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But then she shakes her head, that familiar strange confidence coming over her features. “No. You love me. It was love at first sight. Remember how we looked at each other?”
I bite down, wondering why I even bother.
Turning away, I snap, “Have a nice life, Alexis.”
“Wait.”
She darts forward and grabs my hand.
“Oh my God.”
There’s a croak in Callie’s voice as she stands at the gate, peering through the railings. All she sees is me and Alexis holding hands.
How long has she been standing there?
Did she hear me tell Alexis how I want nothing to do with her, how she is the only woman for me?
“Callie, wait,” I say, pulling my hand roughly away from Alexis.
Callie spins and marches away.
I turn and follow her.
Behind me, Alexis laughs.
“See you soon, honey,” she calls.
“No, you fucking won’t,” I growl over my shoulder, stalking after my woman, the only person in the universe I can imagine myself being with.
Fuck.
This is a mess.
Chapter Twelve
Callie
I hustle back toward mom, my heart pounding, sending reverberations through me, each one sharper and more jagged than the last. I try to focus on getting to mom, on her alone, because the second I let my mind stray everything will start to spin out of control.
My fists are clenched tightly, fingernails jabbing into my palms, my breath coming far too fast.
“Callie,” Conrad calls, jogging after me, causing several people to glance over at us in curiosity.
I turn away from them all, striding over to a trellis and standing beneath it, staring up at the vines. Tangled like the anxiety inside me, wrapping around every part of me and tightening, squeezing until I can’t think anymore.
I can’t process anything except for the sight of those panties on the door handle – that woman’s panties – and the way Conrad and that woman were holding hands.
“I’m an idiot,” I murmur, folding my arms.
“Callie…”
He moves to touch me and I slink away, almost snapping at him. The only thing that keeps me somewhat contained is the sound of the crowd behind me. After Conrad darted away, that seemed to break the spell on everyone contained within the assembly zone, and now people are mill around, talking, as the building manager tries to figure everything out.
Still, I don’t want to make a scene.
“I’m an idiot,” I repeat, with more fury in my voice this time. “I let myself believe you felt the same for me. I let myself believe all that stuff you said, about how close we are, about how we’re meant to be together. I let myself believe you, Conrad, and now you’ve… you’ve…”
“It’s not what you think,” he says, walking around in front of me and staring down firmly. “It’s not even close to what you think. Just let me—”
Something buzzes from his pocket and his face drops. His eyes grow cold and a grim tightness moves across his features, his jaw, his temples thrumming like he’s about to let out a howl.
“What’s this?” I whisper.
“My pager.” He laughs in disbelief, reaching into his pocket and taking it out. “And of course I have to go in. Of course, right this fucking second, I have to go in. I’m sorry, Callie. But please.”
“Conrad—”
He darts his hands forward and grabs onto mine, squeezing them tightly, staring at me so his sharp blues burn into me. “Just wait here until I get back. Don’t make me beg you. This isn’t what you think at all, but I don’t have time to explain it right now.”
“They were panties on your door, weren’t they?” I say.
“Yes.”
“Hers?”
He glances toward the exit, probably thinking about his car and the hospital. He has his keys on him, in his suit jacket pocket. He has his pager, everything he needs to disappear for the next few hours. A nasty part of me whispers this is a trick, he faked the pager call.
But I heard it.
I need to try and calm myself down if that’s even freaking possible.
“Yes. But I can’t explain it all now. On my mother, Callie, I swear you’re the only woman I want. Wait for me.”
His voice gruff and demanding toward the end, a note of command nestled within the plea.
I laugh bitterly, turning away from him. “Where the heck am I going to go, huh? Fine. I’ll wait for you. It’ll give you plenty of time to think of a good lie.”
I want to whip back the last statement as soon as I throw it out there. It sounds so mean, so cruel as it leaves my lips. But I bite down.
I can’t let myself seem weak right now, and I don’t even think I could say anything else with the tears threatening to surge up my throat, making anything else impossible to handle.
Conrad leans forward and crushes me into a hug. I tell myself I have no choice as he squeezes me against his body, tightening his grip, but the truth is I welcome the embrace. I sink into him, laying my cheek against his chest, listening to his heartbeat against my ear.
