by Pamela Ann
His proposal moved me, more than words could say, but doubts still lurked within me. The trust I once had for him was no longer present. “You have no idea how I’ve dreamt of this happening. I still love you, but I don’t know what to say right now. So much has happened. No promises or vows will ever change that.”
“I understand and I don’t want to force you.” His finger took hold of the ring out of the box and placed it on my shaky ring finger. “Think about it. This ring was meant for you. I know I can’t stay here tonight and I have to get back home anyway.” Harry moved and sat next to me on the couch, seeking my lips as he slowly kissed me. “I’ll be waiting for you when you get home. I hope by then it will be enough time for you to think it through. I love you. In my heart, you knew you were the only one in it.”
Sadly, I somehow did know, but before I managed to speak, the cottage door was violently opened, smacking against the wall. The loud bang echoed throughout the place. Taylor’s face clouded as he took in how close Harry was to my lips. His purposeful strides didn’t falter, his undaunted focus solely on Harry.
Harry stood up and yelled at Taylor. “Listen, this is none of your busin—”
Taylor didn’t care to speak before his knuckles connected to Harry’s jaw, twice, before Harry was knocked back on the floor. Harry tried to stop Taylor, but the man was blinded with rage. “How the fuck do you figure you can just barge in here after you left her to wither and rot with guilt?” His other fist connected to the unaffected jaw before he angrily grabbed Harry’s chin and spat at him. I screamed in the background, however Taylor wasn’t able to hear me through his pounding. “Men like you don’t deserve to live.” Taylor was about to punch him again, but Bass and Lindsey rushed to his side and tried to hold him down.
“That’s enough. That man got your message.” Bass pointed at the bruised and bloodied face of Harry.
The thunderous face Taylor gave me then stilled my heart. I had never seen a man so possessed with violent anger than this man before me now. “Of all the things to be embarrassed about, Trista, you should be more embarrassed to love a weak man who couldn’t even protect you. Married or not—a man’s love is supposed to protect a woman, not hurt them with it.” He turned back to Harry, “That’s where you miserably failed.” His eyes caught the ring on my finger. “Unfuckingbelievable!” He said out loud before he strode out of the cottage.
Dimitris picked up the semiconscious Harry. “Let’s get him cleaned up and I’ll have my pilot fly him out of here.”
“Is he okay? He doesn’t look it.” Lindsey scanned his face when Dimitris and Bass placed him on a chair while Emma was busy getting stuff to clean his wounds.
Dimitris busted out a cruel laugh before he planted a chaste kiss on Lindsey’s forehead. “He should be grateful he only had to face Taylor. Bass and I were more than happy to help out, but I think Taylor did a good job beating the unforgivable ass.”
After Emma handed the guys what they needed to clean his cuts and bruises, the ladies came over to me, since I was in bright utter shock. “Here’s some iced water. Drink some, please.”
“Taylor acted like any man would. He cares for you. You shouldn’t be mad at him.” Lindsey soothed my back while Emma wiped my tear-stained face with a cold cloth.
“I’m not mad at him. I’m just…” Everything. I was feeling everything at the moment.
The guys again promised to fly Harry off of the island. Harry, though, didn’t leave until he made me promise that I would give him an answer when I arrived back home. Once he left, I knew there was one thing I needed to do, seek out the man who helped me.
I found his dark figure in the alcove, sitting gloomily. The moonlight gave his form an untouchable look of beauty. Without glancing at me, he spoke out loud. “I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“You’re really leaving? You don’t have to.”
He nodded, staring at the dark sea. “Guess you’re back together?” There was a tinge of sadness in his voice.
I so badly wanted to erase it, but in my confused state, I didn’t know how. “No. I’m still thinking about it. I’ve waited for this all year, but now that it’s here, I don’t know what to think of it; to be really honest with you.”
“I’m sure you’re just overwhelmed. You’ll be jumping for joy once the shock settles. If he really makes you happy, then that’s where you should be; with him.”
He never failed to address my happiness and I knew he meant well, but this wasn’t the time for that. I needed answers. “Taylor, about what you said earlier before everyone got back—”
Taylor sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling wildly before he responded. “That was random. I didn’t mean to put you in an awkward position.”
It might’ve been random, but his eyes told me differently. “Did you mean them though?”
“Sadly, yes, I did. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it. I’ll get over it. I’m sure you understand why I can’t stay here even if you girls are leaving in a couple of days. I was supposed to visit my brother in Paris a couple of weeks ago anyway, but I’ve been stalling.”
He never once mentioned anything about leaving to go to Paris, ever. “What? Why would you do that?”
Taylor shrugged, still not looking at me. “Shit happened.”
I wanted to say more, but I didn’t know what. Everything would’ve sounded so trite. “Taylor—”
“Really, Trista. I’m sick of talking.” Taylor decided to stand up and quietly placed his hands in his pocket. He stood tall, handsome and suddenly in control. I stared back at his intimidating form, wanting to say a lot, yet I didn’t know where to start. Taylor had been there for me even if I hadn’t asked him to. He had been there and offered to be my pillar of strength, for weeks I had been dependent on him. The very thought of that made me feel scared. He was leaving and I wouldn’t have him around to push me back into sanity if I needed it. I would have to stand on my own feet.
With a huge lump in my throat, I looked up to the man whose body I had reveled in. The man who brought me to such delightful heights I hadn’t known possible. The very one who saved me and helped me breathe again. “With every fiber in me and with all of my heart, I thank you for…everything.”
My hands wanted to reach out, but I knew better. Funny, how we were on this same spot only two nights ago, inseparable and unable to get enough of each other’s bodies. Now, we stood like strangers. I knew we would’ve parted anyway, but I didn’t expect it to be this cold and distant. I was always thinking that someday we’d even joke of what had happened between us during our summer here. I guess I had thought wrong. “I suppose we’ll see each other around in LA then.” I tried to sound light except I failed miserably. The urge to hug him was strong, but the thought of him pushing me off his body made me think otherwise.
Taylor was composed, bored and indifferent. He gave me an irresistible smile before walking away while my eyes followed him. “Sure. Don’t forget to send me an invitation for the wedding,” he yelled off, not looking back.
“Taylor…” I murmured to the night. My eyes watched the man walking away.
I’ll miss you.
Chapter 25
Trista
Taylor, as promised, left the next day without saying goodbye. Going through those couple of days was rigorous. I was counting down the hours until we were leaving for London. Then, maybe, my sanity could comeback to me.
No one really understood how relieved I was when we boarded the plane in Athens to head to London for the weekend, before we were going back home.
We were staying at Claridges for our entire weekend. The hustle and bustle of the city of London brought good vibes in my down and out demeanor.
“Home sweet home,” Lindsey announced as she opened the door to our hotel suite.
“Sweet!” Emma chimed ahead of me.
We were dragging our luggage on the small pathway when the three of us froze in shock. “Holy shit!” We exclaimed as a dark figure s
tepped in front of us.
“Surprise?” Carter beamed, looking like a hot stud, those dark eyes never leaving Emma.
Lindsey pushed him out of the way. “Surprise my ass crack, Carter. Instead of freaking Emma out with your stellar-stalker-gawking efficiency, why don’t you make use of yourself and put this luggage away?”
Carter moved closer to Emma and motioned to get her luggage away from her tight grip, but she just stood there like she didn’t know what to do.
“Snap out of it, Emma! Now move that chunky ass out of the way. I need to unpack and whatever.” I barked at her, just enough for her to get out of that weird Carter funk.
Bass Cole better hold on to this woman tight cause the ex was officially back, and he’s out to get her back.
After we finally picked which rooms we wanted, we agreed to be ready in two hours to dine somewhere.
“Ready?” Lindsey asked through the door whilst giving it a knock. I could hear her heels thump on the floor while she paced.
With a heavy sigh, I scrambled to hunt down my gold clutch to go with my dress. I was in the middle of shoving my lipgloss and credit cards into the tiny bag when Lindsey yanked my door open dramatically. She was dressed in a corseted, crepe, red dress with gold heels. Her long dark hair and brown eyes made her look sophisticated and righteously gorgeous. “This shit is a disaster. Dimitris and I had a major fight, and now Emma is inside her room talking to Carter. What’s the plan? For Carter and Emma, I mean.”
I smiled at Lindsey as I shook my head. “Like we need one? Emma’s a big girl. She can handle it, I hope.” The woman knew what she had with Bass. This was all up to her now.
My phone was sitting on my bed and I anxiously glanced at it before sticking it in with the rest of my items in the tiny clutch. No messages from Taylor. I knew we parted under the most radical circumstances, but I hoped that he could at least send me a text message or two, which was silly of me since we had never exchanged numbers. So, here I was, hoping he’d call Emma or someone to get a hold of me, but no such luck on that front.
“Miss him, don’t you?” Lindsey muttered as she plopped on the bed, peering at me.
Do I miss Taylor? I’m fiending for him. For weeks, he had been my addiction. Now, I was just an addict without my drug. Emotional withdrawals are bad, but the sexual withdrawals, were the worst.
“He wanted you to choose him, you know? I mean, you two didn’t really talk about it, but I think deep down, he wanted you to choose him. He was too shaken up about Harry and the whole let’s get married and the whole baby thing to even ask that of you. Taylor’s crazy about you, Doll. I have no fucking clue why you’d let that hunky man run around Paris without you. There are a lot of brunette models in that city, you know. Not to mention the city of love is like an hour away. Maybe you should hop over the pond and claim your prince? Do you really want him to have sexy times with brunettes now?”
Now, that was a total bitch move. Glaring at Lindsey, I became furious. “I may be a little gutsy at times, but I’m not all-the-time-ballsy like you, Lindsey. The first real relationship I had was with a married man. The second one was a total rebound and purely for sexual gratification. I don’t have guys fall at my feet all the time like the rest of you girls. I suck at this and I totally suck at dealing with men.” I was shaking now, so I had to sit at the foot of the bed to calm myself. “I don’t deserve him, really. He’s too good for me because I’m still in love with Harry, Linds. Taylor deserves more than that. He’s a great man who deserves a woman who’s not messed up and irrevocably tainted like me.”
Lindsey was right next to me, holding my hand. “You are the sweetest and the most generous woman I know—okay maybe next to Emma cause that woman is oddly too nice. Taylor saw that. He saw through the hard exterior you put up to pretend that you were a badass beeotch. He appreciated you as a whole, but if it’s Harry that can truly make you happy, then follow that road. I’m your friend, babe, and I will support you no matter what.”
My arms squeezed her, hard. “Thank you. As much as you scare the fuck out of me sometimes, you’re the best and I love you.” I kissed her cheek before looking at her. “So, you and Dimitris? What’s gonna happen now?”
That made Lindsey look away and stare at the wall. “He wants to make it official, like boyfriend and girlfriend official. I don’t think I’m ready for that type of commitment. He wants all or nothing and I threw that stupid ultimatum in his face—even though that face was made for masturbation.”
That made me snort and laugh at the same time. The stupid combination was painful. “I don’t know how you make serious stuff so funny, Lindsey! Go for it. Not every man is like Brody, you know. God knows that guy has groveled on his knees to hell and back for you to take him seriously, but you’re relentless and now, you have another opportunity to have a good man that you could trust, one that hasn’t plowed through Cece’s field of wild oats.”
“Yeah, but it’s just too much. He lives on another continent and is a sought out actor on top of that. There are just so many reasons not to pursue it. I just want to leave it at that, a summer fling, since those really don’t have a chance in hell to survive out in the real world. It was fantastic, but now it’s over.” Lindsey looked thoughtful as her words sunk in. She seemed to have accepted this fact and was not about to dwell on it anymore.
“I guess he and Taylor can chill and hunt down women together. Whatever.” I stood up and offered my hand to help Lindsey up from the bed. At the same time, I could hear Emma’s door open and close. The blast from the past couple appeared in our room. Emma’s cheeks were pink, too much blushing, perhaps?
“’Bout damn time you two come out of that stupid room. Were you guys having sex or what?” Lindsey accusingly glared at them, arms folded as she studied their faces.
“Goodness, Lindsey! What the hell! We were just talking!” Emma interjected, miffed that her friend would think of her that way.
“Lindsey, will you please ease up on us? We’re just talking, nothing more. So, how about I take all three of you lovely ladies out to dinner and catch up.” Carter guided us out of the room. I noticed that his hand stayed on Emma’s back and saw how she stilled even at the lightest touch from him. The woman definitely wasn’t immune to him.
Chapter 26
Trista
We got into a black cab that was going to take us to dine in Rhodes Twenty Four restaurant, close to the London Bridge. “No, dude. You sit over there. It’s the perfect spot where we can watch you.” Lindsey pointed at the small square of a flip down seat that was attached behind the driver’s separator panel. We were seated nicely, facing the jock. Carter wasn’t fazed, whatsoever.
“So, how did you get out of playing soccer since it’s in season?” I asked the man who wouldn’t let up at checking out Emma.
Carter grinned wider before he spoke up. “You know, I had to get creative. I told the coach that I had a family emergency in London and I swore to head back out Sunday with my baby sister. Coach wasn’t convinced at first, but he finally gave up after I wouldn’t let him off the hook.”
Like his coach had a choice, the Mason siblings were two relentless beings.
“Bet he was pissed at your persistence—” Lindsey muttered before she paused and nudged Emma’s arm. “Your phone’s vibrating, aren’t you going to pick that up?”
Emma immediately took the call, as the rest of us remained silent, watching her. “Hello?” She murmured.
I didn’t even have to guess who was the caller since there was a catch in her voice that gave it away.
“Yep, we’re on our way to a restaurant on some high building close to the Tower of London, I believe. Hey, can you move somewhere that’s not too noisy? Where are you?” Emma started to sound suspicious before she continued on. “Are you in some kind of a club, Bass?” She started to pick on her nails as she listened to his explanation. “In Paris with Dimitris and Taylor? Since when did you all start having guys’ night?”
The sound of his name attached to partying made my insides churn like they were in an industrialized washing machine.
Emma gave a long sigh before she responded to Bass. “Okay… well, be safe then. I’ll see you Sunday. Yeah, miss you, too.”
After she ended the call, no one said a word. I was sure we were all thinking about certain respective men in our lives. Our thoughts were wreaking havoc in our minds, thinking of them and some hot French models, dancing and laughing the night away. Even if Lindsey was convinced that she and Dimitris were better off, I knew deep down she was affected that the Greek McHottie was in Paris. All three men with no women by their sides, all single and ready to party the night away. Yeah, this night was going to torment us.
“Guess Bass is doing a-o-kay without you next to him. He sure will be checking out the ladies.” Carter broke our thoughts with his venomous remark.
“For the love of all that’s holy, SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!” Lindsey spat at him. Carter looked taken aback from the ferocity of her words, and gladly remained silent until we got to our destination.
The rest of the evening was uneventful. Carter tried to get us out to some bar, but the three of us just wanted to go back to the hotel and sulk, though none of us were brave enough to admit the fact.
