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This woman is really riding my last nerve here. “I was robbed. I was asked to leave the hotel through no fault of my own.” I cringe when she mentions Penny. Leon didn’t mention that his ex was still around.
Her slim hand waves negligently. “You put yourself in that situation. You can’t turn around and cry about it then.”
My mouth drops open at the sheer idiocy of her statement. I sure as hell didn’t ask to be robbed which was the catalyst for the rest of the disaster that rolled over me.
“And of course, Leon would have to help you out. He’s always had a soft spot for lost people and pets. Seems to me like you’re taking advantage of his good nature though.”
Her snarky, nasty attitude leaves me breathless but underneath the anger is a pang of unease. Is he only helping me because he feels sorry for me? He thinks I can’t take care of myself? Did he feel sorry for me when he slept with me?
The hectoring of Dave’s voice echoes in my head again. We both know that you’re useless, Sarah. You can’t do anything for yourself. What would you do if I wasn’t here to fix all of your fuck-ups?
My soul shrivels up and I can feel my body shrinking into itself.
“He’s my friend,” I say gruffly, but deep down I know that you can’t be friends with someone that quickly. He probably does feel sorry for me and that fucking hurts. Way more than any of the biting comments from Dave for some reason.
And she knows it. The bitch smirks at me. “You know I’m right, don’t you?”
“He’s not here right now and I’ve got things to do. You’ll have to excuse me,” I say stiffly, desperately pushing the hurt back.
She steps back, unruffled by my abrupt statement. Satisfaction is plastered all over her pretty face.
I shut the door on her and lean back against it, sagging against it, my legs shaky.
“I think it’s time for this little adventure to end,” I whisper, walking carefully back to the bedroom I’ve been using. It’s time to try and figure out what the hell I’m doing with my life. And that life doesn’t include any man.
My heart hurts while I pack, my pulse racing. I’ve never felt like this before. Fear wells up in me. Fear of the unknown. Fear that my past will derail all of my hopes and dreams for the future.
And fear of leaving this island and Leon.
The gentle man has gotten under my skin and I can’t stop picturing his crystal blue eyes and the way he smiles at me like I’m something important.
I’ve never had a man, hell, anyone look at me like that. It’s addicting. But it also doesn’t mean anything. He’s a genuinely nice man. Too nice to have to deal with my craziness.
I pick up my suitcase and walk out the door, pausing in the doorway with my hand on the knob, staring back at his beautiful house. I felt more at home here than I ever felt where I lived with my husband.
I won’t call it a home because Dave was never my home.
I shove the hurt and sadness down, used to hiding my feelings. This is for the best. Leon has a daughter, a child who depends on him. I would make a terrible mother. Lord knows that my own parents were so hands-off that I think sometimes they forgot about me completely, wrapped up in their own little world. They never wanted me. Otherwise they would have kept better track of me. Would have enjoyed every accomplishment of mine. Instead of barely noticing.
Same with my husband. He sure as hell didn’t really want me and I think if it hadn’t been for our parents pushing us together, he never would have asked me to marry him.
And then he promptly forgot all about me.
I have a feeling that I’m never going to forget this little pocket of paradise and the gorgeous man with ice-blue eyes and a flirty smile that made my heart flip.
One more look around and I close the door, my heart shifting painfully in my chest. Another closed door for me.
Another painful day lost and alone.
CHAPTER 13
Leon
There’s a niggling little feeling of unease that’s been riding me all day and when I open the door to my house, I feel it fluttering in my gut until it feels like it’s crawling up my throat. I hadn’t intended on pulling a double but sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do.
I open the door and silence echoes around me. It feels so empty inside.
“Sarah? Are you here?” I check the kitchen and immediately see that she’s not outside or in the front of the house.
