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Swallowing hard, I tried to like hell not to let my imagination run wild. Dodge was smiling at her, but not like how he had been smiling at me less than two minutes ago. My eyes moved away from them to catch Brice looking at me. Taking a sip of his drink, he gave me a wink. Smiling weakly, I took a chance at looking back at Dodge and what was quickly becoming more apparent, his ex-girlfriend, Sandra.
“Biggest mistake of my life,” Sandra purred.
Kate cleared her throat and began talking to me. “Sierra, Marcy and I have known each other since college. Our families used to be very close. We used to go on these crazy family vacations together.” Marcy and Kate both chuckled.
Clearly she was distracting me from Dodge’s conversation.
Politely nodding my head, I tried not to focus on what Dodge and Sandra were talking about. “We really should go on a family vacation, Kate. Once your treatment is finished.”
Kate gave Marcy a huge grin. “Oh, Marcy, a celebration trip. That would be amazing!”
Oh yay! Maybe they’ll go to the Bahamas and Dodge and Sandra can pick up where they left off.
“Oh, Aaron, dance with me, please!” Sandra said as she pulled Dodge out onto the dance floor. Glancing over his shoulder, Dodge looked at me but Sandra gave him another tug, jerking him closer to her.
Kate and Marcy kept talking about the family vacation and how wonderful it would be to get caught up as I watched Dodge take Sandra into his arms and dance with her.
Attempting to keep a smile on my face, I turned and began looking around. My breathing was beginning to pick up as I tried to figure out how to get the hell out of this room.
How in the hell does this happen? How does he go from telling me he loves me to dancing with an ex-girlfriend? Why did I think he would want to be with just me? The bastard was a damn fucking manwhore for Christ’s sake.
I needed air. Now.
Quickly turning, I made my way to the closest exit. Pushing the doors open, it led to the deck that overlooked the ocean. Kicking my shoes off, I grabbed them and made my way down to the beach.
Stopping at the water’s edge, I held my dress up as I stared out into the dark ocean waters and fought to drag air into my lungs. My heart felt like it was about to be ripped from my chest.
“I’ll always be here for you.”
“Sierra, I’m falling in love with you.”
Lying bastard.
Stupid.
Stupid.
Stupid.
I’m so stupid.
Maybe I’m just cursed when it comes to men. If I had my cell phone I’d text Ryn, Azurdee and Kacey right now and tell them I was forever giving up on men.
Chewing on my lower lip, I let out a laugh. Who the hell am I kidding? I can’t give up on men. I’d never have sex again. Maybe just the occasional one-night stand. Yep. That was my new plan. Fuck all men.
Pressing my lips together tightly, I fought to hold back my tears. When I could no longer hold it in, a sob escaped my lips. Glancing back over my shoulder, I closed my eyes and shook my head.
Looking back out over the water, I knew he wouldn’t be there. He found new eye-candy. How easy it was for him to just walk away from me.
Asshole. He probably said all of that just to get into my pants. The trial would come and go within the next week. Maybe he saw this as his chance.
Taking in a deep breath, I looked back up at the clubhouse. Shaking my head, I reached deep down inside and headed back up. I’d find Brice and tell him I needed to get back to Austin and leave.
Yep. That was my plan. As I formulated how I would get back to Austin, I headed back to the party.
Stopping at the door, I took in a deep breath as I stepped back into the room. I instantly saw Dodge . . . with her. They weren’t dancing, but the little slut had Dodge pinned deep in a conversation. They’d be perfect together. Two blood-hungry lawyers.
I hope Princess bites the shit out of the slut.
Pushing through the crowd of people, I headed out of the room. The air hit my face as I gasped for a breath. I hadn’t realized I had held my breath the entire time I made my way through the ballroom.
A hand took a hold of my elbow and I jumped. Turning, I saw Brice standing there.
“Mr. Walker . . . I mean . . . Brice. I was feeling tired and . . . well . . . I was going to see about getting a cab.”
Smiling, Brice walked me to the end of the sidewalk and lifted his arm. A limo came driving up as I practically sighed out loud in relief. “Mr. Dante, my assistant, is still at the house and will let you in.”
Nodding my head, I stepped into the limo. Brice leaned in and gave me a fatherly smile. “Sierra, men are fools. We don’t think or see things the same way women do. God cursed us with this fault.”
Smiling, I fought to hold back my tears. Damn it all to hell. I hated Dodge for making me such a pansy-ass.
“Well, I’ve come to learn that all men are pretty much the same, Brice. If a prettier girl walks into the room, they tend to follow like the dogs they are.”
Brice grimaced. “Ouch. Spoken like a woman scorned.”
Shrugging my shoulders, I leaned closer to Brice. “I’m tired of playing games, Brice. I’m in love with your son and I’m tired of denying it. Clearly he doesn’t feel the same toward me and I need to accept that. We just need to make it through my case, and I know deep down in my heart that Dodge . . . I mean Aaron . . . is going to pour everything he has into winning it. I’ve never been more confident. But my coming here this weekend was a mistake.”
Shaking his head, he chuckled. “Someone needs to bash both your heads together. Sierra, I knew the first time I saw the two of you together you had feelings for each other. My son loves you, Sierra. Please don’t give up on him.”
Looking down, I whispered, “The fight in me is gone, Brice. I’ve tried like hell to keep it alive . . . but . . . I can’t.”
Brice placed his finger on my chin and brought my eyes to his. “No, Sierra. That is one of the things I admire about you. I see that fight in your eyes. I saw it the moment you set foot in my office and I see it now.”
A tear slowly rolled down my cheek. “If only I felt it.”
Brice dropped his hand and shook his head. “My son is about to get his ass kicked.”
Letting out a giggle, I wiped my stupid tears away. “I’m just tired, Brice. Tomorrow will we go over the case? I’d like to head back to Austin as soon as possible.”
Nodding his head, he smiled. “Yes. We’ll get you ready for Robert’s lawyers. Don’t you worry. Go rest, Sierra. I’ll let Kate know you weren’t feeling well.”
“Aaron, too?” I asked.
“Yes, after I kick his ass.”
Laughing at the sound of Brice swearing, I slid further into the limo as Brice told the driver where to go. By the time he was pulling from the country club, tears were streaming down my face.
I hate you, Dodge. I hate you for making me feel weak.
SANDRA FINALLY GOT THE HINT I was not interested in striking up anything from our past. I’d been frantically looking for Sierra for the past twenty minutes. I had tried to keep my eyes on Sierra while Sandra kept her death grip on me while dancing. I’d seen her go out on the deck, and then I lost her.
Em was walking by and I quickly grabbed her by the arm. “Hey, big bro. What in the hell where you doing with Sandra earlier? Where is Sierra?”
Looking around the room, I said, “What do you mean what was I doing with Sandra earlier? Listen, I don’t know where Sierra is and I really need to find her. The last I saw her was before I danced with Sandra and that was almost an hour ago. Where in the hell did she go?”
Em’s mouth dropped open. “Are you for real right now, Aaron?”
My eyes dropped back to Em. “What do you mean?”
Rolling her eyes, Em looked away and let out a sarcastic laugh. Looking back at me she said, “Okay, let me lay this out for you, big brother. You were dancing pretty close with Sierra right before the
evil Sandra showed up, right? It looked like you were both in a pretty deep conversation. From where I was standing, things were heating up with y’all. Am I right?”
Pulling my head back, I glared at Em. “I’m not talking to you about that, Em. That’s just fucked up.”
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Em said, “Whatever, Aaron. It was obvious. You were making a move on Sierra and then guess what happened?”
Waiting for her to answer, I motioned for her to continue. Rolling her eyes again, Em said, “Oh my gosh, are all men just stupid? I mean, are all of you so damn blind?”
“Em! What happened? Where is Sierra?”
Placing her hands on her hips, Em slowly shook her head. “You made a move on the one and only girl I’ve ever seen you look at like she was your next breath. Then you walked away from her and spent the next twenty minutes or so talking to an ex-girlfriend who couldn’t seem to keep her hands off of you. You just left her, Aaron. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sierra left.”
