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Chapter Twenty-Eight
Bella
My hands ranalong the cool metal of the balcony’s railing as I stood staring down into the interior courtyard. Since the building was a square, each apartment looked into the center garden area. It had been a selling point for Ashley when she got the place.
Now that Brendan was finally back to sleep and I had showered, I headed out to the balcony to relax. I debated turning my phone back on, but I wasn’t ready to talk to Rhett yet.
Goose bumps traveled up my arms, causing a shiver. Even though it was May, my sleep shorts and a tank top weren’t warm enough for the cool night air. I grabbed my sweatshirt from the chair and sat down after covering my arms.
“Wine?” Ashley asked as she stepped onto the balcony, holding two glasses of blush-colored liquid.
“It’s like you read my mind.” I hoped it would calm my nerves enough to let me sleep.
“Ready to talk about it?”
“Not really…”
She chuckled. “Well, too bad.”
“I told you what happened when I got here.”
“Yeah, you did.” She sighed and then went on. “But now that you’ve calmed down—”
“He called Brendan an interruption and implied he didn’t want him there! I have every right to be pissed—”
Ashley held her hand out, stopping my rant.
“Iknowyou do. But,” she paused and took a sip of her wine, “I mean, Bella, how many times havewetried to have a conversation either on the phone or in person and B interrupted more than a dozen times?”
“Yes, but every time we just picked up our conversation where we left off. Rhett doesn’t usually have an issue with it.”
“Right… so what does that tell you?”
“That tonight he decided he didn’t want to do this whole thing anymore. That Brendan just became too much.” I blinked furiously because as soon as I said the words, my chest cracked open all over again.
Ashley rolled her eyes. “Or that he wanted to talk to you about something important and got overwhelmed with the amount of interruptions.”
I swirled the wine in my glass, purposely avoiding meeting her eyes. “Then why’d he let me leave?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Because he’s anidiot?”
We both laughed and sat quietly, drinking our wine. I was lost in my thoughts. Maybe Ashley was right and Rhett just needed twenty minutes of my time and attention without being interrupted. I dreaded having to work with him the next day after the way we left things.
I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache starting. Glancing over at Ashley, I noticed her eyes were closed.
“You look as tired as I feel.”
“I’ve been pulling double shifts at work because the doctor told Barbara she needs to take it easy so she doesn’t rupture another disk.”
“Yeah, Jackson said she isn’t making it easy and is trying to do too much. When is her surgery?”
“After the holidays, during our slow season. That way, I can manage the events on my own.”
I needed to get some sleep, and apparently, so did Ashley. Hopefully, for the sake of everyone, Barbara would cooperate so she didn’t injure herself more.
I yawned. “That sounds like a good plan. I guess we should both head to bed.”
As I lay in bed next to Brendan snoring softly, I considered turning my phone back on; hopeful Rhett had texted.
