“Okay,” he says calmly, but his eyes hold all kinds of mischief. “I can tell by your reaction that is not an option at all. So I’m going to point out that since it seems you’ve moved on, she’s moved on, you have no interest in her and she probably has no interest in you, plus you’re currently in a relationship with Ashley, you need to be polite with Eden but just go about your life as if she’s not here.”
“I’m not in a relationship with Ashley,” I grumble.
“You fucking her exclusively?”
I am right now only because she’s been great in the sack and hasn’t pushed me for much, and he knows that, so I don’t bother confirming. I turn the conversation back to where it needs to go. “So I do my best to ignore her while we live under the same roof and just go about my life as if she’s not here.”
“Exactly.”
It’s a good plan. It’s the right plan.
The bartender raises the bottle to pour me another shot but I shake my head at him. I don’t feel like getting blitzed.
“You still pissed at her, dude?” Clay asks suspiciously. “Because if so, then I’ll amend my advice to suggesting maybe you come stay with me and Jeannie while she’s in town.”
“Nah, I’m good with it,” I tell him quickly, although that’s not the full truth.
I am angry. At circumstances that drove us apart.
There’s a knock on my dorm room door and I glance at my clock. It’s late…almost midnight. My roommate is out with his girlfriend and I’ve been cramming for a test tomorrow.
I get up and pad to the door wearing nothing but a pair of gym shorts, surprised to see Eden on the other side when I open it.
“Hey, baby,” I say as I take her face in my hands to give her a quick kiss before pulling her into my room. She’s got on a pair of pink pajama pants and a baggy sweatshirt. Her hair is braided into two ponytails that hang over her shoulders. Her room is just one floor above mine and I hate it. It’s not close enough, but as close as I can get with coed dorms. “What are you doing here? Figured you’d be in bed.”
“You’re never going to guess what just happened,” she says as she walks past me and then turns around. Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes are sparkling, and I know it’s not from the kiss I just gave her.
“What?” I ask with a smile.
“Mr. Sanchez just called me, and a really big fashion magazine wants to hire me for a modeling project,” she practically squeals as she jumps up and down. “He said they loved my test shots he sent them, and also he’s got some other people interested in me too.”
I can’t help it. Her enthusiasm is contagious and I pull her in for a hard hug. “That’s awesome, Eden. But how could they not love you? You’re the most beautiful woman in the world.”
Eden gives an embarrassed laugh and pushes me away from her. She’s always been shy like that when I compliment her.
“But that’s not the most amazing part,” she says in a rush, and then gushes so fast I almost can’t understand her. “They’re going to pay me twenty-five thousand dollars for the photo shoot.”
“Holy shit,” I say on an exhale. “That’s a lot of damn money.”
She nods her head. “The shoot can be done on a weekend, they’ll fly me to New York and back, and I will have tuition and expenses covered for this year and most of next.”
This was huge, because Valeria Goodnight refused to pay for Eden’s education when she chose to come to University of Georgia with me. Valeria wanted her to go to Vanderbilt, which was her alma mater, and she thought withholding money would deter Eden.
It only made her more determined, and she’s been working her ass off at an extra job and doing some tutoring to supplement what she didn’t get in grants and scholarships.
“Mr. Sanchez says that I could easily make up to a hundred thousand a year doing just modeling shoots like this,” she continues to gush. “And he said that would probably lead to some offers to walk runways in fashion shows, but I told him I could only do that in the summer when I wasn’t in classes…”
Eden continues on and on about all the things her agent is promising her, but the moment she mentioned the insane amount of money she could make, my heart had plummeted to the bottom of my stomach.
This was no joke.
It was some serious shit.
Eden could have a big-time career modeling and making lots of money, and while that was never something she had ever dreamed about doing as a career, I can see how excited she is right now. This is what people call a life-changing event.
It was the beginning of the end for us. Looking back, I realize it was that very first offer that did it. Eden downplayed it later after she returned from the shoot, but soon Carlos was calling her with offer after offer.
Eden just couldn’t refuse, as the potential for huge success was within her grasp.
And so she left, because you couldn’t be a full-time student and jet all over the world to walk runways.
Of course, I stayed behind.
Chapter 5
She was never there for me…
Eden
I place my shampoo and hair conditioner in the newly cleaned out master shower and shut the glass door. I look around the bathroom with satisfaction. My makeup and face creams are laid out and fresh towels are hanging on the racks.
I smile as I walk into the master bedroom and survey the changes I’d made over the last few hours. My mission started the minute I heard Coop leaving for work early this morning. I was awake most of the night stewing about this man living in my home, and I was not getting the peace and solitude that I was craving.
I leapt out of bed as soon as his truck cleared the driveway. After a rushed cup of coffee and a quick shower, I’d donned a pair of workout capris and a stretch tank and wrapped my wet hair on top of my head. After putting on my best running shoes, I was ready to go.
The first thing I did was get a large green garbage bag from under the kitchen sink and put every single item of Coop’s from the bathroom in it. I then dragged it out and left it in the hall.
Next I carried out all of his clothes by the armload. Emptied drawers, pulled stuff off hangers, and I threw it all out into the hallway. As I did so, I tried to envision this room the way I remember it when my parents were alive. Even though it was their room, I spent a lot of time in here. As a child, if I was afraid of something at night, my parents would let me crawl into their big bed and sleep between them. Or I’d play chess with my dad in the upstairs library or just veg out there with my mom while we read books on a lazy weekend.