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Saint’s dark eyes glowed with anger. “I was trying to impress you,” he spat. “I didn’t want to go off on them, making you think that I was an asshole or a guy that didn’t know how to be decent to women.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I told you that outside the restaurant.”
Shaking my head, I didn’t want to rehash our argument from that night. Turning back to Lulee, I said, “Look, whatever happened between me and Saint that night doesn’t matter. What matters is how you lied to me, Lulee. You lied to metwice.”
“I didn’t lie to you,” she denied. “I really did want us to have one last vacation together.” Cree came up behind her, then put his hands on her shoulders, presumably showing her his support like he was supposed to. “And I never told you that Saintwasn’tcoming.”
“You’re trying to play semantics with me again, and that’s bullshit, Lulee,” I fired back. “Lying by omission is still lying.” I let out a deep breath, doing my best to calm down. “What was your plan once we got to the retreat?”
“Hey, the cashier is starting to check us out,” Cree said. “How about we get going before she calls the cops or something?”
Then Saint said something that had my emotions even more twisted up. “Why don’t you and Lulee go on without us? I can go back inside and see if there’s a car rental place anywhere nearby. I’ll take Verity home.”
“Yeah, fine,” Lulee huffed, all of us clearly upset and letting our emotions get the best of us.
I looked over at Saint. “That’s not necessary,” I told him. “I’m a big girl. I can find my own way home.”
Saint’s hand latched onto my arm hard enough to make me wince. “Look, I get that you think I’m an asshole, but you are out of your fucking mind if you think that I’m going to leave you here to make your own way home. Even if I wasn’t stupid over you, I still wouldn’t let you do that. I wouldn’t leaveanygirl stranded anywhere to find her way back home.’ Letting go of my arm, he added, “Plus, you’re the only reason that I agreed to go on this fucking trip, so without you in the picture, there’s no point in me going anyway.”
No one said anything for a bit, but it was clear that Saint’s honesty needed to be addressed. Again, the only person at fault here was Lulee, and…and I honestly had no idea what the right thing to do was. Lulee deserved for us to go home, but then what?
Letting out a shaky breath, I said, “That’s not necessary.”
“I’m not leaving you!” Saint thundered, and that’s when I knew it was time to rein this bullshit in.
“That’s not what I meant,” I told him carefully. “I just meant that…I’m fine with going to the retreat. I just…the sooner that we get there, the better.”
“Good,” Cree said. “Now let’s get going before that damn cashier comes out here.
Before I could say anything more, Saint grabbed my hand, then pulled me towards the back seat of the car. Opening the door, he escorted me inside, slamming the door before making his way to the other side. Cree and Lulee quietly got back in the vehicle, and the tension was palpable enough to be uncomfortable.
Grabbing my tablet, I stuck my earbuds back in my ear, opting to go back and lose myself in my audiobook. When all else failed, books were my escape, and there was just something hopeful about knowing that your literary journey was going to end up with everyone happy.
It wasn’t until we were a few miles past the gas station that Saint reached over, grabbed my leg, then placed it over his lap. When I looked up at him, he was staring down at his phone, scrolling through whatever social media app he was on.
When I tried to pull my leg back, his strong fingers curled around my ankle, holding it tight, and rather than start up another fight, I went back to staring out the window, trying to ignore his thumb running back and forth over the skin above my sock.
An hour later, with his thumb still rubbing my skin, I finally realized that Saint was in this for real.
Chapter 7
Saint~
Two hours later, we were finally turning off on the dirt road that led to Amity Expectations. As I looked around, the place really did remind me of every horror movie that I’d ever seen, and I could admit to feeling a bit apprehensive about its location.
Nevertheless, the fact that Verity was still letting me hold her ankle hostage was enough to make me endure the remoteness of it all. The closer that we got to the retreat, the more that I was convinced that no one under the age of fifty came here. If our phones worked out here, I’d be surprised.
“Isn’t it perfect?” Lulee gushed.
“Perfect for what?” Verity asked as she stuffed her tablet and earbuds back in her purse.
“Don’t be like that,” Lulee chided. “I know you’re still upset, but don’t take it out on this beautiful retreat.”
Verity’s blue eyes shot my way, and she looked…troubled. Granted, she had every reason to still be upset, but she didn’t look upset to me. She looked…concerned, but I had no idea why. Yeah, the place was a few miles from the main road, but if you were the outdoorsy type, the area really did have a lovely scenery about it.
“You okay?” I mouthed.
She nodded, lying to my face. “Yeah,” she mouthed back.
As soon as we pulled up to the retreat grounds, the check-in lobby was front and center, and it looked exactly like I had imagined it to look. Huge letters that spelled out Amity Expectations were positioned on top of the roof, flowers everywhere. However, the building actually looked sturdy and modern, no log cabins here.
