Chapter 30
RHETT
I lift my hand to knock on the door but freeze before I can go through with it. I can’t remember a time in my life where I’ve been so nervous. Hell, not even when I lost my virginity.
I’ve come this far, and I’m not about to back out.
“You’ve got this,” I whisper to myself as I knock on the door.
I hear movement on the other side of the door, and as it opens, Evie says, “You’re early.”
For a second she looks so happy, and her eyes sparkle. I drink in everything about her in a split-second. Her hair is longer. There’s a glow to her that I’ve never seen before, at least, not one I can remember.
But fuck, she’s even more beautiful than I remember.
Then her face freezes and the joy fades away, the light in her eyes dim, and I know it’s all because I’m standing in front of her.
“Hi, Evie,” I whisper. When she takes a step backward, I dart forward and place my hand on the door so she can’t slam it in my face. “Just give me five minutes.”
She looks visibly shaken from seeing me, and I hate that I’ve fucked-up so badly.
She steps to the side and whispers, “Come in.”
That’s a good sign, right?
She doesn’t close the door behind me but instead leaves it wide open.
My eyes dart around her home. I smile when I see Evie’s things everywhere.
“I know it’s been years,” I say as I bring my eyes back to her, “and that we didn’t part on the best of terms, but I’d like to explain myself.”
“You don’t have to,” she says. “You don’t owe me anything.”
“I do, Evie. I owe you an apology.”
She furrows her brow. “For what?”
“You can do it,” I tell myself silently. “Be honest with her.”
“For not believing in you,” I say. I clear my throat, and then I get it all off my chest. “For not trusting you when you never gave me any reason not to. For being stubborn. For being self-absorbed. For not loving you the way you deserve to be loved when I had the chance. Mostly, I’m sorry for letting you go. I’m sorry it took me six years to realize what I have lost.”
She wraps her arms around herself. “It’s okay. It’s been six years.”
Things are taking a turn for the awkward, so I quickly ask, “How have you been?”
A small smile tugs at her lips. “Actually, things have never been better.”
Dreading the answer, I ask it anyway, “Have you met someone?”
She chuckles, but it’s a sharp sound. “Does it matter? Why are you doing this, Rhett? You’ve been in LA for over a year. Why reach out to me now?”
“Because I was scared out of my mind.” The brutally honest words leave my mouth before I’m even done thinking them. “I have thought of you every day since you left. Watching you drive away, it ripped my heart out. I kept pushing you away because I wanted to save myself from that kind of pain, but in the end, it happened anyway.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
“I might not get this opportunity again, so here goes nothing. I don’t trust easily. You know that” I add more for myself than for her. I’m messing this up. Fuck. I suck in a deep breath and try again, “After my parents died, none of our family wanted to take care of Mia and me. If it weren’t for Mr. Hayes, we could’ve ended up being separated, or worse. The second they found out that the wealthy Christopher Hayes was taking care of us, they all were suddenly very willing to take us in. For a price of course. That was my first lesson on how people only saw dollar signs when they looked at me.”
I can see that I’m getting through to Evie, so I continue, “I never knew whether someone really cared about me, or whether they were only interested in what they could get from me. Besides that, no one ever stuck around. My parents died. Jaxon and Logan’s dad ran off with Carter’s mother. Marcus’ dad killed his mom and sister. My entire life people were hurting each other. Girls only wanted to be with me because I was good for their social status. I could never trust anyone.”