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By the time he landed, he'd finished the bottle. He got off his plane and into a limo, and he was driven home. He scowled as they went, feeling his mood shift from anger to just downright rage. He even managed to break an arm rest when he was jostled at a red light.
Who was she to decide something so quickly when they hardly knew each other? They went on one date. One date! How could she call it quits already?
Things could change. She might change her mind after a few dates and decide it was the life for her.
They had everything they needed for this to work. They slept together. They had a spark. God, just being near her made him hard. He just didn't understand.
When he got home, he left his bags at the door and wandered into his den. He flipped on his computer, needing to take his mind off her.
He filled another glass of scotch as he waited for his chess game to load. He figured forcing his mind to think would help him clear it.
He glanced over the players and picked the hardest one. Not because he could beat them, but because he wanted to punish himself.
His anger slipped away, and he frowned, realizing it wasn't because they didn't go together. It was the simple fact she wanted one life, and he wanted another.
She liked living her life working and reading while he enjoyed basking in the sun after no work and enjoying a cocktail on some foreign beach. They were quite different.
He didn't understand how his mate, the person that was made for him, wasn't going to be with him. How had he finally found her only to lose her so quickly?
He couldn't be mad she wanted to stay at her work. He couldn't be angry about that. She enjoyed her job, and she loved it with a passion. He could tell when she talked about it.
But he also knew he could never give her what she wanted. He couldn't give up his jet-streamed lifestyle for her. He'd get bored and restless too quickly, and he'd come to blame it on her.
As much as he liked her and as much as he wanted her, she wasn't worth that. His mate wasn't worth his sanity.
He moved his piece in the game, losing for the fifth time. He finished his scotch, unable to even see the screen right. He figured he should head to bed. There was nothing more he could do anyway.
TWELVE
ELLIE
For the first few days after returning home, Ellie felt secure and determined about her decision with Mason. It was only as time kept moving on and she still did not hear from him that she began to have doubts.
Days turned into a week, which came and went without a single whisper of contact. Ellie had to admit by this time that she was disappointed.
Mason was so commanding and powerful, so used to getting what he wanted. She hadn’t thought he was the type of guy to give up so easily.
As her disappointment grew, Ellie scolded herself for the self-indulgence. She didn’t want him chasing after her constantly … then she would have to turn him down over and over again.
We’re just too different. If I don’t make this decision now and stick to it, then both of us will be wrecked even worse in the long run.
He had clearly moved on, and Ellie knew that she should too. It saved them the heartache of a real breakup, and it should be a relief that he took her at her word and didn’t try to change her mind.
So why do I feel so miserable?
The week was especially difficult because Ellie was still on a break from work. She told herself that everything would be fine once she returned to her routine.
Even though a whole week had passed since she’d been with him, Ellie found Mason intruding on her quiet moments. While she got ready for work, she could almost hear his voice. As she got dressed, her skin tingled, remembering where he’d touched her and how wonderful his hands felt.
Ellie tried not to let these thoughts distract her, but they just kept coming. She could almost hear his voice, smell his clean scent. As she gathered her things and left the house, Ellie felt like she was running from a great shadow that now loomed over her life, casting darkness over every day of her future.
What if no one ever touches me like that again?
There was something about Mason, something that made him impossible to forget. She was so excited when she was near him, yet he calmed her too. As if with him, she was truly safe in a way she had never been before.
Ellie tried to shake off her melancholy all the way to work. Over and over, she repeated the reasons why this was all for the best.
He doesn’t want to settle down. He can’t give up his lifestyle. He doesn’t like my quiet little town … and he gave up the moment I told him it was over. He can’t have been that interested.
