CHAPTER FOURTEEN
B ella was leaving Woodvalley in three days, twelve hours, and thirty-two minutes. When did this countdown start, you ask? Two days and twenty-eight minutes ago to be exact. That was the day that the toe-curling kisses, constant laughter, and mind-blowing sex went from being the best three and a half weeks of her life to her suddenly feeling like she was choking on her heart. Which just so happened to be stuck in her throat.
Not good.
That was an understatement. Sometime between the countdown beginning and her current pacing of Woodvalley’s sidewalk, a shockingly loud internal struggle had started, playing tug-of-war with her head and her heart. She wasn’t ready for this to be the end. Not her time in Woodvalley. And not with Luke. But just because she felt this way, she was fully aware that it in no way meant Luke felt the same.
Mr. I’ve Never Had A Relationship was the ultimate bachelor. Or fuckboy, depending on who you were speaking to. The only reason he’d made an exception for her was because they had a deal. She was supposed to leave. And never come back.
It made things kind of tricky. It also made it highly likely that if she attempted a conversation about continuing whatever this was, he would laugh in her face. Or change the locks. Or both.
Goddamnit.
Bella whipped around with enough force that she actually heard air whoosh. But her step faltered as the next whoosh knocked the wind out of her. Her body hit a hard wall of muscle and her eyes were filled with flannel. By the time her head went up to meet a concerned Wade’s creased brow, he’d already taken several steps back.
“Bella, you okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I? You turned so suddenly.”
Great. Way to look like a basket case.
Pacing the town center streets wasn’t a good look as it was. Plowing down pedestrians while doing it was even worse.
“Uh, yeah, sorry. I’m fine. Totally fine,” she lied.
“Okay,” Wade said slowly as he continued to study her, “I was just on my way over to the diner—wanna come grab a cuppa coffee with me?”
It was a pity invite. There was no doubt she looked like an unhinged basket case now.
“Uh, no, I’m fine. Really. I was just on my way to ...” Think. Make something up. Why can’t I think of anything?
“Seriously? That’s the best you can do?” Wade chuckled. “Come on, darlin’, let’s go. Coffee’s on me.”
Apparently, he wasn’t taking no for an answer, and Bella had no energy to put up a fight, so she followed along, both of them quiet until they took a seat in one of the red leather booths in Molly’s.
“So,” Wade started, “you gonna tell me what’s going on?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Bella’s eyes shot to the menu as she pretended to scan it.
Wade sighed. “Come on, Bella. I know something’s up. Is it Luke—did he upset you?”
It was her turn to sigh. When did she become so transparent? She was usually so good at concealing her emotions and hiding her crazy. Luke had broken her.
“No, Luke hasn’t upset me. He’s ... he’s—”
“What can I get ya?”
Saved by the waitress. Buying Bella two whole minutes until she was in the hot seat again.
“He’s what?” Wade asked as soon as the waitress disappeared to fetch their drinks.
Urgh. “Look, he’s not done anything. That’s not the problem. The problem is that ... I think, no, I know I’ve fallen for him.” Oh wow, that’s out there now, out loud and everything.
“And?” Wade didn’t even look the slightest bit shocked. Another reminder that she was doing a terrible job of hiding anything.
“And that’s bad. Really, really bad. That’s not what this was supposed to be. It’s not what we agreed.”
“And what exactly did you agree?”
“That this is temporary. We have fun for a few weeks, no strings, no commitment. Then I go home. Falling for him wasn’t part of the plan.” She was so fucked.
Leaning back into the squeaky cushion, Wade took his time studying her. Giving her the opportunity to draw in a few well-earned deep breaths.
“How do you know he’s not fallen for you too?”
She shot him a glare. “This isn’t a movie, Wade. This is real life. And in real life, women fall for emotionally unavailable men every day, and do you know what happens to these women?” Wade’s brow raised, but he didn’t reply. “They get their hearts broken. That’s me. That’s where I’m headed.”
She couldn’t be sure, but her voice may have risen to crazy lady levels.
“How can you be so sure?” Wade asked, with an annoyingly nonchalant shrug.
“Because I don’t have the magical powers needed to change someone. Luke made it very clear to me who he was. And I went there with him anyway. Knowing full well he had the potential to hurt me.”
Wade hummed. He carried on humming as the waitress reappeared and placed hot coffee in front of both of them. It was only when they were alone again that she was treated to his musings.
“I think you should tell him how you feel.”
“What?”
Was he high? Or has he just not been listening?
Infuriatingly, Wade repeated what he just said and added a “He deserves to know” onto the end.
They went back and forth for a while after that. Bella argued that there wasn’t much point unless she was wanting to add humiliation to the whole heartbreak thing. Which she didn’t. Whereas Wade was insistent that there was a possibility that Luke returned her feelings. Bella wasn’t holding her breath.
By the time they were done, she’d drunk three coffees, had an enormous stack of pancakes, and was so high on caffeine and sugar that she was even more of a nervous wreck than before she’d sat down.
“Please tell me you’ll at least think about it?” Wade tried one last time as they each slid out of the booth.
“I told you I would. I’ll think about it. But if I decide not to say anything, you’re gonna need to respect that.” Bella stood and followed Wade toward the exit. “Which means you can’t say anything either, Wade. I mean it. This is one friend confiding in another, that’s it. Not another piece of gossip you can spread around.”
“For the billionth time, I’m not a freaking gossip.” She couldn’t contain her smile as she looked up at Wade as he shook his head while holding open the door. “I told you, I’m normally the last to know anything going on around here.”
“Good. Keep being a hermit, Wade Evans, that way you won’t be tempted to tell Luke about our little conversation,” Bella said, still grinning as she passed him and returned to the familiar terracotta sidewalk.
“You’re secrets safe with me, darlin’.” He winked.
God, she hoped that was true.
***
B ella had made a decision . Wade may have influenced said decision. Slightly. But she’d been the one to make it, so she still felt pretty proud. With two days to go before she was supposed to leave and never look back, she was going to tell Luke how she felt. Tonight.
She was feeling good about her decision. Confident. She was in no way watching the clock, counting down the hours of when Luke would be back home from his shift. Well, she might have checked her watch, but only a perfectly normal number of times.
Yeah. Okay.
“He deserves to know,” Bella muttered to herself as she entered Luke’s mancave.
She referred to it as his mancave frequently, mostly because it annoyed him. But, really, it was just a room at the back of the house where he kept his books, movies, and music collection. And there just so happened to be a pool table in there too.
After scouring the bookshelves in search of something to distract her, Bella settled on a murder mystery. There was nothing like a good “who done it” to pass the time. As she cradled her find to her chest, she swiftly turned toward the door. But a piece of paper hanging off a nearby counter caught her eye and caused her footsteps to falter. A letter. The letter. Luke must have been re-reading it. Which was his business. It was just that her name was written. Not just once either, three times to be exact. She could see her name scrawled three fricking times from the other side of the room. What the hell?
Bella was all about respecting privacy and boundaries. She’d kept the letter safe all this time and had never once had the urge to read it. But her name. It was right there. Mocking her. Three times seemed over the top too for two paragraphs. If it was just the one time she probably wouldn’t care.
Wouldn’t you?
Okay, she might care a little. But one time wouldn’t merit walking over to the pine counter and picking up the paper. Which was exactly what she found herself doing.
Shaky hands lifted as she suppressed her inner voice and read. Not all of it. Just the part that had been screaming at her.
Bella needs help. She’s alone. Like we were. I’m the only family she has ever had and if I’m gone, she has no one. I’m scared of that most. I know I have no right to ask this, but I figure that even you wouldn’t go against a dead man’s wish. And I’m not above emotional manipulation so I’m going to ask. Look after her. Please.
I know it won’t be easy. Bella will tell you she’s okay, she’ll even act like it too. But don’t be fooled. She needs you. She needs a friend. I don’t care what or how you do it, but while she is there, I need you to form some sort of bond with her. Give Bella something to hold on to. Let her know she’s not alone. Introduce her to your friends, their girlfriends, anyone, just give her a safe place to come back to whenever she needs to.
She’d read enough. Uncurling her fingers, she let the paper drop back onto the wooden surface. She felt sick. Had it all been a lie? Their connection. Her new friends, who just so happened to be his friends too. All this time, had she just been a fucking charity case?
No. Luke wouldn’t do that. His walls came down just for you. You saw it with your own eyes.
She wanted to believe that. So badly. But the doubts kept coming. The guilt Luke felt and how much it was tearing him up. Her new friendship with the girlfriends of his friends. The insistence on her moving in. Marco’s words wouldn’t stop echoing. Luke had neatly ticked off each of his brother’s requests. Form a bond, check. Introduce her to his friends and their partners, check. Give her a safe place to come back to, check. But the worst one, the one hardest to swallow was that for the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel alone.
Fuck.
She needed to get out of there. Her head was starting to spin.
How could I have been so stupid?
Luke had told her from the start. He didn’t do relationships. Ever. And he didn’t. There she was thinking that this was different. That she was somehow special. That there was a chance that he’d fallen for her like she’d fallen for him. But he hadn’t, and she wasn’t special. He just felt sorry for her.
Scurrying out of the mancave, she went straight for the stairs and up to the bedroom. She needed to pack.