Chapter 29
Jacob
“Ineed to talk to her,” I said, grabbing the beer from the bartender and setting it on the counter in front of me. I had ordered it, but the thought of drinking it made my stomach swirl.
Blake dropped a twenty on the bar and grabbed the other two beers, passing one to Darren and taking a long swig of his before he shrugged. “But she won’t answer your calls.”
“You think I don’t know that?” I slammed my hand against the counter, and when the group next to us got instantly quiet, I realized I was yelling. I lowered my voice. “I don’t need you to tell me that. I just need her to talk to me—to believe me.”
“That it’s not your baby?” Darren patted me on the back while Blake took another gulp of beer. I stared at my full glass. Was that what I was worried about—her thinking it was my baby?
I shook my head. “I don’t care about the baby.”
“Then what?” he asked. Blake put his glass down, returning his interest to the conversation while I just wanted to disappear.
“I need her to believe that I love her.” I slid the glass away from me. I wasn’t thirsty.
Blake leaned over. “What are you going to say that you haven’t said already?”
“That I can’t live without her.” I sighed, running my hands through my hair. I pulled, and it stung at the roots until I let go. “I’m going to tell her that the sunrise doesn’t look the same when she’s not around. Food doesn’t taste the same. I can’t sleep. She’s the love of my life. She has to know that.”
Darren and Blake exchanged a quick look before Darren smiled. “So what are you going to do?”
“I’m going over there.”
I spent the trip over to Erin’s repeating what I wanted to say in my mind, and by the time I walked up to her door, I was out of breath and forgot all but three words. I love you. My hand shook when I hovered over the doorknob. I couldn’t just walk in.
I knocked, and on the third knock the deadbolt unlatched. The door clicked and opened, but I wasn’t met with the green eyes I longed to look into. “Jacob,” Demetri said. His face was stern and unwelcoming.
“Is Erin here?” When the door opened just enough that I could glance over his shoulder, I saw her. She was hugging another woman with bright red hair—I assumed she was Demetri’s wife. Erin had mentioned her before.
Erin looked up, her gaze briefly meeting mine before she quickly looked away. My breath stalled. I wanted to step past Demetri and into her condo, wrap her in my arms, and never let go, but when Demetri stepped into the hallway, pulling the door shut behind him, I knew it wasn’t an option. I missed seeing her before the door had latched.
“Just give her a little space.” Demetri’s voice was softer. Did he sound sympathetic?
I shook my head. “I swear that baby isn’t mine. I don’t want anything to do with Liz.”
He clapped me on the shoulder before he put his hands in his pocket. “I think she knows that. She believes you that the kid isn’t yours.”
“Then why won’t she talk to me?” I sagged in defeat. In a matter of hours, we went from two people who couldn’t keep our hands off each other to not being able to be in the same room.
Demetri took a deep breath, pulling his hands from his pockets. “Listen, family is complicated. We’ve all been there.” He tapped the tips of his fingers together briefly. “I know you love her, and I’m pretty sure she loves you too. I’m not saying you have to wait for her, but give her some time. This was a lot for her to take in.”
“I don’t want to lose her.” I looked at the door over his shoulder, again tempted to bust it down.
Demetri nodded sympathetically, and I wondered if he related more than I realized. Judging by the way he shrugged one shoulder, he understood where I was coming from. But there was nothing he could do. “Maybe she’ll come around,” he said.
“I understand, and I don’t want to hurt her.” I stepped back, preparing to walk away. “Tell her I love her? I’ll wait for her forever.”
“I’ll tell her.”