He grabs my hand and kisses my palm. “Let’s get out of here.”
He helps me out of the couch and we say our goodbyes, which takes another half hour. Will’s mom, Gail, hugs me close.
“Please, come back soon, Meg. We enjoyed you.”
“Thank you,” I murmur shyly.
“She’ll be back,” Will comments as he kisses his mom on the cheek.
I tilt my head back as we step outside and enjoy the rain. It’s dark now, and the rain is heavy, but not cold. It’s that warm, late summer rain that feels like tap water.
“I love the rain this time of year.”
“Great. Get in the car, babe.”
I laugh over at him. “You don’t like the rain?”
“It’s fine, but you’ll get sick if you don’t get out of it.”
“No I won’t, that’s a myth.” I wave him off and stand in the rain for a minute longer, then join him in his car.
“Are you always this stubborn?” he asks.
“How long have we been seeing each other?” I ask.
“A while. More than a month.” He responds and pulls away from his parents’ house.
“Then you should know by now that I’m always this stubborn.” I grin sweetly as he chuckles.
“So, about those texts you sent me…” He turns hot blue eyes on me and offers me a half smile.
“Yes?”
“Gonna make good on them?”
“I don’t know your mood seems to have improved without me needing to resort to oral sex.” I feel my phone vibe in my pocket and I pull it out as I laugh at Will’s scowl.
Tell your bf thx for the $250k.
“Pull over.”
“What?”
“Pull the fuck over.”
Chapter Nineteen
“What’s wrong?” His voice is panicked but I can’t look at him. I have to get out of this car.
Now.
“Just pull over, Will.”
“Are you sick?”
“Yes! Pull over!”
We’re in a remote part of Seattle, mostly deserted, and dark. The sky has opened up even more, pouring rain as if someone has turned on a faucet.
He skids to a stop at the side of the road, and before he even puts it in park, I barrel out of the car, slam the door and start walking, fast, in the headlights.
“Meg!” he calls from behind me. “Megan, stop!”
“Leave me alone, Will.”
“What the fuck has gotten in to you?” I hear him gaining on me, his feet shuffling in the gravel on the side of the road, so I twirl and confront him.
“How dare you?”
He stops in his tracks, his eyes wide with fear and worry and holds his hands up like he’s being robbed.
“What?”
“I told you not to give her any money.”
“Fuck.” He hangs his head and props his hands on his hips, both of us ignoring the rain falling in sheets around us. “Meg…”
I spin on my heel and start to stomp away from him again, but he grabs my arm and spins me back to him. “You’re not walking home.”
“Fuck off, Will.”
“Megan, stop this.” He takes both of my shoulders in his hands and holds me in front of him, and all I can do is glare at him, panting. My anger is palpable.
“I told you, Will. You saw how it was last week. Why in the hell would you do this? She’ll just keep coming back for more. She would have gone away if you would have just left it alone.” I can’t stand the break in my voice as I feel the tears mix with the rain on my face.
“She never would have gone away, sweetheart.” His voice is calm now, but firm. I shake my head back and forth and bury my face in my hands.
“I don’t need you to clean up my life!” I step back out of his grasp and look up into his face illuminated by his headlights, water running down the sides, his hair soaked and plastered to his head. “I can handle this myself.”
“Megan, that woman is toxic. She drains you, financially and emotionally. You don’t need her.”
“I know that! You think I don’t know that?” I throw my hands in the air and march in a frustrated circle.
“I’m trying to help you.”
I stop, my back to him, and shake my head, hands on my hips. “I asked you not to help me like this.”
“Look at me.”
I stay where I am.
“Look at me, Megan.”
“Will, you betrayed me.”
“I did not fucking betray you!” He yells, and I whirl to look at him. His eyes are feral now, and his hands are in fists at his sides, every muscle taut with anger and frustration. “I paid off a woman who hates you for existing so she’ll never bother you again. She signed a contract, Megan. She can never ask you for another dime.”
“What?”
“Let me finish. That woman is the reason you can’t tell me you love me. That. Fucking. Woman.” He shakes his head in frustration and turns away from me, then turns back. “If I have the opportunity to remove her from you, why wouldn’t I do it? The money is nothing to me. She is the reason you have trust issues. She is the reason it’s so hard for you to show people you love them.”
“What are you now, a shrink?” I ask with a smirk, and then hate myself for it when I see the hurt in his eyes.
“I know you,” he murmurs quietly. His chest is heaving. “I love you, Megan.”