Page 18 of Resorting to Love
“Six months.”
I jerk sideways, barely containing my shock as I meet Eli’s eyes.
“Why the secrecy?” one of the group asks.
“How’d you two meet?” comes from yet another.
“Are you in love?”
Now that they’ve started firing off questions, it’s a verbal free for all.
“Chloe, are you planning to move to the States?”
“Guys, please. We’re on vacation, this isn’t a press conference,” Eli says, jumping in before I can answer the one question specifically directed at me. “I’d appreciate it if you’d let us get back to what’s left of our holidays. Thanks.”
Angry heat rolls in my stomach. I grit my teeth and force a tight-lipped smile until the gossipmongering pack disperses. Then I glare. I glare hard.
“Six months?” I spit the question at him as soon as the paparazzi’s vehicles disappear down the road. “Six months?Did you get your words mixed up? You meant to say ‘days’ but ‘months’ slipped out instead? What the shit, Eli?”
He exhales, long and low. “I should’ve told you.”
“Told me what? That I’m the amnesia patient in one ofLiberty General’sstorylines, and memory loss is why I don’t remember that I’ve been dating Dr. Dreamboat for six months?” I throw my hands in the air when he grimaces, rather than answering. “Spell it out for me, Eli. Exactly whatismy storyline in our fictional relationship?”
“It’s not fictional.” He moves to hug me, scrubbing his hand over his head when I shake my head while leaping out of range. “Fuck, Chloe.”
“You did that already. That’s why you got stuck with this dating-a-random-Canadian storyline.”
“I’m not stuck with anything, and we’re not a storyline,” he says, closing the distance between us. “Sweetheart, I fell for you the second we met. I planned to spend every minute of this week with you long before my PR team suggested it. Fuck, I was happy when they did. I’ve never been happier than I have been this week, with you.”
“Pfft.”I cross my arms over my chest, needing the reinforcement barrier between us. “With everything you’ve done and achieved, one week in a mountainside resort with me can’t possibly be the happiest time of your life.”
“But it is. You’re important to me, Chloe.”
“How am I supposed to believe you when lie so convincingly?Six months?Why did you say that? And why didn’t I know that you would? It was like a punch to the gut.” I blink hard to ward off the stupid tears that threaten to break free of my tightly held control. “Everything you did after that first night was just part of the act.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is true,” I snap, brushing his hands away when he tries to hold me. “You and your team obviously concocted a backstory for us. A façade to make your sexy misstep appear less man-whorish.” I give him the stop sign when his straight lips part. “You know what the worst part is? I liked you enough that I would’ve gone along with it, but you didn’t respect or trust me enough to give me that chance.”
“I should have. I know that I should have. I was afraid you’d say no.”
“Even if I had, who cares? I offered to stay out of sight. I could’ve quietly headed home, and I would have, if you’d asked me to, because I didn’t want to be at this damn resort in the first place, and you knew that. You could’ve spun whatever story you wanted, Eli. Lyingaboutme would have been so much better than lyingtome.”
“I fucked up, but not the way you’re describing.” His deep voice has a raw edge that matches the expression on his handsome face. “I never meant to hurt you. I wouldn’t.”
“It doesn’t even matter at this point. Tomorrow would’ve been the end of whatever this was, anyway,” I say, motioning between. “You’re welcome to use this dramatic moment however works best for your story. Discuss it with your team, I’m sure they’ll know how to get maximum mileage from it.”
The confusion on his face is the last thing I see before turning and racing toward the cabin. The sundress I wore to look pretty for him wraps around my legs as I run. I don’t know if anyone’s watching the scene I’ve created, and I don’t care. I just want to get away from the man who charmed his way into my heart so effortlessly, then broke it just as easily—because I let him.
seven
chloe
Once I wason the road with Mountain Ridge Resort in the rearview, I did something I rarely do—took the stopper off my bottled emotions and cried that shit dry.
Leaving was the wise choice, despite Eli’s apologies, explanations, and multiple requests that I stay. I understand why he wasn’t completely forthcoming. His career might look like one endless, fun day to a non-celebrity, but it’s business. He’s not just a person, he’s a brand. He did what he did trying to balancing the two. He went along with the story his management team created to protect his professional future. He kept it from me so I wouldn’t freak out and run away. It sure didn’t take him long to figure me out.
And it didn’t take me long to fall in love with him.That’swhy I had to leave. Not anger—that feeling was gone long before I said goodbye and drove away. If I’d stayed the night, I would have told him I love him. Nothing good could’ve come from that. Even if he felt the same way, our lives don’t match up. It wouldn’t work. My broken heart today will heal faster than it would down the road.
