I’ve gone from wanting to punch him to wondering what’s the worst that can happen if I do.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, would you stop looking at me like that?” Derek snarls.
“Like what?”
“You’re judging me. It’s not as if I wanted work to explode the week Perrie needs me most.”
“I’m sure she understands.” But I don’t. It’s a matter of priorities.
“Look, if this deal goes through, it will solidify our future. I don’t owe you an explanation, and Perrie knows what’s up. But I’m filling you in so you’ll lighten up.”
Derek’s tone says he isn’t fond of me—and he knows the feeling is mutual. Did Perrie tell him that she once had a thing for me? Or has he sensed the undercurrent of attraction still between us?
“Tell me what you love most about her.”
“Everything. She’s beautiful, man.” He shrugs. “Sweet, kind, funny, wicked smart. Everything I could have dreamed of…almost.” He sends me a speculative glance. “But sometimes she’s distant.”
I sense Derek trying to turn the tables. I’m curious; I’ll bite. “Yeah?”
Her fiancé nods. “I worry she’s not as emotionally invested in our relationship as I am.”
Is he kidding me right now? In the last forty-eight hours, she’s waited on him hand and foot while singlehandedly planning their small wedding. And don’t get me started on what I imagine she’s letting him do to her in her childhood bedroom where I kissed her first.
“Why would you say that?” I finally ask.
“A couple of weeks after we met, she opened up to me about once having been in love with this guy back home. She said they used to be close. But apparently, he didn’t want her. I’ve been wondering all this time who it could be. I didn’t really think I’d meet him on this trip since he rebuffed her and all. But here you are, right under her nose, putting off the hey, baby vibes while looking at me like you’d love to rip me in two.” Derek leans closer and sends me a sharp, narrow-eyed stare that proves he’s a good salesman because he can read people. “Let me tell you something. You had your chance to make her happy. Now it’s mine.”
He wants to measure dicks? Totally not interested. What’s fascinating, though, is Derek’s admission that Perrie can be distant. If she felt the need to tell her boy toy about me four years after I let her down, then it’s entirely possible she still has feelings for me.
If that’s true, why is she engaged to this corporate drone?
Because you rejected her, dipshit. She’s marrying this dude because of you.
Fuck. I have to stop her.
“I don’t think you can make her happy,” I say finally.
Derek scowls. “I don’t care what you think.”
“That’s the first thing we’ve agreed on,” I remark. “I don’t care what you think, either.”
“You turned Perrie down, old man. She’s no longer your concern. So why don’t you get out of my face?”
“I turned her down then because she was too young. But you know what that means? I was her first choice.”
“Fuck you.”
And fuck you, too, pal. “Did you know Perrie hates the rain? Or that she’s ambitious as hell? Did you consider any of that before you decided on this grand move to Seattle, apparently without consulting her?”
“Back off. You don’t get to play the I-don’t-want-her-but-you-can’t-have-her game. She’s not a trophy you win if you run me off. She’s a woman who wants a man to love her. You’ve already proven that’s not you. So in four days, she’ll be Mrs. Kingston, and you’ll be a memory.”
He’s dead fucking wrong, and continuing this conversation is a waste of both my breath and time. “If thinking that helps you sleep better, have fun.” I turn to leave.
He leaps out of his chair. “Where are you going?”
“To find Perrie.”
“Don’t you dare fuck with her.”
Derek looks worried. He should be.
I flash him a satisfied smirk and a mocking wave. “Enjoy your conference call.”
With a whistle, I leave. I’ve got a girl to win back and only a few days to do it. The good news is, I know exactly where to start…
Perrie
On the back patio, I try to absorb the blinding blue October day. I sandwich my phone between my ear and my shoulder, half listening to the caterer’s quote. “Uh-huh. I like that idea.”
I really have no idea what I’m agreeing with. I’m way too focused on what Hayden will do next.
During dessert the other night, he “accidentally” brushed against me a hundred times, until my body was aching, every nerve ending on fire.
When Derek and I retired to my childhood bedroom afterward, he wanted to talk about the move to Seattle and the future. I pleaded a headache, hopped into the shower, and masturbated through a trio of orgasms that left me wrung out and teary but distinctly unsatisfied.