Page 91 of Don't Brake My Heart
I fucking love you, Kubicka.
The words stayed down, but they dug an enormous hole in my psyche and I wasn’t sure I’d ever get them out again.
‘Going for a ride?’ I asked.
She nodded warily. ‘You know these mountains… Old times’ sake. Just an hour or— Before today’s stage.’
Full sentences were not on the menu for either of us.
A wolf whistle from the other side of the room was the only thing that could tear my gaze from her.
‘Lookin’ hawt, Leesa!’ Derek called out, with Amir giving her two thumbs up.
I snapped into action, ushering Leesa into my seat with light pressure on her shoulder. Even that small touch lit a fire in me as I purposefully obscured her from their view. ‘Don’t let Derek get a crush on you,’ I mumbled through clenched teeth.
I deserved the spiky look she gave me. I had to let her go live her best life without me. It might be easier if she thought I was a jerk.
Snatching my coffee cup off the table, I gave her a mock salute with it, ignoring the drop of espresso that smeared on my forehead, and stalked away from the table.
Chapter 33
Leesa
‘I’m going to have to add “therapist” to my job title, aren’t I?’
I tore my gaze from Colin’s retreating figure to find Wil studying me with a wry smile. ‘What? Why?’
‘First Colin is here to talk to me about you, now you’re here to talk to me abouthim.’ She waved her hand in a circular gesture.
‘He was?’ My voice came out an octave higher than normal and heat flared in my cheeks as I pictured him agonising about our argument, still thinking of me. But, of course, he wasn’t. He’d been so rude to me just now. ‘I mean, I’m not here to talk to you about him,’ I reminded myself. Morgan had left to get married and I missed talking through my work with someone else. ‘I was looking for a marketing pro, not a couples therapist.’ I winced at the last two words. Colin and I had never been a couple.
‘I thought everything was going great at Redwin.’
‘It’s not that – I mean, it is going great.’
‘New contract all signed?’ Wil was wearing a dry smile that I couldn’t interpret. ‘I wondered whether you might look around for more options, something in cycling maybe.’
The poorly veiled hint caught me in the gut. Lifting my chin, I asked her, ‘Would you? As a woman in sports, if you were in my position? Would you turn down a job offer from a prestigious agency?’
Wil’s smile faded. ‘No,’ she answered. ‘At least not without an equally amazing alternative offer.’
‘Which isn’t going to be forthcoming in the next week.’
I thought the topic was done, but Wil continued. ‘Now I understand why Colin was asking.’
Maybe I’d picked up a bit of sunburn over the past few days of hanging around the team bus and the finish line, because my skin was hot and tingly. ‘Who knows why Colin does anything?’
‘He was upset, although I know that boy doesn’t show his emotions well.’
I knew she was right. ‘I didn’t upset him. At least, I didn’t mean to,’ I said with a sigh.
She studied me for long enough that the sunburn feeling flared up my chest. ‘After so many years of pining for you, he probably doesn’t know what to do with himself now.’
Everything inside me went still.A childish crush. Those had been Colin’s words. He hadn’t beenpining for me. He’d been pranking me and seeing other women casually for so many years.
‘He hasn’t had any trouble knowing what to do with himself up until now,’ I commented, resisting a twitch in my face that felt like imminent tears. ‘I thought you said he liked to sweet-talk all the social-media assistants.’
Wil gave a pained smile. ‘Only because he couldn’t have you. I think you’ve always been the only one who could break his heart.’
