AllFreeNovel
Share Us
An empty feeling starts to embrace me when I think of Drew’s face, how his brown eyes bring me into him and keep me there, and how much I want to be near him despite everything. I gently graze one hand with the other, mimicking Drew’s touch.
If I close my eyes, I can feel him next to me on the beach again, drawing lazy circles with his thumb as he holds my hand. It’s easy to imagine his presence next to me, the aroma of his cologne that has become a comfort to me. It’s a comfort I want to get back. I know it would be the perfect cure to these conflicting emotions that feel as though there’s a war going on inside my heart.
One side wants to protect me and save me from completely shattering to pieces like I did with my ex. It clings to the key that guards my heart for dear life, shielding me from any chance of another heartbreak. I can’t go through something like that again.
But the other side is pulling, screaming, begging me to run to Drew. The second he wraps his arms around me, I’ll know that everything is going to be okay. He’ll find a way to fix things. He’ll find a way we can be together and things can be simple again.
I glance over to my small bookshelf in the corner of my room, which houses dozens of romance novels, all with the perfect happy endings for each individual couple. I know that even in the best love stories, there’s a struggle. A conflict of some kind that tries to keep the lovebirds from being together.
What really makes the story is when each of them realizes what they have to do in order to be with the one they love most. They often sacrifice something. They make a change that can fix everything in the name of love. This change brings them closer together than they were before, which makes the ending that much sweeter.
In my head, I can see Drew holding me, his hands softly playing with my hair while his lips feather kisses on my forehead. He’d tell me everything’s okay, that his family doesn’t want to buy the inn, and we can be together. The lies would all just be one bad dream that I’d wake from and get my happily ever after. But I know that’s not reality.
He lied about who he really is.
He lied about why he’s really here.
How do I know he’s not lying about wanting to make things right with me?
How do I save myself from a broken heart when I want him this badly?
Chapter twenty
Drew – The Pitch Falls Flat
“How did she take it?” Troy asks, when I get back to the room we’re now sharing.
I thought I couldn’t feel any worse after seeing Meg run from me but then I had to walk in and deal with Mr. Smug. He barely looks up as he tends to his suitcase. His nonchalant tone irritates the hell out of me. He’s the last person I want to talk to. Especially because his visit is what prompted everything to fall apart.
“Wonderfully. She’s accepted my proposal of marriage and we’re tying the knot at the end of the summer. We were thinking of a beach wedding. How do you think it went, genius?” I snap, falling back on the bed. “So, what’s the plan now that you’re here?”
“I’ve seen the place for myself and I think we definitely need to go through with the buyout,” he says, sitting across from me on the other queen-sized bed. “Another meeting in LA has come up, so I’m heading out again in the morning.”
“You’ve got to be freaking kidding me,” I scoff. “So instead of you breaking the news to the staff, I get to tell them what’s going on.” I rub my temples. Just thinking about Meg’s disappointed blue eyes makes me sick to my stomach. “And you get out of yet another unwanted assignment for work.”
“I know this situation isn’t ideal,” he starts. For a second, he sounds genuinely empathetic, but I know it won’t last long. “We’ve done this before, little brother. This place is no different than any other property we’ve bought out,” he says, like it’s simple.
“Easy for you to say,” I grumble.
“Hey, I didn’t tell you to fall in love with one of the locals, or an employee for that matter,” he defends. Next, he’s going to start quoting fraternization rules at me, when we don’t even own the place yet.
“There’s the Troy we all know and love.” I shake my head. Empathy doesn’t come naturally to him.
“This is your bed of fraternization. Now you get to sleep in it.”
Aaaand there it is. “Great advice as always.” I roll my eyes. “You’re the perfect sibling so you have to make sure everyone knows it—because Lord knows you’ve never made a mistake in your life,” I snap back. Or fallen in love, for that matter.
“What’s gotten into you?” He squints at me. “She’s just a girl. What makes her so damn special?”
“You wouldn’t understand. Have a nice flight,” I say, before heading out and slamming the door shut behind me. I don’t have the energy to explain why I feel the way I do about Meg, and I know he wouldn’t understand where I was coming from anyway. It would have been a waste of time altogether and frankly; I don’t need the headache on top of my other problems.
I’m not sure where I’m going but I can’t stay in the same room as him. I’m too damn close to wanting to punch the guy. Instead, I let myself walk along the beach to clear my head.
All I can think about is how I should be walking with Meg, my girl, the one person I care about more than anything right now. Too bad that Troy and my dumb self actually screwed it up. All I can do now is try everything I can to make it right.
I’ve never felt more alone than I do right now. The waves are my only company, as everyone else has gone in for the evening. My mind wanders to Meg: what is she doing? Is she okay? I realize we could be walking the beach together or enjoying a quiet dinner right now—but no, I screwed all of that up.
This feels worse than going back to square one. For a second, I had someone I wanted in my life every single day. Now that she hates my guts, it makes being alone that much harder.
