Page 193 of Bridesmaid Undercover
“Everly—”
“Leave, Hardy. I can’t take whatever wishy-washy story you have to tell me.” A tear rolls down her cheek. “Please…just leave.”
I hear what she’s saying.
I can see the way my presence is hurting her.
But fuck, I don’t want to leave and let her think that I’m not choosing her, because I want to choose her. I just can’t.
“Can you just listen for one second?” I ask. “Let me explain.”
“You’ve explained enough,” she says as she walks over to her front door and opens it. “Now, please leave, and if you don’t, I’m going to make sure everyone in this building knows you’re not listening to me.”
Fuck.
My hands turn into fists as my frustration grows even more intense.
This is fucked.
I fucked this up so badly. I should have just told her the truth in the first place. I never should have left her apartment without a real explanation. I never should have bolted out of bed.
I should have been a fucking mature man rather than an idiot asshole who has now confused the situation so much that I don’t even know what I’ve said anymore.
But I don’t want her causing a scene for her building, more for her since she has to live here than for me, so I move toward the door. I don’t want to make this harder on her, and I want to respect her wishes. But before I step outside her apartment, Ilook at her from over my shoulder. “This was not one night for me, Everly. If you hear one thing from me today, please hear that this was not just one night—this was so much fucking more.”
And with that, I take off, my chest heavy and my heart feeling like it’s in shambles.
“What the fuck were you thinking?”Hudson says as he strides into my office and shuts the door.
I’ve spent the weekend avoiding all calls from my brother. I didn’t even let him in my apartment when he tried to come by. I blocked out the world, lay on my couch, and let the Game Show Network play in the background as I stared up at the ceiling, regretting every second of my interaction with Everly that morning.
I should have been truthful from the beginning. I shouldn’t have tried to sneak out. I shouldn’t have blamed work. I shouldn’t have gone back in, kissed her, and then tried to tell her the truth—which she didn’t believe anyway. It’s all a fucking mess, and there is only one person to blame. Myself.
That doesn’t mean I wanted to hear it from my brother though.
Unfortunately, we are jam-packed with meetings today, which means I’m in the office. I considered going out to the farm and checking on the almond trees just for the hell of it, maybe to find some peace even though I know operations are running smoothly. I was desperate for an excuse to avoid the sharp, cunning eyes that are staring daggers at me right now.
I lean forward, elbows on my desk as I grip my hair. “Can we not?” I ask.
“No, we’re going to fucking talk about this. And since you avoided me all weekend, we get to do it in the office.” He takes a seat across from me. “Please tell me you ended things with Everly immediately.”
My eyes meet his. “Yeah, I fucking ended it, okay? Now if you could please leave my office, I would appreciate it.”
But of course, why would he listen to me?
“Why the fuck would you even start something with her? What happened to Maple?”
“Maple wasn’t interested.”
“So, you just move on to the next female you see? Jesus Christ, man.”
“I didn’t just move on to someone else,” I say in a stern tone. “I…I developed feelings for Everly. I didn’t realize it until it was pointed out to me. And fuck, the minute it was, it felt like a tidal wave crashing down on me, leaving me no chance to breathe.”
“Feelings?” he asks with a quirked brow.
“Yeah,feelings.Do you remember what those are, Hudson? The direct response your body or brain experiences when exposed to images or objects, or people.”
“Don’t be an ass,” he says.
