Chapter 58
When I got ready for bed that night, I was not even remotely tired.
I was already strung out from the meeting and all the talk about Dr. Pike and the interviews, and on top of that, Jay was coming to drop off my coat.
He would just be leaving it at the door. But still. I was feeling jittery.
I tried to focus on getting ready for bed. I showered, took off my makeup, and put on my pajamas. But my mind still wasn’t settled by nine o’clock. I tried to lie down and shut off the lights, but I kept waiting, listening for footsteps outside my motel room door.
At one point, I thought I heard a knock and went to check, only to be blasted in the face with snow and find an empty doorstep.
Now my room was freezing because I’d let all the hot air out.
The heater in my room was really small and didn’t work very well.
So I threw on another sweatshirt over my old long-sleeve tee, hoping it would help. It sorta did.
It was ten-thirty when my phone started ringing. I fumbled around in the darkness for the vibrating device and pressed answer, thinking maybe it was Jay telling me he’d dropped off my coat.
“Hello?”
There was no answer. Just static on the line.
I pulled my phone away from my ear and looked at the screen, realizing it was an unknown number again.
“Stupid scam calls,” I grumbled.
Then a knock at my door sounded, and I froze, my attention snapping from my phone as a thrill went through me like an electric shock. Talk about timing. A creepy spam call, followed by a knock at the door, was really not my favorite.
I walked to the door slowly. It didn’t have a peephole. So it took me a moment to finally decide to open it.
When I finally did, I found my coat waiting for me, folded up neatly on the concrete.
I reached down to pick it up.
“I thought you’d be staying at a hotel in town.”
I squeaked, not expecting anyone to be standing there, and turned to find Jay leaning against the front of his truck in a parking spot a few feet away. I brought a hand to my heart and waited for it to stop beating like a jackhammer.
“You gave me a freaking heart attack,” I said, glaring at him openly. “I thought you said you were just going to drop it off and go.”
“And I thought you wouldn’t be so reckless as to stay in a Motel 6 on the outskirts of town.
Do you have any idea the type of people that frequent this place, Hope?
” He was angry. And it was the first moment I realized his navy eyes were burning.
He wasn’t just angry. No, he was furious.
“You’re out here alone, in a sketchy part of town, staying in this—” he gestured to the crappy motel behind me. “Place.”
“Dump. You can say it.” I folded my arms across my chest. “It’s not a bad word. It’s a dump, Jay. I know. But I can only afford this dump because I’m literally living off the last bit of my savings after I discovered my boyfriend/boss was lying to me about my father and betrayed me.”
His eyes widened, as if he hadn’t expected my candor. When he recovered, his gaze hardened with determination.
“You’re coming home with me.”
“I am not coming home with you,” I nearly growled.
“You’re not staying in this place.” He walked over to me then and reached behind me to push open the door.
I tugged it back shut.
“I’m not going anywhere with you, Jay.”
He backed away, exhaling through his nose, his jaw clenching.
“Don’t fight me, Hope. I can’t think straight knowing you’re staying here, and I won’t sleep tonight.”
“Oh, poor baby,” I mocked, and his eyes flared again.
“Oh, so we’re doing this here? You’re really going to fight me right now?”
“I didn’t want to, but you showed up here when I told you not to. And because you’re insufferable as ever, yes, why not? Let’s do this here, Jay.”
“Oh, so it’s back to Jay now? Not Dr. Jay?”
The fire in my chest was oddly satisfying. I’d been able to sit and think about what happened over the last three months. And honestly, yeah—I kind of did want to fight. It felt good to yell at him.
“Yes, it’s back to Jay. Because this is personal. You betrayed my trust. You didn’t tell me you knew my dad, and you should’ve told me he was the reason you gave me the job.”
“That day I ran into you, Hope, was a complete accident. He called me the next day! So the moment you and I met had nothing to do with him. After he called me, I didn’t want to tell you right away that I was connected to him, because I wanted to get to know you first before dropping the information about knowing your dad.
He said you’d be prickly about it, and so I thought I’d wait for the right moment. ”
“You were worried I’d be prickly? That’s why you didn’t want to tell me?” My hand literally fisted at my side, trying not to reach up and smack him.
“Well, is it a lie? You literally ran from me when you found out I was a dentist. I could only assume what would happen if I told you I knew your dad. And I didn’t want you to run again.”
I let out an angry huff. I was sure I must look like a steaming tomato.
“You are seriously going to claim that the whole reason you did this was just to keep me around because you were scared to lose me? You barely knew who I was when we first met! The connection couldn’t be that strong.”
He let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “I’m pretty certain I fell in love with you the moment I saw you, Amapolita. So yes, after one conversation with you, I knew you were who I wanted.”
“Now you’re just being dramatic.” I rolled my eyes, but my heart was skipping beats. “Who even says that? Loved me from the moment you saw me?”
“Fine. Call me dramatic. Insufferable. Insane. Honestly, I don’t really care.
” He took a step toward me again. “I wanted to get to know you. I didn’t want your stupid father to get in the way, so yes, I kept it from you.
But I genuinely was interested and wanted to help you.
And not just because he called me. I came to that conclusion on my own. ”
I shook my head, taking a step back—but he continued forward. I had nowhere to go and soon found myself with my back pressed against the wall.
“What you did is something I can’t just get over,” I said, my voice lowering now.
“Fine. I’m not asking you to just get over it.
” He took another step, and this time he lifted his hand, resting it above my head, pressing his palm against the motel wall.
“I’m not asking for your forgiveness right now.
I’m only asking you to come stay with me before I lose my mind thinking about you in this place. ”
I was shivering at this point. Snow was blowing all around us, and I was only in a sweatshirt and thin flannel pajamas.
“This doesn’t mean you’ve won anything,” I said, my teeth finally chattering and giving me away.
“Oh, I know, Amor. Trust me, I know.”
We looked at one another for a few more seconds, both of us breathing a little heavier than usual after the argument.
White puffs filled the space between us, and then I finally broke the spell and spun around.
“I’m going to get my things.”