chapter 25
Trista
We got into a black cab which that took 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 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 F*ckING 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.
Here we were in the great city of London, but our thoughts were somewhere in Paris. Funny wasn’t it?
***
At a quarter past three in the morning, I grudgingly got out of bed due to being severely parched. I hadn’t slept a wink and I was bound to be awake for the rest of the day.
Ever since we got back to the hotel, all I did was stare at the engagement ring Harry had given me. The expensive bauble seemed to mock me.
I was putting the cap back on the bottled water when I jumped out of my skin as a figure appeared out of nowhere. “Shit! Carter!” I yelled at the boxer-clad man. He gave me a light chuckle then a small yawn. I couldn’t help checking out those impressive thighs of his. Emma kept yapping about them back in the day and I never understood her fascination until now. They were thick and honed to muscular magnificence.
I stopped drooling over those epic thighs—and nice body—after it dawned on me that he was wearing boxers coming out of Emma’s room. “You stupid little shit! You didn’t have sex with her, did you?” I hissed, careful not to wake the girls up.
That definitely made him frown. “I was close to making a move, but I stepped back. I knew if I did that, my chances would get slimmer. She needs to trust me and I need to be patient to earn that from her.”
Well, the man did grow a heart after all.
What the hell was Emma doing? She was playing with fire having Carter so close. Even if she wasn’t doing anything with him, it still was dangerous. “Bass is going to flip about this, Carter. Why show up here? You could’ve waited until she got home.”
“That was the plan, but f*ck, Tris. I f*cking miss her. I just wanted to see her for a couple days, that’s all. I just wanted to be around her smiling and laughing at some stupid jokes. It’s bad. I’ve got it bad. You don’t know how hard it is to fight for something you lost. The f*cked up part was that it was too late when I realized just how much I f*cking love her.” Carter ran his hand over his hair and sighed, closing his eyes. Without opening them, he asked me a question. “Is he good to her? Does he love her?” Each word came out with such pain that I didn’t have to guess how much it cost him to say them.
“I think he does. He definitely looked like he did to me. Bass treats her with kindness and loving affection like a woman should be treated. If Bass makes her happy, you have to set her free. Confusing her will not make her go back to you, Carter.”
“That’s like asking me to stop playing soccer, Trista. It’ll never happen, even if she was married to another man. She still loves me, I know it, though she won’t admit to it. She might be an actress, but lying about her love for me was something she was never good at.”
I stared at him, speechless, as he went back inside Emma’s room. F*ck, Emma. Please, be careful.