances will I be looking down at his abs. His rock hard, shiny, six pack. Okay, maybe just a tiny peek.
Get it together!
When I glance back up he has a smirk on his face.
Fuck. He caught me looking. That’s just great.
“What are you doing here?”
“You mean in the gym at this moment?” he asks, his breathing still a little erratic. He answers before I can speak, “I’m a Wolfe, sweetheart. I’m making use of the facilities accorded to me as a member. How about you? Are you a member of this country club?”
“Yes. A family member,” I reply snarkily.
God, everything he says is so arrogant. He makes a small sound I think passes for amusement. I actually meant what was he doing in this town but he obviously doesn’t care what I meant.
“Of course. Your sister’s married to Sterling Harrington. How are they? I haven’t seen them since the wedding.”
“I’m glad you brought up the wedding because I have something I’ve been meaning tell you since that encounter.”
“Can’t wait,” he says dryly.
I walk forward, making sure to step right in front of him. I have to tilt my head back to look him in the height because he’s not just a dark eyed Adonis, he’s a tall one too, but no matter. When it comes to bringing down assholes like him, height doesn’t matter.
“I’m not pathetic,” I say to him, my tone hard and devoid of any warmth.
He doesn’t blink as he stares down at me. “It’s not an assessment of your character, Ms. Cameron. Just facts related to that particular moment. You were acting pathetic in that situation.”
My fists clench. The nerve of his man!
“You think you’re better than me? Than everyone else?”
“I never said that,” he scowls.
“You imply it with every single thing you say, Mr. Billionaire. It’s annoying,” I retort, feeling my chest tighten. My blood heats, anger pulsing through me.
“You’re nothing but a spoiled man that’s literally never had to work for anything his entire life,” I continue, the words leaving my mouth before I have the chance to think about it. “You act like you’re superior but you’re not. You’re arrogant, rude and an asshole. I’m sure you’ve gotten away with every single thing you did wrong in your life because of your last name. Or maybe you did it by playing the dead mommy card?” I ask with a mocking pout.
I thought I’d seen rage before. But the way Nathan Wolfe transforms before my eyes actually slightly terrifies me. His eyes grow darker and the scowl on his face deepens. I feel a flutter in my stomach and take an involuntary step back. But he advances, reaching for my wrist and grabbing it fast enough to make my heart stop.
Maybe this was a bad idea.
I try to rip my hand away but he refuses to let go. The pressure’s not enough to hurt me but he’s got me effectively trapped. When he speaks his voice is raw, filled with anger.
“Do me a favor, Anika. Stay the hell away from me. Do you understand?” he questions.
“I don’t want to be around you either!” I retort, still struggling to get out of his grip.
He releases me while I’m in the middle of pushing away. I stumble backward, nearly falling on my ass. He glances at me, dark eyes filled enough with fire to melt plastic and then he walks away. Once he’s gone, I exhale a breath.
“That totally didn’t go how I wanted it to,” I say to myself.
I stand there in shock for a couple more seconds before forcing myself to move. I walk out of the gym and head back to the stables almost on autopilot. Winter and I already had our morning ride but I think stroking her mane will help me feel calmer. She’s eating when I get there, happily munching on hay. She neighs softly when she notices me walk up to her stall.
“Hey, girl.”
Another horse in the stall next to hers neighs as well but I’m pretty sure it’s annoyance at having disturbed their meal time. At least Winter’s happy to see me. I place a hand between her eyes, causing them to flutter shut. It’s proof of how comfortable she’s grown around me.
“I might have made a mistake,” I tell her because really, who else am I going to tell? “I wanted to piss him off but I don’t think it was a good idea to mention his mom. That was low. He’s just so infuriating!”
“Who?”
I jump, feeling my heart lurch in my throat. When I turn around Chris is standing there, hands in his pockets and a curious expression.
“You have got to stop doing that,” I mutter, releasing a breath.
“What’d you do, sport?” he asks, walking forward.
He offers Winter a small smile before his gaze shifts back to me.
“You look the same way you did when you were 16 and your dad caught you sneaking out booze for your brother and Sterling. You came to the estate and kept crying to me about how bad you felt.”
I make a face, “Carson and Sterling never did apologize for getting me into trouble that time. Dickheads.”
“Go back to what you did wrong,” Chris prompts.
I cross my arms over my chest, “No thanks. I already know I went too far. If I tell you, you’ll make me feel even worse about it.”
He arches an eyebrow, expectantly, waiting for me to crack. Finally I groan softly.
“I had an argument,” I mutter, although I wouldn’t really classify that as an argument.
To be honest I ambushed the guy then proceeded to get my revenge by saying something I knew was going to hurt him.
“With who?”
“Nathan Wolfe. I ran into him at the gym, he was working out.”
“You know him?”
I hesitate, “Not exactly. But we’ve met before. He was a huge asshole when we did and he really pissed me off.”
“So? What did you do?”
I bite down on my bottom lip, “Try not to judge me too harshly, okay?”
He nods.
“I may have called him a spoilt daddy’s boy, arrogant. And I may have also mentioned his mother.”
“You did what?” Chris asks wide eyed.
I sigh before confessing, “I said he was a spoilt asshole that’s probably gotten himself out of bad situations by playing the dead mommy card.”
Chris winces.
“I know it was bad,” I hurriedly say. “I feel awful.”
“You should, sport. Nate didn’t just lose his mother. He was in the car with her when she died. And he was driving.”
I feel my heart drop. “Are you serious? Fuck,” I whisper.
“Yeah. It must have been traumatic for him. You shouldn’t have mentioned his mother.”
“I know, I know. I’m so sorry.”
Chris places a heavy comforting hand on my shoulder, brown eyes warm and kind.
“I’m not the one you need to apologize to, Anika.”
“I know. I’ll figure something out.”
I can’t believe the tables turned this dramatically. But my guilt doesn’t get rid of the fact that I’m still pissed at the man for butting into my business and insulting me. He didn’t even apologize when I called him out on it.
But now I have to because I took things too far. Feels like I’m losing. And I really, really hate losing.
***
I knock on the brown oak, patiently waiting for the owner of the house to open up. As soon as the doorknob twists, I’m sliding in, brushing past her before she has a chance to shut the door in my face.
“Hey, Anika. Why don’t you come on in?” she asks sarcastically before closing the door and turning to face me.
My friend places a hand on her hips, her critical eyes assessing me as I stand against the wall of her house guiltily.
“What? You finally remembered I existed?” Danielle questions. “What are you doing here at 9am in the morning?”
I offer her a small smile, “I was craving some pancakes. I know you always make some on Thursday mornings.”
She’s already wearing an apron over her pyjamas. Her brown hair is tied up in a ponytail. I came here at the right time.
“You want me to make pancakes for a friend that turned her back on me?”
“Geez, drama queen, much?” I mutter.
“Nika, I haven’t spoken to you in months. You cut us all off. Your friends. I understand Lisa was a bitch but she wasn’t a reflection of the rest of us. I thought we were closer than that.”
She actually looks really betrayed and I feel bad. Today’s just me taking hit after hit to my character. Maybe I am a terrible person. I’ve known Danielle since high school. She was my partner in crime, the Bonnie to my Clyde, my ride or die.
Then everything started going wrong in my life and I began distancing myself. From everyone, apart from my family. I just wanted some peace and a chance to find myself. But I failed at that so might as well go back to where I was before.
“I’m sorry, Dani. I was in a bad place,” I say sincerely. “But I missed you.”
“Was it because of Edward?”
“What?” I ask flinching at the sound of his name.
“Were you in a bad place because of Edward?” she repeats.
My jaw tightens, “He doesn’t have any control over me or my emotions.”
Not anymore.
“Good,” Danielle says with a small smile. She steps forward to give me a hug. “I missed you too, Nika.”
I relax into her embrace, glad to at least have her back. I’m not going back to being the social butterfly I was before. But I might as well not push away the people I care about.
“Now can I have pancakes?”
Danielle laughs, “I can’t believe you came looking for me because of food.”
It was just an excuse but thank God it worked.
“We both know your pancakes are to die for.”
She heads into the kitchen and I follow her in. Danielle’s home is cozy. She lives here with her mom but Jane’s never really here, too busy spending time with whatever new boyfriend she’s managed to find herself. Danielle’s the most independent, badass girl I know. So while her mother might have never really being there for her, she’s done well on her own. I’m so proud of her.
“What’s that?” I ask, pointing at the giant bouquet of roses on her kitchen table.
Danielle turns from the stove to see what it is and giggles.
“Oh some guy sent it to me as an apology gift for standing me up on a date. Apparently he had an emergency. The roses are appreciated but he stood me up without calling me to inform me about it. I’m never seeing him again,” she states firmly.
“Good girl,” I smile.
The pancakes are ready soon enough and we both sit down to have a nice delicious breakfast while catching up on how our lives have been. Well Danielle catches me up to speed, my life on the other hand has pretty much being at a standstill for over a year. We talk for hours but my gaze keeps straying back to the bouquet. Roses as an apology gift sounds like a great idea.