A knock at the door drew her attention.
“It’s Will. Can I come in?”
She rolled onto her side and wiped her eyes. “I need some time,” she said.
The silence on the other side of the door was heavy.
“Okay,” he finally said. “Want me to send Sienna or Blair up?”
“No.” She sniffled. The act of talking was too much in her state.
As Will’s footsteps faded, she pulled up the covers around her and buried her head in her pillow.
The next thing she knew, she’d drifted off, her mind weary from all the back-and-forth. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep by the time she heard the second knock.
“Yes?” Emily croaked.
“May I come in?” a deep voice said from the other side of the door.
Emily sat up and dragged her fingers under her eyes. “Yeah.”
The door opened, and Patrick took a tentative step inside the room. “Everyone’s out at the pool,” he said. “I’ve just finished packing my things. I can heat you up some dinner before I go.”
“Thank you. I’m not hungry,” she said, forcing a smile.
He gestured toward the bed. “May I?”
She nodded, and he sat on the edge, the mattress dipping with his weight.
He chewed on his lip and then, on an inhale, said, “Look, I didn’t mean to?—”
“I know,” she jumped in, guessing what he was about to say.
His blue eyes found hers. “You have a lot to deal with. I don’t want to make things more difficult. I can drop off cooked food each evening until you leave, so I don’t get in the middle of things.”
“You don’t have to do that. I’m a big girl. I can handle this.”
He leaned on his knees. “Had I known your situation with your ex wasn’t resolved, I wouldn’t have been so forward. I’m sorry.”
She put a hand on his bicep. “It is resolved.”
“I don’t think it is. I think it feels like it is.” Patrick stood up, and her hand dropped to the bed. He looked at her, something lingering on his lips.
His chest rising and falling steadily, he finally said, “I’ve got enough guilt without adding home-wrecker to the mix. I think it might be better to keep my distance.” Then those eyes, heavy with thoughts, landed on her. “It would make it easier for you…and for me.” With that, he turned and left her alone.
She wanted to stop him, to bury her head in his strong chest, but she knew better. He was right. Leaving would be hard enough. Better to make a clean break now before they got any deeper.
TWENTY-SIX
Emily wasn’t sure when she’d fallen asleep for good. But she’d been out all night, the mental exhaustion pushing her into a deep sleep. She hadn’t left her room the rest of the evening. As far as she knew, Will hadn’t tried to come in again, nor had Sienna or Blair. She rolled over to see the slip of morning light peeking above the horizon and tried to decide if the heavy night’s sleep had given her any better perspective, but she was still just as confused.
She pushed the covers off her legs and went into the bathroom. Smudges of makeup streaked her face, her sundress was wrinkled from sleeping in it all night, and her hair was knotted on one side. She stared at her unsightly reflection. With no clear answers still, she turned on the hot water in the shower, letting the steam fill the room.
She slipped off the sundress she’d never changed out of and stepped under the stream. As she lathered her hair with shampoo, her life with Will flashed before her like a slideshow. She recalled their better times together. He’d taken her out for a nice dinner in Nashville for Valentine’s Day with Blair and Rocko, and they’d laughed so hard at something she couldn’t remember now that she’d almost spit her wine all over the table.
The next slide was Rocko—a tall, broad, imposing man—looking on last night with quiet awkwardness, when he used to make her laugh whenever she and Will double-dated with him and Blair. Tyson hadn’t been much better. He kept shifting, full of discomfort as Sienna squeezed his hand. Wanting to get their faces out of her mind, she rewound the clock, attempting to focus on better times.
She dipped her head under the water. The shampoo slid down her back as she ran her hands through the strands, the memories coming relentlessly.
