Not after this.
Maybe if they hadn't found out this way… maybe things could be different. We could have had a chance. But no. Jake wasn't a one woman man, anyway. It would hurt more to stay and stand on the sidelines when he moved on. Was I supposed to stay on as maid and just watch him parade an endless stream of girls through the house? It was inevitable that he would get bored, and quickly.
No, thank you. I had too much pride for that. He was spectacular in bed, making me feel like he loved and adored me. But it was fleeting with a man like him. We both knew it.
It was over and that was that.
I had to go home. Not to the apartment I shared with Shirl. Home home. I had failed spectacularly. Fallen right on my face. My friends back home had warned me. Nashville had eaten me up and spit me out. It turned out I was just a simple country girl, after all. Stupid and naive. I’d proven that by falling into bed with the first rich handsome man I met.
What a stereotype. What an embarrassment. What a fool.
I hadn’t just fallen into bed, either. I’d fallen in love with him. I knew that no matter how far I travelled, I would never forget Jake Delancey.
It was just him, I reminded myself. I just didn't fit in here. I felt a little hitch in my throat as I started putting my clothes on mechanically.
In a moment of weakness I would never admit to anyone, I couldn't resist pulling Jake’s shirt on over my skimpy top. It would be something to remember him by. For a moment I had an image of Jake finding his bed empty. Worrying about me. Missing me.
I snorted in disbelief.
Don't fool yourself, girl. Any more than you already have. He had dozens of women on speed dial. He wouldn’t be alone for long. Not for a hot minute!
Jake might be a tad upset in the morning but he'd be fine in two shakes. He was the sort who always landed on his feet. He wasn't going to let a low rent waitress change his bad boy ways.
And even if he was genuinely upset that I’d left without saying goodbye, that wouldn’t last long either. He could have any woman he wanted to comfort him. Now that he'd finally had me I was sure he would have cast me off without a backward glance. That's how men like him operated. Especially the rich ones.
I ignored the little voice that was in my head, telling me I was wrong, that Jake really cared for me. I pushed it down until I couldn’t hear it anymore. I was starting over, from scratch. Starting over sounded better than giving up.
Or rather, running home with my tail between my legs.
Leaving Nashville for good.
Now that the band was on the outs with Tom… there really wasn’t anything left for me here. It felt like it was all my fault somehow. Every last stupid thing that had gone wrong was on me.
I wiped away my tears and snuck down to the front hall to call a cab.
It was time to go home.
Chapter Nineteen
Jake
I paced back and forth as I raked my brothers over the coals.
"You're sure she didn't say anything else?"
Daniel shook his head sadly.
"No Jake. I swear. She did look mortified though."
"You shouldn't be sleeping with the help, anyway."
"She wasn't the Goddamn help, Jackson!"
"Jacks, shut up. Seriously. Can't you see he's in love with her? Elle is not an ordinary girl.
Jackson grunted and ran his hand through his hair.
“Fine. You’re right. I’m sorry. I like Elle,” he added with a somewhat guilty look. For Jackson, anyway.
I didn't want to accept my brother’s apology. I didn’t even want to think about what Elle must have been thinking when she ran off. But what Daniel had said was true.
I was in love with her.
I was 100% grade A certified in love with one cute little Irish gal named Eleanor Gavin.
And God only knew where the hell she was after all the excitement of the night before.
She’d run. I couldn’t help but be a little pissed off at that. Not that I blamed her. Not entirely.
It had been quite the wakeup call. My brothers catching us like that had been rough to say the least. But after the kind of sex we’d had… she should have stayed. But I knew she had her pride. I couldn’t have imagined how embarrassed she had been.
Dad had pulled through the night, but barely. In fact, his recovery had been nothing short of miraculous. I had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with my agreement to stay and help my brothers run the estate and horse breeding farm.
That was all because of Elle. She’d changed me in the short time I’d known her. I could see a life for myself here now. A life with her.