Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 108974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108974 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
He went silent for a moment, his head down, and when it came up there was a weariness in his eyes. “I don’t know if that will work. I think those sharks scented blood in the water.”
She hated the fact that his imagery was so grim. And accurate. “They’ll find something else to amuse them. I promise. I’ll talk to all of them. I’ll give so many interviews they’ll be bored with me.”
“And then they’ll think we really did it to get attention,” he concluded.
“No, they’ll think I did it to get attention because we won’t be seen together anymore.” She’d known earlier in the day that it would likely come to this. The minute her mom had shown up she’d known deep down her time with him was almost done. “Once they get some pictures of me and Gavin around town, they’ll forget about you. I promise.”
His jaw tightened. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Do what? Work with the man I’m being paid to work with? Hang out with the guy who’s been my father figure most of my life? I can’t stop living because people choose to misunderstand. I can’t stop caring about someone when the press pushes a more interesting narrative.” How had it all gone to hell so fast? Her mother had warned her, but the idea of not seeing him again made her heart ache.
Couldn’t she have one thing for herself? One thing that was just for her, that she didn’t have to share with the world? She still wanted these days with Major. She wanted them more than she’d wanted any role.
“They’re going to say it no matter what you do, huh?” Major asked.
“Now that the spotlight is back on me, yes.” She was in for a couple of nasty weeks. She would have to turn off the comments on her social media for a while. And not watch live TV. And not look on the Internet. She turned in her seat. “But the heat will be off you and your dad. That doesn’t mean we can’t see each other. There have to be lots of places for us to be alone together. I can’t stand the thought of not being . . . friends.”
She was pretty sure she wanted to be more, but she also couldn’t put it out there. She felt vulnerable in a way she hadn’t in a long time. She had a pretty thick skin. She had to, but she suddenly understood how hard his rejection would hit her.
“I’m sorry, Brynn. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Yes. There it was. There was the pain that shouldn’t be so strong since she hadn’t known him long. There was the rush of sorrow she’d hoped wouldn’t come. She felt herself flush and those tears were back. He didn’t want to see her. She was too much trouble. Most of the men she’d dated would have jumped at the chance to get some attention from the press, but then they had all been actors.
No normal guy would want to go through what she had to go through.
She nodded, determined to get through this with her dignity intact. As much as it could be. She’d been intimate with this man and while she understood, the rejection still hurt. “Okay. Well, I’ll do those interviews and keep you out of it. I’ll also keep my distance. Maybe Roxie can work different hours than you.”
“Brynn, I . . .”
She didn’t want to hear all of his it’s not you, it’s me, when it was clearly her. She popped the seatbelt off and opened the door, sliding to the ground below. “Thanks for showing me around.”
She grabbed her bag and shut the door. The path to her cabin was illuminated with garden lights.
She heard a door slam and then Major was behind her, his hand on her arm, twirling her around. He pulled her close, those big arms wrapping around her.
“I don’t want to leave you, but I have to take care of him. I’m sorry, baby. He’s the only family I have left in this whole world, and I can’t fail him. I can’t.”
The tears started to fall because she’d only been thinking of herself and not what he needed, what he was feeling. His father was dying, and she’d thrown more chaos his way. She hadn’t meant to, but she had. He wasn’t rejecting her. He was choosing his father. The way she would choose her mom or sister.
She held on to him, letting her head rest on his broad shoulder, and she wished that she was a different person. She wished she was simply an artist who’d met a deputy because then she might have been able to hold his hand through this. She might have been a strength for him instead of a weakness.