“Can I have your attention please?” A pretty blonde in a tight black dress that hugs her in all the right places raises her hand to get our attention.
Just the sight of her makes my blood boil. Abby Gale is the bitch who got between Julian and me over two years ago. She has more money than God and is too gorgeous for words. I hate her even more than Julian. When she speaks, people snap their heads in her direction. She’s the kind of woman who commands authority. I guess that’s how she became president of her sorority. And somehow, she had convinced Julian to let me go.
Julian was the first reason I wanted to avoid The Player Auction. Abby was the second. And now that I’m stuck in a room with both of them, the air is too thick, too heavy for me to breathe. I take a deep breath and close my eyes as I try to visualize anything other than ripping her face off. Head down, I try to calm myself, avoiding everyone in the room. I block it all out, from the stupid speech Abby is making about the auction to how good it feels when Julian taps his fingers on my lower back.
I wish Sadie were close enough for me to grab her. She’s the one person who can calm me down when I’m feeling out of control. My emotions are like a volcano ready to erupt. By the time Abby is finished her speech, my blood is like hot lava about to boil over. Without thinking, I rush out of the room and take off into a sprint down the hall. I hear Julian call my name followed by Sadie.
But I keep going.
I need to be alone.
I need time to think about what this date with Julian means for me. Once I reach the end of the long hallway that leads into the event center, I stop and lean my back against the cold wall.
I bend forward, pressing my palms to my knees and take a few deep breaths. Not until I hear the loud thud of shoes and heels clicking on the tilted floor do I peek up at Julian and Sadie. She’s out of breath, as if she just ran a marathon, while Julian looks like he did nothing more than stretch his arms. He’s in amazing physical shape.
“What was that about?” Sadie says.
“Did I do something?” Julian says. “Because if I did…”
“No.” I wave my hand. “You didn’t do anything.” Then, I turn my gaze to Sadie. “It was her. I just couldn’t stand it anymore. Her voice. I fucking hate her…” Anger surges through me, causing my body to tremble like leaves on a tree.
“Oh,” Julian says, stepping back from me. “You ran away because of Abby?”
I nod.
His broad shoulders slump as he stuffs his hands into his pockets. “Nothing ever happened with her. Just so you know.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I spit back. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Sadie comes up to my side, interlocking her fingers between mine. “Abby is a trigger.”
Julian doesn’t seem to understand what she means, which is fine by me. I don’t want him to know how much the past still haunts me. The feeling of not being good enough for him still gnaws at me like an itch I can’t scratch.
“I can’t be around her,” I say to Julian for clarification.
He tips his head in acknowledgment.
“Do you mind?” I say after a long pause between us. “I need to be alone with Sadie.”
It takes him a second before he understands. His already darkened expression turns grim. The smile he gives me looks forced.
“Yeah, sure. I’ll talk to you later.”
After Julian disappears down the hallway, I turn to look Sadie in the eyes. “I can’t do this. I can’t be around him. Not after all of the progress I’ve made with Dr. Saxon.”
“But you won the auction. Don’t you at least want to see if he’s changed? He seems different to me. I know he still cares about you.”
“I had to cancel my appointment with her to come here. I should have gone.”
She rubs my back. “It’s okay, babe. We can call Dr. Saxon when we get home. I’m sure she’ll fit you into her schedule.”
A few deep breaths later, I consider a few things. For starters, I’m ruining Sadie’s birthday with my dramatic bullshit. Two, I looked like a coward running away after Abby’s speech. Dr. Saxon would tell me that the only way to confront a problem is to address it head-on. Yeah, I did the exact opposite. So now, in my next session with her, I have to admit to being a failure. Again. I couldn’t even handle being in the same room with Abby and Julian without having a meltdown. And lastly, I have to put my big girl pants back on and act like an adult.
“This is your special day. What do you want to do?”
She grins so hard it lights up her entire face. “I was thinking we could grab some birthday dinner at Del Frisco’s.”
“Sounds good.” I pull her into a bear hug. “I’m sorry. I acted like a jerk.”