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Diane huffed. “Well, at least shower. We’ve got a benefit to attend and you need to be ready in an hour.”
“I’m not going,” he grumbled like a petulant child.
“It’s a benefit for a charity you’re on the board for, you have to. Also, I put you forward as an auction item. People can bid to win you for the day, it’ll be fabulous!” She clapped her hands excitedly.
“Then they’re gonna be disappointed.”
“The Jenkins’ daughter will be there. Maybe if she won you, you might get out of this funk and-”
“Jesus Christ, I’m heartbroken, Mother!” he shouted. “I’m not getting over this, don’t you understand? It’s not what you do when you love someone, and they don’t love you back! You don’t just go to a party or get a new suit or an extra round of fucking Botox. You sit and be miserable and do nothing except think about that person until you’re broken all over again from torturing yourself. Until your soulhurtsand your body is weak and you can’t eventhinkabout your next breath. So no, Mom. I don’t want to go to an event. I don’t want to shower and get dressed up, and I sure as shit don’t want to meet another woman.”
There was silence as his words hung in the air around them. “Now can you please leave so I can cry and then hit something and then watch a sappy movie? Thank you.”
She didn’t say anything, just stared at him with an unreadable expression on her face and he turned back toA Castle For Christmas. After a moment the clack of her heels against the marble floor signaled that she was gone.
Will didn’t cry. He didn’t have the energy for that. His phone beeped with a new message and he lazily glanced at the screen.
Dean:No word on if you’re coming to the wedding?
Beau:I know you’re busy but Blake would love you to be there.
Blake:If you don’t come, I’ll hunt you down and fucking kill you.
Blake:So, I’ll see you next week.
Blake:Dick.
Will wanted the ground to swallow him whole. He couldn’t do this right now. More people wanting things he couldn’t give because he only wanted one person to need him, and she didn’t. He didn’t think he could be in the same town as her and not beg her to love him. His phone beeped again and he growled, silencing it but not before he saw the message.
Beau:You came here for salvation once before, maybe you’ll find it again.
Chapter 26
Rebelle ran around the shelter, trying to get through all the people waiting to ask questions. Her volunteer, Stacey, had to go home early with the ’flu and Rebelle thought she could cope on her own but she was wrong. Once again she realized that relying one hundred percent on herself just wasn’t possible. She needed help and there wasn’t anything wrong with that.
She had learned now that it was okay to ask for help, that asking for help made people stronger. If only she’d realized that much sooner, maybe life wouldn’t have been so hard, maybe she would have achieved her progress with the shelter a bit quicker.If you had, you might never have met Will...The thought stopped her in her tracks. Maybe she was on the path she should have been all along.
Ben and Kayleigh turned up, ready to look at the new bunny that had come in. A cute little black lion-haired female. Ben took one look at her and declared her perfect for Geralt and filled out the Purrfect Match form.
That made three adoptions just today and Rebelle’s heart filled with pride. Her fingers reached for her phone to message Will and tell him the good news. She opened their chat but stopped. She scrolled through the messages she’d sent and the one word replies she’d received and her joy was doused.
She had thought that he cared about her, that he would always put the shelter first and any personal stuff that happened between them second. But the way he was behaving suggested he couldn’t put the shelter first, and it hurt her. She wanted to share the highs with him, and the lows. She wanted him to be here by her side, but he’d chosen a different path.
“And constantly wishing him here doesn’t make it happen,” she mumbled to herself. She put her phone away and continued running around like a mad woman until the crowd thinned and she’d gotten on top of things.
When it was quiet, she heard the roar of an engine, the blast of loud music and hope lit her insides on fire. She rushed to the entrance of the shelter, eager to see if it was him, if he’d come home to her.
Disappointment crushed her when she saw it wasn’t him. Although she was confused, was that really hismother?
She watched Diane step out of the white Bugatti in her big, hopefully faux, fur coat, her glasses perched on her head, the smooth forehead not belying a single emotion. She tottered over to Rebelle and looked about her, dismissively.
“Diane, what a pleasant surprise.” Rebelle would be polite to Will’s mother if it killed her.
Diane just looked down at her and then gestured inside. “I’d like a tour, please.”
Rebelle blinked in surprise, shocked that the word please had come from her mouth. She bit her cheek at being ordered around but complied. She showed Diane the cattery that reminded her so much of Will she could hardly bear to be in it sometimes. Past the dogs to the office that had been built. She took her outside in the cool winter air and outlined her plans for expansion.
“I want to see the dogs again,” Diane declared.
