Wendy stood there shooting daggers at me. “I knew you’d hurt her. It was only a matter of time.”
I swallowed hard. “I never meant to hurt her. And I love her. I just have to prove to her how much I love her.”
Wendy looked at me with an expression that said she highly doubted it.
Without another word, I turned and headed out of the building. I needed to get back to LA to talk to Laura. The sooner the better.
Brighton
Present day – May
I wiped angrily at my tears and pulled myself back up from where I had slid to the floor after seeing Luke in the bed and breakfast. What in the hell was I doing, sitting on my parents’ kitchen floor in their bed and breakfast, once again crying over this man?
Drawing in a deep breath, I walked over and looked at my reflection in the window. Good God. I looked like hell. No makeup, sweaty hair, and a long-sleeve T-shirt and yoga pants. Not to mention the bloodshot eyes.
After taking in a few deep breaths, I got myself together and headed back out to the front desk area. Luke was, of course, still standing there. The bastard was eating cheese from the board I’d made for him.
“Sorry, there was something I needed to take care of for my mother,” I said.
He smiled, and I hated that it made my insides feel like warm butter. “I was stunned when my father said you quit at the end of January.”
“When did you find out?” I asked.
“February. When I was home, I asked about you. He told me you said you were moving back to Boggy Creek. Are you—” he glanced around the bed and breakfast—“working for your folks now?”
“Some. I’m trying to decide what I want to do. I’ve tossed around the idea of opening my own firm in town, but I’m not sure.”
He smiled again.
Asshole jerk. God, if only I could punch him right in the face.
“Why did you leave Boston so quickly?” he asked.
I lifted my chin. “I figured it was time when a reporter showed up at my apartment to ask me about Luke Walters.”
His eyes went wide. “What?”
“Why are you here, Luke? And why the fake name?”
He frowned, not liking that I had brushed over a subject he clearly wanted answers to. He cleared his throat before speaking. “We’re filming close by, just up the valley at Lakewood Country Club. Everyone else is staying at the resort up there, but I decided not to.”
“Where are you staying if not there?” I asked, not sure why. Morbid curiosity, maybe. Every part of me expected him to say Kathleen Daughtry’s house.
“I want privacy, and I need to talk to you. So, I figured the best place to stay was here, at Willow Tree Bed and Breakfast.”
I was sure that if it were humanly possible, my jaw hit the floor. “Here? You’re planning on staying here? Why?”
“Like I said, the privacy for one, and I wanted to be able to see you. Talk to you.”
I felt my body go stiff, so I stood taller. “I thought we said everything we needed to say, Luke. I’m not interested in a relationship with an actor.”
He leaned against the counter and smirked. “So you said.”
“I’m not going to be on the sidelines waiting for anyone anymore. I’m ready to settle down and start a family, and I don’t need a part-time husband or father.”
His brows shot up.
Holy shit balls, where in the hell did that come from?
I was positive my breathing had quickened and my heart was beating three times faster than normal. I couldn’t tell if my jab had surprised or hurt him. Probably a bit of both.
Then again, maybe I was ready to settle down. All of my friends were getting married. The only single ones left were me and Kyle Larson, Greer’s brother. Greer was one of my best friends and owned the bookstore in Boggy Creek. She was to blame for the countless dildos I’d invested in after she got me hooked on romance novels when I tried to hide my heartbreak in fiction.
“Settle down?” he repeated.
All I could do was nod. Then the front door opened and, as if he was summoned here, Kyle walked in.
He took one look at me and frowned. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
Kyle and I had a love-hate relationship. We loved to hate one another. He annoyed the hell out of me, and I was pretty sure he’d wanted to stick my head in Boggy Creek and hold it under the water a time or two. The only thing stopping him was the fact that he was a cop. Just like Willa’s brother, Hunter. Both of them had K9 partners, and Kyle’s was right next to him now. Her name was Cat, short for Catherine. No one could figure out why in the hell Kyle would name his K9 partner that, let alone call her Cat for short.