Shivering, I stop on the wooden deck. The majestic view and the tranquility of my surroundings steal my breath away and invigorate me. As I climb down the stairs, I remember Alessandro mentioning the existence of a creek behind the house. I make up my mind to go in search of it.
Upon my return, there’s laughter coming from inside the lodge. The rest of the guests must have arrived. I’m about to open the door when I hear someone approaching the house from my left. Instinctively, I turn my head in that direction, and the air is sucked out of my lungs. The tall form of the man approaches me, completely unaware of my existence. As my eyes devour him, taking in his familiar features, the scruff covering his jaw and framing his luscious lips, the endearing (and mega-hot) way that he looks wearing a navy blue beanie …
I know with complete certainty that he’s the only man for me.
And even though he shares my love with another, I will only belong body and soul to this man. I just pray that I’m not too late.
I let go of the doorknob and spin on my feet until I’m facing the direction that he’s coming from. I take a deep breath like it were my last and throw caution to the wind, gambling my heart away. “Hello, Ronan.”
Ronan stops dead in his tracks the moment he hears my voice, a rainbow of emotions flashing in his eyes as our gazes meet.
“What are you doing here?” he utters with so much hate it stuns me momentarily. “Fucking Elly.”
Flinching, I move toward him. “I—”
The door opens then and a woman whose face I could never forget walks out. Her arm brushes past mine as she goes to him. She extends both of her jeweled hands for Ronan to take. “There you are. I was beginning to wonder what happened to you.”
Ronan places two overnight bags on the floor before taking her hands in his and pulling her toward him. He pretends that I don’t exist as he smiles a slow, seductive smile. “Missing me already?”
Rachel laughs airily, and it consumes me with jealousy. God, even her fucking laughter is graceful. She says something to him, but I can’t hear past the ringing in my ears. Suddenly feeling dizzy, I recline my back on the wall behind me.
Letting her go, Ronan laces his fingers with her, picks up the bags with his free hand, and walks inside the house. As they pass me by, Ronan’s eyes lock with mine and I see nothing in them but hard indifference. “Excuse us,” he addresses me in a voice so cold it freezes me from the inside out.
When they disappear inside the house, I lean my head back and close my eyes.
And there’s your answer, Blaire.
You are late.
Too fucking late.
“I’M SO SORRY, BLAIRE. I had no idea that Alessandro had invited them,” Elly pleads sorrowfully.
“It’s okay, Elly.” I look up from the chopping board, tightening my hold on the knife. I try my best to smile. “It’s not your fault that I behaved like an asshole in the past and now I’m finally getting what I deserve. Anyway, how did he manage to get them here? I didn’t know that you guys knew him outside the one time that he drove you?”
She explains to me how she ran into him at Rachel’s party and how they struck up a conversation. At the mention of her name, I feel bile rising in my stomach, but my desperation to know about him outweighs my unjustified dislike for that woman. “Alessandro told me that he ran into Ronan at a bar in SoHo last weekend and invited him to come up. He had no idea that you guys had a history. God, I was so mad at him when I saw them walk in.”
“Poor man.” I resume chopping the garlic cloves, pretending to pay particular and meticulous attention to what I’m doing. “Hope you weren’t too hard on him.”
“Eh, he’ll survive,” Elly says saucily.
I chuckle ruefully.
Elly takes a sip of wine and then swirls the liquid in her glass, seemingly waging her next statement. “Blaire … I don’t think he’s over you.”
“Don’t say that,” I whisper but my heart begins to beat so loudly I can barely hear my own thoughts through it.
An image of Ronan and Rachel hanging out by the fire, laughing, his arms around her waist, her hand buried in the back pocket of his jeans as they chatted with Elly and Alessandro and the rest of the guests flashes in my mind. I could have had that if I hadn’t been a fool, but now Ronan is with Rachel and there’s nothing I can do.
“You’re wrong, Elly.” I place the knife on the counter and turn to face her. “He hates me.”
“I’m not so sure about that. He’s lying to himself, Blaire. I can feel it. Whenever he thinks that no one is looking, he follows your every move. He can’t take his eyes off you.”
“Stop it, Elly,” I plead, going mad. Stop giving me hope. “He brought Rachel. He’s obviously with her.”
“Just because they’re fucking doesn’t mean that they’re in love.” Elly chews her bottom lip. “But I’ve got to admit that I’m not sure what to do about her.”
“Nothing!”
She raises a staying hand. “He seems to be into her, I’ll give you that, but he doesn’t look at her the way he looks at you.”
“And how is that?” I ask softly, barely able to get the words out.