SIXTEEN
When I wake up the next morning, Kayden’s words continue to simmer in my mind. I can’t stop thinking about it . . . about him—and the fact that we might both be in this deeper than we’d like to admit.
Needing to take my mind off of him, I flip over to the other side of my bed to check my phone. The loud searing blast of light hits me and I groan while my eyes adjust to the brightness. I sift through the messages and emails that have been left unopened since last evening and find that there’s an unread email from my dad. When I check it, I notice it’s an e-vite.
Mr. Jacob Lane and Ms. Alyson Elizabethare delighted to invite you to celebrate their marriageon the 19th of March at The Dane Estate.
A silent groan rises from my throat.
I guess I should have known this was coming despite me blocking it out of my head these past few days, but now, looking at this e-vite makes everything more real. It’s bad enough that this is going to be my dad’s fifth marriage, before I even get married once, but the timing of it isn’t the most convenient since the wedding is being held a day before the finals against Jax. Which just serves as a distraction that I don’t need.
When I check today’s date on my phone, my mood takes an even bigger downward spiral.
February 14.
Great. Just what I need.
Everyone getting all loved up on Valentine’s Day.
Including my dad and his new fiancé, no doubt celebrating their upcoming nuptials.
I’ve never been the type to really do the whole hearts-and-flowers thing on Valentine’s, but I did try to make an effort to spend time with Jax whenever the occasion rolled around. It was important to me that we did, since it was one of the few times that made me feel like we were a couple.
For our first Valentine’s Day, he took me out to an Italian restaurant and kissed me under the stars. Our second one was spent making love under the duvet the entire night. And as for tonight, I had been planning on making him a fancy three-course meal that I remembered trying hard to ace last month.
I guess that’s not going to happen now.
Truth be told, I don’t think I have much desire to spend the day with Jax. In fact, this is the first time in the past two weeks that I don’t yearn for him like I used to. Yesterday’s confrontation with him really put a lot of things into perspective for me.
Perhaps what I do yearn for is the feeling of being in love, the feeling of having someone you can depend on everyday and share your life with. Because I don’t think I miss Jax’s love, since it’s evident that he had very little to offer to begin with.
I guess I just miss being in a relationship.
I’m going to need a distraction if I want to get through the day so I head out of my room to see if I can find anything that’ll spark my interest. It’s still early in the morning—eight thirty to be exact—and there’s no note on the kitchen counter, which means Kayden is sleeping in.
Good, I think to myself. He deserves a rest day after lastnight’s fight.
I stare at the nearly barren living room, stripped of any character. It’s obvious it’s to serve a particular purpose. If Kayden ever needs to disappear, he can do it without anyone knowing that he was ever here.
Running my fingers over the walls, an idea forms in my head.
I know exactly what I’m going to do today.
Snatching Kayden’s keys off the table, I set off.
***
I return with several cans of paint from Home Depot. When I’ve set all the cans down, Kayden appears from the doorway of his room, shirtless and only in his navy-blue boxers, displaying his perfectly chiseled and lean abdomen. Even when he’s not flexing his muscles, his body is an amazing sight—one that I rush to mentally capture in hopes of running my hands over it repeatedly in my dreams.
“Morning,” I say in a light tone.
Kayden yawns and eyes the cans of paint I’ve placed to the side.
“What’s all this?” He asks curiously, his voice heavy with sleep.
“Oh, I went on a little shopping spree,” I tell him, sauntering over and dropping the car keys in his hand.
“Thanks for lending me your truck.”