I sat up, my back going ramrod straight. “Who said anything about love?”
She side-eyed me. “That tone in your voice did.”
“I—”
She held up her hand. “No sense in denying it. Whatever, maybe you’re not ready to admit it yet. Maybe it’s not love yet.” She shrugged. “Still, you’ve been moping around this office, snapping at our employees all week. Stop taking this mess out on us and go and find that man and apologize.”
My pride wanted me to tell Tanisha she had it all wrong. That I didn’t owe Luke an apology for a damn thing. I could easily twist the facts around and hold firm in the words I’d spoken to Luke as soon as he found out. That Ihadn’tlied.
A lie of omission is still a lie.
He was right. No, I hadn’t verbally expressed a non-truth, but I wasn’t totally forthcoming about my motives either. Yes, I knew Luke wasn’t the trusting type, making it all the more necessary that I should’ve been honest from the beginning.
“Where’re you going?” Tanisha questioned when I stood and began gathering my phone and my purse from the drawer of the desk where I kept it during working hours.
“To find Luke.” He’d been avoiding his gym all week. Had turned off his phone, and even had told Lenny to tell me to screw off when I called him trying to get through to Luke.
“Good. Hopefully, you’ll show up here in a better mood tomorrow.”
I ignored Tanisha’s comment because I was already figuring out which location I’d check first. Stopping at the gym wouldn’t make the most sense since he hadn’t been there in days. If I couldn’t find him around town, my last alternative was to try to get ahold of his brother, Jacob, and see if he knew where Luke had gone. Maybe he was in Williamsport.
The fact that within the span of the five minutes it took for me to get from my office to my car parked in the building’s garage, I’d begun moving my schedule around in my head to make room for a trip to Williamsport should’ve baffled me. However, I was determined. Tanisha was right.
I did love hard. And, while I wasn’t ready to confess to actually beingin lovewith Luke, I could admit to caring for him. At the very least, I did owe him an explanation. I hoped when I found him, he’d be open to hearing me.
Chapter 27
I’m Sorry
Luke
“What?” I barked into the phone as I answered.
“Mr. McConnell?”
“Yeah.”
“This is your driver, Sean…” the man said into the phone.
I released a breath and cracked my neck as he told me that he’d be in front of my door in twenty minutes for my pickup.
“Yeah, thanks,” I murmured right before hanging up. I tossed the phone back onto the bed next to my suitcase and continued packing.
The previous five days were spent either laying low at my house or at the apartment I kept downtown. I’d never brought Syd to that place and when my own home started to remind me of the times she spent there, I went to the apartment.
I’d done everything to forget thinking about Syd. I’d blocked her number, stayed away from the gym, ran miles and miles on the beach to exhaust myself and nothing, not a damn thing worked. Hell, I even found my sorry ass at the Peach Pit, thinking that would do it. Yet, my mind kept comparing every chick I came across to her. It wasn’t enough to get my shit together.
Finally, I made the decision to hightail my ass out of California for a little while. I had just under three weeks until the Rodriguez fight and I couldn’t focus on training. Time away would do me some good.
“Ouch. The fuck,” I growled when a sudden loud banging on my front door caused me to drop my suitcase on my damn foot. Luckily, I already had my shoes on. Snatching my cell phone from the bed, I tucked it into my pocket before heading for the door. As I raced down the steps, the knocking turned to the sound of my doorbell ringing throughout my house.
“For fuck’s sake,” I growled, ready to curse this driver out for being so damned demanding on my door. “What the fuck is your issue?” I said as soon as I snatched the door open.
Before me, Syd’s eyes bulged in fear and surprise. My heart lurched against my chest and I tightened the hold I had around the doorknob.
Syd quickly rebounded from her surprise and she shoved me aside to make room to enter. I stood there for about two seconds, staring at the now empty doorway.
“You’re letting all the cold air in.”
