Can't Hardly Breathe (The Original Heartbreakers #4)

He kissed her then, smashing his lips into hers. An act of desperation. She opened for him, because she was used to opening for him and because she wanted—needed—his kiss more than she needed her next breath...and because she was saying goodbye.

She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back with all the love trapped inside her. For one minute, two, three, she savored the feel of his heart thundering against hers. Finally she rubbed herself against his erection, knowing it would be the last time—and pulled away.

She was panting, and so was he. He reached for her, but she backed away.

“You haven’t changed, but I have. I’m not the girl you started dating,” she said softly. “That girl couldn’t see her worth. This one can. And I’m worth more than you’re willing to give. I’m worth everything—because that’s what I’m willing to give.”

“Thea—”

“What if I want to move to the city one day? I do want to finish school. I might decide then that I do want to work for a network. I might decide I want to storm chase again.” Holly would move out of the inn one day to start her adult life. Carol might decide she wanted the inn back.

And what would Dorothea have then? Her vlog, but not much else.

“Thea—”

“No, Daniel. You said it yourself. We’re done.” With that, she walked away from him, and she didn’t look back. The past was the past. It was time to march toward the future. And if that future didn’t include Daniel—that was okay. She would be okay.

Loving a man didn’t mean depending on him for her happiness. That was why Ryanne’s mom still searched for contentment but never found it. Loving a man meant sharing, caring and being better together. And if you weren’t better together or at least fighting to be better—

You needed to be apart.

Tears splashed down her cheeks, but she exited the inn, certain she was doing the right thing.





CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

HAD SHE DONE the right thing? Dorothea wondered for the thousandth time that day. She’d spent several hours at the festival with her mom and sister, but she hadn’t eaten a single treat, and she hadn’t played any games. Now, as darkness descended outside and residents returned home, her mind demanded to know where Daniel was and what he was doing. The rest of her demanded she run—no, sprint—to his side.

She loved him with all her heart. And now, without him, she felt as if she’d been ripped apart. As if she’d lost something precious, something she would never have again. But...

Of course she’d done the right thing. Her reasons were valid. If things got bad, and they would at some point, she couldn’t trust him to stay with her.

A knock sounded at her door a split second before Holly marched inside her room. “All right, enough moping.”

“I’m not moping.”

“Sis, I can hear you pacing three flights down.” Her sister stooped in her closet and grabbed a bag she began filling with Dorothea’s clothes. “Get your crap in order. Mom and I are taking over the inn for an entire week, starting tomorrow. You, missy, are going on vacation.”

“You have school.”

“Nope. Next week is spring break. Besides, I’ve turned in all my overdue homework. I’m making straight Cs now! Practically Bs. Or close to getting one B. In art.”

“Oh, Holly. I’m so proud of you.” And she meant it. Before, Holly had been making Ds and Fs. “But I’m still not vacationing.” Where would she even go? “This is our busiest time of year.”

“Which is the perfect time for you to get away.” Holly zipped the bag, which was overflowing, bits of cloth catching in the metal teeth. “I’ve already talked to Dane Michaelson about letting you use a room at his hotel, free of charge. He was happy to comp everything, including spa treatments, as long as I never again threatened to give his stepdaughter a makeover.”

“You didn’t.”

“Oh, yes, I surely did. For once, someone is going to take care of you. Clean your room for you. Deliver food to you. You will rest, and you will relax. Maybe you’ll even sleep with a pool boy. I don’t know. That’s for you to decide.”

Dorothea nearly choked on her tongue.

“You can’t say no. Lyndie and Ryanne are going with you. But they’re coming over tonight to keep you from running away. That’s right, you’re having a slumber party. The three of you will leave at 6:00 a.m.”

Dorothea drew her sister close for a hug. “Thank you.”

“You’re amazing. The best person I know. And if Daniel doesn’t realize that, he doesn’t deserve the privilege—the honor!—of being your man.”

“Maybe he does. He said he loves me.”

“So? Did he show you he loves you?”

Well...

She shook her head.

“So there you go. There’s your answer.” Holly dropped the bag beside the door. “If the pool boy isn’t your type, call maintenance and pretend you need help with your TV. When he shows up at your door, you can be naked. That’s, like, what happens in every porno ever made.”

“No, it’s not.” Scandalized by her sister, and her own inadvertent admission that she knew what happened in pornos, she said, “What do you know about pornos, young lady?”

“I work at an inn, sis. I can charge movies to other people’s rooms. What do you think I know?”

Oh, sweet heavens. She kissed her sister’s cheek. “When I get back, we are washing your mind out with soap.”

*

DANIEL ANSWERED HIS phone with a snapped “What?”

“Dottie is leaving at six tomorrow morning, and she’ll be gone for a week,” Holly said in lieu of a greeting. “If you want her, you better prove it before then, because Jazz used to tell her that he loved her, but his actions always proved the opposite. If you don’t show up, I’ll make it my mission in life to bury you—literally.” She hung up. A specialty of hers.

He stared at his phone. Or his two phones. Why were there two? Oh, well. He stuffed the device back in his pocket and finished his newest shot of whiskey. He’d lost track of how many he’d had. Ryanne wasn’t on duty at the Scratching Post, so she wasn’t here to limit his intake with her wit and charm—and when that failed, her snide remarks. You don’t want another whiskey, cutie. You want a coffee. Mmm. Coffee. So good! Oh, you don’t want coffee? Well, too bad. Drink it before I ram the mug down your throat.

Before she’d taken off, she’d said, “She’s too good for you!”

“If you’re talking about Thea—” he’d begun.

“No. I’m talking about the alcohol. Use your brain, dummy.”

“—you’re right.”

He’d messed up. He’d messed up badly, and he could think of no way to fix it.

Thea was a smart girl, brilliant, and she’d done what was best for her. How could he have gotten angry about something like that? He should always want what was best for her, whether that meant moving to the city or staying here and chasing storms. More than that, he should have done everything in his power to become the best. Anything for her, because she was everything to him.

He’d lamented about Thea putting storms first, but hadn’t he put his fears before her? He’d told himself he’d beaten the fear of losing her, that he was only being practical, but as Thea and Holly had said, his actions had proved otherwise.