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Trent used more force than necessary on the bottle cover and it flew across the counter before it hit the wall. “She moved out last week.” He ignored the discarded cover and took a gulp from his bottle.
“What did you do?” Jake asked with no hesitation. “Don’t deny it. I know you. If she moved out you must have screwed something up.”
Trent didn’t deny his cousin’s allegations. “That would be putting it mildly.” Before Jake could question him again, he went on and changed the subject. “Where’s Charlie??
??
“Atlanta at a medical symposium until Wednesday. I thought I’d visit you for a few days and then go see my nephew.” Jake worked at pulling the label off his beer bottle. “So what did you do that made Addie leave?”
So far he’d come up with no ways for winning her back and her cousin hadn’t had any ideas. Maybe Jake would have some suggestions. “I used her.” He took another swig of beer to moisten his dry mouth. Then Trent shared everything with Jake from how they first met to how she’d discovered the binders in his desk. As he shared the information, it again struck him just how cold and heartless he’d been.
Across the table Jake shook his head, his mouth in a tight grim line. “Christ, Trent, what were you thinking? I’m surprised she didn’t hit you when she found out.”
Her walking out of his life hurt more than any physical punch ever would.
“Sara said she warned you about Marty. Too bad you didn’t listen.”
He’d forgotten all about his conversation with Sara and her warning about Marty. He wondered what Marty had done in the past. “Right now that’s a moot point.” Maybe someday he’d make inquiries; for now he had more important matters. “I’ve tried everything I can think of, but she wants nothing to do with me. I don’t suppose you have any useful ideas on how I can fix this mess.”
Jake studied him. “Do you love her or do you want her back because of the election?”
“You have to ask? I brought her to Callie and Dylan’s. I had her move in with me. Hell, the night she walked out I proposed.” His cousin’s doubts about his intentions cut him deep. Jake more than anyone else should know him better.
“I figured as much, but I wanted to check.” Jake fell silent again as if deep in thought. “If I were in her place, it’d take a hell of a lot more than flowers and an apology to give you another chance, so you need to think big. Even then, I wouldn’t blame her if she said forget it and moved on, especially given your reputation.”
Although Jake only voiced the thought he’d had himself, the urge to punch his cousin took root. “Thanks a lot,” he said his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Trent’s sarcasm didn’t seem to bother Jake. “Come on, Trent. Put yourself in her shoes and then think about it.”
Even if he agreed with his cousin, he had no intention of admitting it. “Something big? As in expensive big?” If it would help, he’d buy her the most expensive gift he could find.
Jake walked away as he shook his head. “That’s not what I meant.” He pulled another beer from the refrigerator. “Want another?”
Trent nodded. He’d more or less known his cousin wasn’t referring to a big expensive gift. That would be too easy. “I need to make a big emotional gesture, right?” He said even though he already knew the answer.
He must have made a pained expression because Jake laughed at him as he handed him his beer. “You screwed up big time. Did you think a simple solution would magically appear? You need to prove to her that you love her. That you would give up anything for her. You need to shed some blood in order to fix this one.”
At the moment he wanted to shed some of his cousin’s blood. “How did you patch things up with Charlie when she left you?” Although now married and very happy by the looks of it, Charlie had broken up with Jake a few months into their relationship.
“Believe it or not that wasn’t my fault. Actually it wasn’t either of our faults. Rather it was misunderstanding. She misinterpreted something she saw and jumped to the wrong conclusion. After a while she figured that out and came to me.”
Trent guessed Jake gave him the condensed version of events because Charlie didn’t strike him as the type to jump to conclusions.
“Going by what you told me, Addie didn’t misunderstand anything and every one of her reactions was justified.”
Trent put down his bottle of beer. “I need something stronger tonight.” Between his meeting with Marty and now his conversation with Jake, he needed something that would help him forget for a little while. A few shots of his favorite cognac would accomplish the job.
As he hoped, three extra large shots of cognac combined with the beer relaxed him enough that for the first time since Addie left his thoughts didn’t remain fixed on her. In fact, the only thing on his mind was his bed. So not long after he finished his third drink, he left Jake watching television and headed upstairs. He’d managed to stay awake long enough to strip off his shoes and shirt before he fell into his cold empty bed. Thanks to the cognac, however, Addie’s absence on her side of the bed didn’t register, and within minutes he was asleep.
Unfortunately, he didn’t stay asleep. Whenever he drank more than he should he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, but he never managed to stay asleep. He assumed it had something to do with how the alcohol affected the brain because it always happened and tonight was no different.
The clock on the nightstand read two, and Trent stared at the ceiling wide awake. With the effects of the alcohol gone, his brain registered the empty space where Addie should be. As he examined the ceiling, he thought back to his conversation with Jake. He needed to make a grand gesture. Proposing would be considered such an act, but he couldn’t do that. Even if she hadn’t already said no, she’d take it as part of his plan for fixing his image. No, it had to be something else. But what? Damn, he wished he could just buy her a gift and win her back that way. He could come up with half a dozen gifts without even putting any thought into it. He knew that method would never work with Addie.
Come on Sherbrooke, you’re intelligent. Think of something. Maybe if he focused on what his gesture must accomplish that would help. Whatever he did must prove that he loved her for her, not because she made him look like a decent guy. It also had to prove she came before everything else, including his political career. Slowly an idea formed. By the time the clock numbers read three, he believed he had it. Now he needed to see her. What he had in mind couldn’t be expressed in a text message or over the phone. Considering the fact she never returned his phone calls, getting a one-on-one meeting might prove impossible.
Turning onto his side, Trent punched his pillow. Today he’d try calling again. If she didn’t answer he’d stop by her house. It may take more than one trip, but eventually she’d let him in if for no other reason than to tell him to stop bothering her. Once they were in the same room he’d put his heart on the table and hope for the best.
***
