But he isn’t there.
Luke has had enough. He wrenches the microphone out of Kristen’s tentacles. “Give me that bloody thing—”
I don’t hear the rest.
I escape.
Mallory’s hand reaches for me as I stumble past. “Elsie, I’m so sorry. Are you okay—”
But I dodge it. She’s not my friend. If I have any friends in this town, they aren’t in this room.
I push open the restaurant door and blindly fumble along the wall until I find a spot where no one can see me. Salt air burns my lungs, but no matter how many gulps of air I suck down, I can’t breathe.
Kristen broadcasted my secrets for everyone to laugh at without my say-so. This was supposed to be the one place where Ethan’s name means nothing, and I can just beme. Now I have to face the fallout. How long will it take for the gossip to spread through the rest of the town?
Slow steps carry through the silence of the parking lot. Sawyer’s head hangs low, and when he stops a few feet away, his eyes lift, haunted.
“Elspeth, huh?” The smile that twitches on his lips is a sad one.
“Absolutely no one calls me that except my parents.” And they only call me that when they’re disappointed in me…which is a lot lately…
“But Whitehall… People used to call you that?”
“For a few years.”
He nods. “I waited around. I wanted to see you up there. Make sure you have someone in your corner if you get nervous.”
“You’re a good man.”
Another nod. “Was your husband? Probably not with the stories about the models…and the money…and all that… Were you goin’ to tell me the full story?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
I drop my eyes to my wringing hands. I don’t know. Never? We’re close, but…are we? We’ve known each other for a few months. We kissed. I guess we have to be close if his face was between my legs not even an hour ago.
“Does Luke know?” he asks.
“He does now.”
Sawyer holds my gaze. Does that answer make it better between us…or worse?
“And the two of you were…together?”
“Sort of.”
“Fuck, Elsie. Come on. Tell me straight. You slept with Luke?”
“Yes.”
“Are you still?”
“No! Of course I’m not. Sawyer, there’s nothing going on between Luke and me anymore. We’re not even friends. There has been no one else in my life like that since that day at the wharf. I only want you.”
His reaction isn’t what I hope for. He acknowledges my words with another dip of his chin. “I’m goin’ to head off.”
“You don’t want to talk?”
