by A. m Madden
The room was empty and very quiet. “Jude must be out back. I’ll pour us some tea.” I scanned the counter and tabletop for a note from Jude, but there wasn’t one.
“You two are a wonderful couple.” I smiled at her words. “He’s quite the catch.” She walked to the glass door leading to the deck and peered outside. “Where is that handsome man of yours?”
Handing her the iced tea, I pulled open the door. A wave of heat hit me, but it was eerily silent outside. “Maybe he went for a run.”
We both took a few steps toward the beach, but didn’t see anyone. “Hmmm . . .” Barbi’s face twisted into a scowl as she looked at her watch. “I’ll just wait until he comes back.”
Dread suddenly consumed me. Where could he have gone? When I looked back inside, I saw his bag in the closet, so I knew he didn’t leave me. There had to be a logical explanation.
“Do you think he went out with the person who came to fit the tux? Maybe they went to the store?” I set my glass down on the table.
“Eduardo doesn’t have a shop here. He makes custom tuxedos in his home. Jude’s fitting should have only taken half an hour. She sat down at the table, pulled out her cell phone, and started texting someone. God, how I wish I had mine.
Not knowing what else to do, I began to pace. Forty-five minutes dragged by as I peeked out the window every time I walked past it. Barbi’s phone dinged, and my heart jumped.
“According to Eduardo, Jude’s fitting took twenty minutes. He said he seemed as though he was in a hurry.”
In a hurry? All I could do was stare out the window. More time passed and Barbi’s phone dinged again. This time, she stood. When she looked at me, her lips curled down. “I’m very sorry, but it appears Jude has breached the contract.”
My eyes lowered in an attempt to disguise the tears forming. “Breached? Are we going to be sued?”
“No, you won’t be sued. But you’re no longer eligible to receive the prize money. As the rules clearly stated, you were only allowed to be apart for one hour. Granted, I’m the reason you weren’t here today, but he was to stay on the property.” She walked away to make a call.
He left me. All his promises, and he broke them. Tears finally escaped the corners of my eyes and I didn’t bother to wipe them away. No, they could fall just like I did for a liar. What a fool I was for believing he’d stay. Now, I was in worse shape than when I’d left New York. I’ve lost time where I could have been looking for a job.
Nausea set in. I was going to be sick. His words replayed in my head as if in a loop, “I won’t let you down. You can count on me. I promise. You can trust me.” The ache in my chest was real. It was official, Jude Soren broke my heart.
Even Barbi’s skin looked pale. I needed to ask, what did it all mean, but couldn’t formulate the question.
She stood next to me. “You must pack your things and leave the island. The contract is now null and void.” Barbi placed her hand on my shoulder. “Such a shame, I thought you two were a wonderful couple. I’ll send a car for you in thirty minutes to take you to the airport. I just confirmed a six o’clock flight for tonight. It’s the last one off the island until the morning. The driver will have your cell phone with him.”
With shaky legs, I stood and nodded. “I’m very sorry about this. Are you sure we can’t give him a bit more time?”
“Rules are rules. If you’d like to try again, you have our card. I’m sure your Spark is out there. I’ll cancel the wedding gown. I’m very sorry, Brae. Some men aren’t wired for relationships.” With that, she walked out the door. Not wired? My breath caught in my throat at how true her words were.
Without much time, I forced myself to get my luggage out of the closet. Anger started to replace the sadness as I emptied my drawers. Rather than fold everything, I started to throw my clothes in my cases, not caring about them. Part of me wanted to leave everything here. Once I shoved everything in, I walked into the bathroom to get my toiletries.
“Honey, I’m home,” came from the living room. I walked out of the bathroom, eyes red-rimmed and tears staining my cheeks. “What happened?” Jude’s eyes went from me to the luggage on the bed.
“You! You happened, you lying asshole. How, Jude? How could you do this to me? God, you knew how badly I needed this, and what did you do? You left. Five weeks into this charade . . .” I flung my hands out to the side, “this farce of a relationship, all to help my family. But that didn’t matter to you, did it? No, not Mr. Upper East Side. What do you care if my family loses their measly farm? Why would you give a shit that you broke my heart? Maybe I should be thankful that it happened now. God forbid we got married and you had to be with me for twelve whole months so I wouldn’t have to pay the money back.” I shook my head. “What a fool I was.”
Our gazes connected and the pressure of fresh tears built behind my eyes, but I refused to cry in front of him.
“Brae, I didn’t leave you.” He took a step toward me, but I held my hand up. “Let me explain. I needed to see—”
“Don’t. I don’t care who you needed to see, or what you needed to do. All I know is my ride is coming to take me to the airport so I can catch my flight.” I zipped my bags shut and yanked them off the bed to land on the floor with a thud.
He ran his hand through his hair. “I’ll talk to Chip and Barbi. Once I explain—”
“You don’t get it, do you? Barbi was here when you weren’t. She’s the one who gave me my walking papers. It’s over.” I motioned my hand between us. “We are over. To think I was trying on wedding gowns today.” I shook my head in disgust. “You know what?” His eyes lowered before rising to meet mine again. “I started this thing determined to find Mr. Wrong, and how apropos that I succeeded.”
“You’re wrong. I’m not wrong for you. We are perfect together.” His dull eyes pleaded with me.
“Having mind-blowing sex does not make a couple perfect. Compassion, putting the other person first, and communication are needed ingredients. That’s where you showed your true colors.” Grabbing my bags, I wheeled them to the door. The sound of a car horn alerted me that my ride had arrived. “I never, ever want to see you again. When we get back to the city, don’t try to contact me.”
“Brae.” Jude lunged at me right before I grabbed the doorknob, placing a firm grip on my arm. “I had to go meet Luca. We had a client who needed to talk to me. I planned on being back before you came home, but the client was late for the meeting. His business is worth millions. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I had no way to let you know I was running late.”
“You knew you were going, you could have told me about it.” I glanced down to where he was holding my arm. “Let me go, Jude.”
“No, you need to hear me out. When I talked to Luca the other day, we had this planned perfectly. I’d never hurt you, or break my promises to you.”
“You just did.” I wrenched my arm away from his grip and walked out the door.
The driver put my bags in the trunk and opened the door for me. Before he could close it, Jude ran to the car. “Please, don’t leave. I’ll work this out. You can’t leave me.”
The pain in my chest hurt like none I’d ever felt before. “Let me go.” Ignoring my demand, his hand flexed on the edge of the door. “Now, Jude. I don’t want to miss my flight.”
Jude’s eyes glistened as he leaned forward. “I’m sorry.”
I had no more words for him. He pushed the door closed and I drove away from the man who owned my heart before shattering it.
Jude
What the fuck just happened? Goddammit! I slammed the front door shut before looking around the room. My fingers speared my hair, tugging on the roots. Son of a bitch. I swung my foot, sending a wicker basket flying through the air.
There was a knock on the door. My heart slammed in my chest. She came back. I flung open the door, ready to beg for forgiveness, only to find a messenger. He handed me two envelopes and my cell phone.
When he left, I looked inside
to see I was on the first flight in the morning. I needed to get to the airport to try to talk to her. If we were on the same flight, she wouldn’t be able to avoid me. As fast as I could, I packed my shit and searched for a cab company to take me to the airport. By the time the cab would arrive, she would be on the plane.
I slumped on the couch and stared at my phone. I’d never felt so defeated in all my life. I didn’t even have her number. There was no way to contact her—not that she wanted me to. Maybe Kyle could get her number from Shelly.
Even though the second envelope had Brae’s name on it, I opened it anyway. Maybe it had contact information for her. When I pulled out the tri-fold paper, I saw it was a fax from Desiree with a letter from the bank attached. Shit. This was what she had been waiting for. As I scanned the document, it stated it needed to be signed today and payment needed to be sent in order for the note on her parents’ farm to stay active.
As quick as I could, I dialed the number in hopes to leave the agent in charge a voicemail since it was past closing time.
“Hello.” When the man answered, I was surprised.
Fumbling with my words, I responded, “Hi. My name is Jude Soren, is this Mark Jackson?”
“Yes, how can I help you, Mr. Soren?”
“My girlfriend, Brae Daniels, received a letter from your bank, but she’s traveling and can’t contact you in regards to her parents’ farm.”
“Oh, I was unaware Brae had a boyfriend.” What the fuck did that matter?
“The reason for my call is, I’d like to know where to send the payment to clear the debt?”
“Sir, I’m not at liberty to discuss her personal finances with you.”
“Let me rephrase. Give me the routing number so I can clear the debt on the Daniels’ account. I happen to work in finance and know quite a few people. If you’d like me to contact your superiors, I can do that.”
“Did you say your name was Soren, as in Soren Enterprises?”
“Yes. I’m Jude Soren. Do you have any more questions or can we complete this transaction?”
“I’ll text the routing number and the amount to clear the note to your phone.”
“Thank you.”
My phone alerted me to his text and with a few keystrokes, the Daniels’ property was secured. I was sure Brae would be pissed, but it was the least I could do. I then texted Luca, instructing him to pick me up tomorrow afternoon at the airport.
Looking around the house, there wasn’t a shred of evidence she had ever been there. My eyes focused on our bed—the one we shared as a couple in every sense of the word. That stupid steak knife she used to feel safe poked out from under the mattress. I wasn’t kidding when I told her I’d keep her safe, yet I failed.
I remembered how happy Brae was when we arrived and what a prick I was. She loved it here. It didn’t matter that it was a small, modest home; it made her smile.
Unable to bring myself to sleep in the bed we had shared, I stretched out as best I could on the small couch and stared at the ceiling. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her—the way she looked at me right before getting into that cab. I hurt her.
I tried to picture her smiling, laughing, even the way she’d stare into my eyes when we were intimate, but all I could see was the sadness and hurt when she left me. Remembering my GoPro, I got up and took it out of the nightstand and pushed play. I saw her beautiful face on the small screen and couldn’t help but smile when I heard her snoring.
Sitting back down, I clutched the camera to my chest replaying the video over and over again. The image blurred through my unshed tears. “I’m sorry, Sparky.”
New York greeted me with a blast of frigid air. I was surprised I felt it since my entire body was numb. Dragging my bags behind me, I spotted Kyle’s car out at the curb.
“Well, look who’s back.” Kyle greeted me with a bro hug. “How are you doing?”
“Fine. Where’s Luca?” I tossed my bags in the trunk of his car.
Kyle, the dork that he was, put his hand on his chest. “I’m hurt. Aren’t you happy to see me?”
“No.” With a shake of my head, we both got inside. “I’m still plotting your horrible death.”
“Screw you. I had to endure at least a dozen phone calls a day from your assistant, Ruth! And a few a week from your mother, and each of your sisters as they all babbled in broken English interspersed with Swedish. Seriously?”
“You got off easy. Fuck, it’s freezing.” A shiver ran through me.
He turned the heat up in the car. “That’s what you get for spending time on an island while the rest of us suffered through this shit. Luca had a meeting. Did you want to go to the office?”
I cut my eyes to him. “No, I need a shower first. And really? You’re the one who started all of this. Now, I’m back with nothing to show for it except a tan.”
“What you mean is, you lost the girl. Luca filled me in.” Kyle shrugged. “I can’t believe you made it as long as you did. Granted, she was hot a fuck, but still.”
My fists clenched. “Don’t talk about her that way.”
“Wow. You’re pussy whipped.”
All I could do was remain silent. I had nothing else to say. It was true, I was. She hated me, but at least I knew the stress of losing her family’s farm was off her shoulders. Thankfully, I was able to send the money from a business account. God only knew what she’d do if she found out it was me. And it wasn’t something I did to try to win her back. It was something I did because she needed help. Brae wasn’t a gold digger, she was an honest person who worked hard. Never once did she ask me for help. Maybe that’s why I did it without thinking.
People filled the streets as Kyle drove me to my apartment. “Thanks for the ride.”
“It’s the least I could do.” He parallel parked his car along the curb. “I am sorry it ended up this way. In all honesty, I never thought you’d be this serious about her.”
“Me either. She was fun once I got past her quirks, and even they were cute.” I smiled at the thought of her nighttime ritual, even though I still didn’t know what it was, and the way she made the bed even though we had maid service. How she couldn’t cook and wouldn’t eat bacon until we started to burn calories. Everything about her made me smile. Everything except the fact that I might never see her again.
I reached for the door handle. “Can I ask you something?” Kyle lost all humor in his voice.
“Sure.”
“Would you have married her like the rules stated?”
That was an easy question. “Yes.”
“Would you still?”
Kyle’s question didn’t shock me. I’d asked myself the same thing more than once. Admitting to him how I felt would only cause me more grief. So, I ignored his question, but in my head, replied, Fuck yes.
Chapter 26
Brae
Gray skies greeted me yet again. Not much had changed since I’d been home. People still filled the city streets, horns still blared, sirens sounded, and I was still looking for a job. But, first things first, I needed to get to the bank. Since I left St. John so quickly, I never got the fax. However, a certified letter was waiting for me at the post office, and when I read it, my heart dropped.
The deadline had passed. Now, I needed to rely on the bank’s compassion to give me just a few more days to figure things out. The problem was, they didn’t have compassion. I was such a fool to try to take the easy way out. What a joke, the easy way. Being on that island, living in a fantasy world, was the worst idea I’d had. Scratch that. The worst was falling for a man who was clearly self-centered and one hell of an actor.
Every man I passed on the street didn’t hold a candle to Jude. How could they? He was the most handsome man I’d ever seen up close and personal. The way his body was sculpted like a statue was unsurpassed. And those damn tattoos. I knew I could never look at stars the same way again. Maybe I’d just never look at the sky. Then again, even the sunsets reminded me of him. He ruined things for me.
Things I loved. Now they were tarnished like old silver.
A man held the door open for me when I arrived at the bank. I spotted Mr. Jackson’s office, but my heart sunk when I noticed the lights were off. Another bank employee approached me. “Hello, I’m Mr. Allen. May I help you?”
“Yes, can you please tell me when Mr. Jackson will be in?” I fiddled with my purse strap knowing I’d have to wait until he returned to beg him for yet another extension.
“He’s on vacation for the next ten days. Is there something I can help you with?”
Vacation? Ten days? Without another choice, I’d need to start schmoozing Mr. Allen and play on his sympathies. I’d been told time and time again this wasn’t personal, yet to me, that’s all it was. Yes, I knew banks loaned money and expected prompt payment, but I needed them to believe this was a temporary setback. Maybe I should apply to the bank for a job and handover my paycheck right to the source. Clean their bathrooms even?
Giving him a smile worthy of a beauty pageant queen, I said, “Yes, I need to discuss a loan.”
Mr. Allen nodded, immune to my forced charm, and motioned for me to follow him into his office. Once inside, my heart began to thunder in my chest. What if he didn’t care? This could end up with me crying like a fool in front of a stranger.
“Here is the account number.” I handed him the certified letter. He began keying things into his computer. With each new keystroke, his brows would lower, then raise, then he looked questioningly at me. Before he could say more, I spoke up. “I know I’m late. I was away and missed the fax that was sent to me. Is there a way I could just have one more month? I have a lead on a job and it won’t be long until I’m able to make a payment.” That was all a lie. Although, I had passed a hiring sign on the restaurant down the road. I supposed I could waitress.
