Page 38 of Broken Boundaries

“Yes, but I’m watching you. Don’t try anything stupid, little Calloway.”

Zach rolls his eyes and follows behind me. I don’t take him to a private room because I don’t want to be alone with him. Instead, we stand off to the side of the lobby, clearly visible by Jazz… just in case. I know I don’t know her all that well, but I one hundred percent trust that she would have my back if I needed it.

“What’s up?” I ask, ready to get this over with.

“I wanted to see how you are. You haven’t returned my texts or calls.”

“That’s because I don’t want to talk to you, Zach. I thought that was obvious.”

“Aspen, please. I’m so sorry for what I did. It was such a stupid mistake. I miss you so much.”

“I don’t want your apologies, Zach. You can’t take back what you did, and I will never forgive you.”

He sighs, and his shoulders slump in defeat. “I know. I’m an idiot. I don’t deserve you, but I’m not going to stop trying to prove my love to you, Aspen.”

“I’m telling you there is no point in trying.”

“I don’t believe that. I know you haven’t forgotten what we had, and I know I certainly haven’t. I made a mistake. We have a future together, I know it, babe. I want you to be my wife, the mother of my children, my partner.”

“It’s not gonna happen.” Honestly, it makes me sick just thinking about it. I could never commit to someone who betrayed me the way that Zach did. I’m embarrassed that I even considered marrying him at one point.

He smirks at me. The same confident smirk that used to give me butterflies but now just makes me feel gross. “I’m not giving up, Aspen. I’ll wait however long it takes. So, where are you staying?”

“That’s none of your business.” It’s bad enough he’s showing up at my job. The last thing I need is him showing up unannounced at my cabin.

“You’re really not going to tell me?”

I shake my head. “I’m really not.”

He slowly nods his head. “Alright. I see how this is gonna go. You’re gonna play hard to get. That’s alright. I can handle it.”

“Everything ok over here?”

I’m startled by the sound of Brooks’s voice. He looks from me to Zach, concern clear in his eyes.

“Hey, Dad. Yep. All good. Just talking to my girl.”

“I am not your girl,” I snap.

“She’s playing hard to get,” Zach says, like I’m a child making a joke.

I sigh and wonder if he’s always been this annoying and I just chose to ignore it. “No, I’m not. I don’t want you to win me back, Zach. We’re done.”

I turn and walk away from them, grabbing the flowers as I pass the desk. With their eyes on my back, I shove them in the trash and keep heading down the hall to the offices. As I walk away, I hear Jazz say, “Hell yeah!” which brings a smile to my face.

I sit down in one of the empty offices and hold my head in my hands. After a few minutes, I hear footsteps and hope to god it’s not Zach. I’m really not trying to play hard to get. I want him to leave me alone. He can go be with whatever girl he wants now. He’s free. I don’t care anymore.

“You alright?” Thankfully, it’s only Brooks.

“Yeah, just annoyed that he showed up here unannounced. This is my job. That’s just embarrassing.”

“I think he was just worried. He said he hadn’t heard from you.”

“That’s because I don’t want to talk to him!” I snap, and then immediately feel bad for raising my voice at Brooks. “Sorry, I didn’t mean⁠—”

He raises his hand to stop me. “Don’t even worry about it. I get it. I told him to leave.”

My shoulders deflate. “I’m sorry, Brooks. I know you wanted him to come back to the ranch, and when he finally did, you had to tell him to leave. I feel terrible.”