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“I hate you now,” she choked out, recognizing it for the lie it was the second she said the words. “Did you expect anything else?”
He lingered on her for a second, but then he stepped back. The trembling of his hand as he let go of her almost did her in, but she refused to let herself waver. “No. Not really,” he said, his voice hollow. “Seems to be a common emotion with the women in my life.”
It was time to go, before she made a mistake.
Before she gave him a second chance.
“I-I think I forgot my purse in your room.” Tara crossed her arms. “I don’t want to go back in there and see where you…can you please get it for me?”
His forehead scrunched. “Okay.”
She watched him climb the stairs, waiting until he reached the top. As she bent and picked up her bag, he turned around. She could tell the exact moment he knew she was leaving him. The exact second he knew he’d been had. He stumbled down a step, obviously trying to rush back to her, and failing because of his leg. For a terrifying flash, she thought he might fall, but he caught himself on the banister.
“Tara, wait—”
She shook her head, swallowing past the huge aching lump in her throat. Without another word, she opened the door and bolted out, heading directly for the cab that she’d called. As she threw herself and her bag in the backseat, she shouted, “Go. Go!”
The driver blinked at her over his shoulder, but stepped on the gas. As the cab sped away from Jake’s house, she caught a brief glimpse of him toppling outside as she passed. He caught the doorframe, barely keeping himself from hitting the ground.
And she turned away.
The cab driver cleared his throat. “Where to, miss?”
She stared down at her bag, still blinking back tears. She didn’t want to go home. Didn’t want to stay there, knowing he might come find her. She didn’t trust herself around him. Not anymore. “Airport,” she croaked out. “Take me to the closest airport.”
As he drove, she took out her iPhone and opened an airline website. Within seconds, she had a flight booked to Florida. She had a vacation home there, and it would give her the chance she needed to heal. To forget.
When they got to the airport, she tipped the driver and got through security in record time. It wasn’t until she was in the air and she flopped her head back on her seat in first class that she let herself cry. And once she started, she couldn’t stop.
Because it was over.
It was so over
.
Chapter Sixteen
Three days later, Jake sat behind his desk and tossed a stress ball back and forth. His sleep-deprived eyes stung, and he blinked them in an attempt to clear his vision. He was fucking exhausted, and yet he couldn’t sleep.
Every night, he went to Tara’s home and knocked. Every night, she didn’t answer. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out that she’d gone to one of those houses she’d spoken about a few days ago over dinner. He didn’t have a fucking clue what to do without her.
In his empty bed, he kept staring at the ceiling. Replaying their last conversation in his head. Something had happened to him during that short time he’d been in her company again, and it hadn’t been fixed when she walked out of his life. If anything, it had gotten worse. She had broken something inside him. Something irreparable that missed her, needed her, and wanted her back.
He snorted. Yeah. As if that was going to happen.
Reclining in his chair, he kicked his feet on his desk. He had her file open, and had been staring at her photo like a lovesick teenager for the better part of the morning. He missed her so damn much. She hated him, and he deserved her hatred. He’d lied and that was the end of that. She’d never liked liars, and that hadn’t changed about her.
Thief or not, she valued honesty.
The door opened, and his boss poked his head through. He’d been expecting it to be Gordon with an update about his princess assignment, but it wasn’t. “Hey. You’re still here?”
“Yeah,” Jake said, confusion taking hold. Had he zoned out all day long? Shit if he knew. He checked the time. It was only eleven in the morning. Raising a brow, he asked, “Where else would I be? Did I forget about an appointment?”
“No. How you feeling?”
Jake flinched. Last night, he and Cooper had gotten piss-assed drunk, and Jake had spent all night talking about how much he missed Tara. He’d never drink tequila around the other man again. Hell, he’d even called Christine and spilled his guts to her, too. Told her how much he missed Tara, and how he needed to fix it.
He owed her an apology call now, too.
