CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Edward
We finally pulled up in front of Cara’s place.
Traffic had been horrible. I had estimated getting here at eight, but it was closer to nine.
I hoped I’d caught her before she left for practice.
Or was she so upset she wasn’t even planning on going in?
This was driving me crazy, and I couldn’t wait to hold her in my arms and comfort her.
If she’d ever let me do that again.
“Can you wait?” I asked the driver. I pointed at Sara. “She’ll need you to take her to a hotel in about ten minutes.”
Sara’s eyes widened, but the Uber driver just nodded.
I indicated it was time to get out.
The driver popped the trunk, and I got my things. I made sure Sara left hers in the trunk. I walked up the steps and stared at Cara’s door. For some reason it was covered in… cooked eggs?
Frowning, I banged on the door. Her car was in one of the parking spots in front of the row of townhomes. She was home. But she might not open the door when she saw I was on the other side.
She opened the door, cautiously. She didn’t look surprised to see me, but she was looking around as if she was expecting to see someone else.
“Did you know you have food on your door?” I asked.
She looked at it and winced. “Omelets,” she said. “Monty threw omelets at my door.”
What the hell? “Why would he…”
Her face hardened, as if she’d just realized she was talking to me—the guy who’d hurt her. “It’s not any concern of yours, anyway,” she said, and started to close the door.
“Wait. Please.” I put a hand out to hold the door open. “Just hear me out.”
I studied her face. It was a little swollen and her eyes were red. Because of what she thought I’d done to her. She was still so beautiful. My heart broke all over again as I watched her expression change to one of resignation.
“Fine. I’ll give you five minutes.” Her eyes flicked briefly to Sara, standing below me. She hadn’t come up the stairs behind me. She was leaning on a tree, arms folded across her chest.
I’d like to have thought our relationship was worth more to her than a five minute explanation, but I knew I was pretty goddamn lucky just for her to talk to me at all. “Have you looked at your phone, Cara?”
She stared at me, and her eyes seemed devoid of emotion. They were flat. There was none of her normal sparkle and light. “No,” she said.
I shook my head. “You need to turn it back on.” I turned behind me and addressed Sara. “You come up here and make this right!” I yelled.
Cara’s eyes widened at my attitude towards Sara. “Why would you bring her here? Was it just to rub your girlfriend in my face?”
I took an involuntary step back. I felt like she’d slapped me.
“That’s what you think of me? That’s who you think I am?
Not only would you believe I was with her,” I indicated Sara with derision, “but that I’d fly her here just to rub your face in it?
” My voice was choked with emotion. “You know what? You might be right, Cara.” My voice was raised, but I was past caring that several of her neighbors were sticking their heads out of windows or doors to see what was going on.
“If you truly believe that’s who I am, then there might not be a chance for us. ”
I had tears of frustration in my eyes. This was a mess. I was being too emotional; I just couldn’t seem to help it. “Just know that I love you. I would do anything for you. Anything. But if that’s what you think of me?” I stepped back from her. “I don’t know why I bothered coming here.”
I turned to walk back down the steps, but Cara grabbed my arm.
“Wait. I’m… willing to hear what she has to say,” she said, looking over my shoulder at Sara.
A flicker of hope lit a fire in my heart. I turned to Sara. “Please. Tell her exactly what happened.”
She gave me a sly smile like she was going to make things worse on purpose. Before she could open her mouth, I said, “If you tell the truth, I’ll forward you enough money to have a decent vacation here in Charleston.”
Sara looked satisfied with that. She stepped forward, arms crossed, and looked up at Cara.
“I don’t know what Edward’s already told you, but I always hoped he and I would have another chance.
I’m sick of being the only one in my friend group who’s single, and I wanted to get married.
He was always the nicest of my exes, you know?
I always knew he was the best of them, and that I wanted someone like him to be my husband. And he’s rich, of course.”
Cara didn’t nod or anything. She just stared at Sara as she spoke.
“Anyway,” Sara continued, face reddening a little, “this guy Eric called me on behalf of a family—the Harts, I guess, from what Edward thinks. Eric told me they’d give me twenty-five thousand dollars if I let some guy take pictures of me with Edward.
I was supposed to show up at his house and throw myself at him—talk to him in his driveway, hug him, kiss him—anything.
They wanted it to look like maybe I’d spent the night there or something.
” She cleared her throat and looked down.
“And they said they’d give me an extra fifty thousand if I got him to sleep with me. ”
Cara made a noise and looked at me. “My God.”
I nodded. “They’re warped. They’re just as bad as I thought they were. I knew they were behind those stage lights…”
Sara kept going with her explanation, ignoring that I was talking.
“Well, Edward didn’t sleep with me. He didn’t do anything.
He didn’t even kiss me back. He barely hugged me back.
I sort of fell over in his arms like I’d tripped, and he put his arms around me to keep me from falling.
I took my shot then and kissed him. That’s when the guy took pictures.
What you didn’t see was Edward pulling away from me. It was all staged.”
Cara nodded, looking at the drying particles of egg on her door as she took in the information. She looked at Sara. “Thank you for telling me.”
“Yeah. Whatever.” It seemed Sara’s ability to be nice was over. “So, can I go now or what?” she turned to me. “I want at least two thousand.”
I walked down the steps. I sent her some money through an app on my phone.
“That should pay for a hotel for a couple of nights and a flight home.” I walked over to the Uber and indicated for him to roll the window down.
“I made reservations for her at the Urban Holiday downtown. Can you take her there please?” It had been the cheapest hotel that had also seemed safe.
I handed him an extra cash tip beyond what I’d already paid through the app.
“Sure.”
“Thanks.”
I gestured for Sara to get in, but I needn’t have bothered. She was already inside and fastening her seatbelt. As the car pulled away, I hoped it would be the last time I ever saw her.
I turned to face Cara, holding my bag. “Do you believe me now?” I held my breath waiting for her response. What if she still said no? What if she told me it was over? I thought I might curl up and die.
Losing Cara Hargrave once wrecked me. Losing her twice? It was unthinkable.
She looked down at me from her stoop, her green eyes dark, not speaking.
My heart beat faster. “I should have told you. I didn’t know for sure how to handle it, but I made the wrong choice.”
She nodded. “You definitely should have told me.” She paused, poised to say more, and I sensed that our future hung in the balance and depended on whatever she said next. “But I believe you.”
I let out a huge sigh of relief. “Thank God.”
She came down the stairs and stopped when we were even in height, her on the stairs, me on the pavement. “But don’t ever keep anything from me again.”
“I won’t. I promise.” I moved up the stairs and wrapped my arms around her, then I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist. “I’m so sorry.
If I’d just told you, none of this would have happened.
” I paused, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“She just showed up out of the blue. I didn’t know about the photographer.
I didn’t put two and two together and realize it had anything to do with the Harts.
I just thought she had finally lost it and thought I was going to get back together with her after not seeing her for years.
I thought it was bizarre, but that’s all.
I didn’t know it was part of some devious plan. ”
She laughed, bitterly. “It was devious alright. There are some things you don’t even know yet. We have a lot to talk about and a lot to do.”
I brushed my mouth over her neck and along her jaw, taking my time before claiming her mouth. She sighed into me, and I deepened the kiss, hungry for the taste of her, the feel of her.
She was breathless when I pulled back enough to say, “Talk? Or…”
She grinned and ran her finger across my lower lip. “Both, of course. But I think the talk has to come first, don’t you?”
I kept my eyes focused on hers as I pulled her body flush against mine, letting her feel how much I wanted her.
Her eyes widened and she grinned. “We probably have time for something quick,” she said breathily in my ear.
She rubbed against me, and I groaned, crushing my mouth to hers and kissing her harder, more insistently.
She pulled back and looked around. “We can’t do it out here. You know that, right?” Her hips moved against my length, and my body responded instinctively.
“Fuck, Cara. Then you can’t do that.” She quit moving against me. “I didn’t mean to stop,” I protested, picking up my luggage, balancing its weight easily even though I was carrying her up the stairs. I ran my lips along the shell of her ear. “I forgot to ask—Can I stay with you?”
“What do you think?” She rocked against me again, and I realized I was about to lose control and fuck her right there on her hard, brick stairs for anyone to see. I hurried up the rest of the stairs and into her townhouse.
After a rough, clumsy, but highly satisfying round of sex against the closest wall I could find, she was lying in my arms as we both recovered on the couch. I never wanted to let her go.
“Have you eaten anything much today?” I asked.
She shook her head.
“Let’s order out.” I punched in the number to one of our favorite restaurants. I thought about the dried egg on her door. “And then you can tell me the story behind Monty throwing omelets at your door.” I knew I wasn’t going to like it.
“Sounds good.” She kissed my cheek, then laid her head on my chest as I placed our order.
When I was finished, I stroked my hand lazily through her silky hair. “We’ve got to get you out of here,” I said. “We have a lot of plans to make.” I expected her to argue, but instead she got a look of sheer hate on her face. I was beyond glad it wasn’t directed at me.
“We definitely do. You don’t even know the half of it.”
Something else had happened. I got a pit in my stomach, worried about whatever it was. I suddenly felt I wouldn’t need many, if any, reinforcements to get Cara out of Charleston for good. I just had to know the particulars of how long she needed to be here.