He turned away from me. His words filled me with a sad sort of glee. At least, I still owned that one privilege, even if he was fucking around.
“And it’s not that kind of medicine.”
It took me a minute to process what he said because he’d said it so low and softly.
“Hayden… are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” His phone buzzed, and he cursed. “I gotta go.”
I got up from the bed and trailed after him, trying to get him to talk to me, but he refused to even look back at me. At the door to the suite, he paused, hand on the knob. His shoulders lifted before his head turned to look at me over his shoulder. The way his eyes skimmed my naked body before he looked me in the eyes.
“Don’t be here when I get back.”
He snatched open the door and left before I could get a word out.
* * *
Gravel crunched in the driveway,yanking me from the memory. My psyche loved assaulting me with memories of all the shit that had gone wrong with mine and Hayden’s relationship. We’d both made mistakes. I just hoped that with us forced to be in the same vicinity we could use the opportunity to fix our shit.
Liam’s luxury sedan rolled to a stop. The dark-tinted windows kept me from seeing who was with him, if anyone was. Liam stepped out and waited at the front of the car as the passenger door opened and Hayden’s tall form unfolded from the front seat.
I breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of him. Now that he was back, I could admit to myself how afraid I was that he’d disappear on me like he had after leaving the hospital and again in Vegas. I had the resources to find him, but I hadn’t been able to bring myself to do so. Every time I considered it, images of seeing him happy with someone else plagued me for days and sent me on a bender that had me swearing off liquor forever. Until the next time, anyway.
I was too far from the driveway to hear what they were saying, but Hayden rounded the front of the car, and the two men turned toward it, gesturing at it. Liam’s clipped laughter drifted through the air around the house, followed by Hayden’s joyful rumble, and I smiled. I could only imagine what they’d said, but with how big Hayden was, he made the car look like a clown car, and not the sexy piece of machinery it was.
They turned toward the house, and Liam’s arm shot up in a wave when he caught sight of me. I groaned when the lighthearted, happy look on Hayden’s face disappeared when he turned to see who Liam greeted.
Hayden stood stock still, and Liam looked between us. He said something then walked off into the house, leaving Hayden standing in the driveway. Even from this distance, I could see his indecision.
When he moved again, it shocked me when he came toward me and not toward the front door. I stood because the man made me feel small enough as it was, and to have him looming over me while I sat didn’t appeal.
He stopped beyond arm’s reach and dragged his hand through his hair. I remembered how much I loved running my fingers through the longer locks when we saw each other last year in Vegas. Looking at it now, if I had to guess, I’d say he’d not cut it since.
Hayden had pulled the long, wavy, glossy, black strands back in a half bun on the back of his head, and the bottom half curled just above his shoulders. It gave him a softer appearance around his face than the badass Marine high and tight did, same as the unshaven jaw. The barely-there stubble framed his full lips, and I swallowed to suppress the sigh at the memories starring that beautiful mouth.
My eyes roamed down his body, cataloging every difference and similarity. In Vegas, I noticed he was less ripped than he had been before the accident, but today, his body was back to its mouthwatering physique that first drew my attention. I loved Hayden the man inside not the body the world saw, but damn me if the eye candy wasn’t nice.
There was one big difference that I so desperately wanted a closer look at. A tattoo peeked out from under the sleeve of the black t-shirt he wore. It was a black and gray piece with some hints of color in a few of the designs. He’d been ink-free when we were together, same with when we were in Vegas, so the tattoo was something added in the last year.
“You gonna say anything or just eye fuck me.”
“What’s to say? Every time I try talking to you, it blows up in my face.”
He made a face then said, “I’m not the one who…”
“Lied. Yes, you’ve mentioned that. Multiple times.”
His jaw popped, and as much as I wanted to continue, I wouldn’t. I’d explained what happened when everything blew up between us. I’d tried again after he came home from deployment, again when he was in the hospital, and last year in Vegas, but he kept shutting me down.
“It’s the truth. You lied, and then you walked away.”
I stared at him trying to work out what the fuck he could possibly mean by that. I hadn’t ever walked away from him.
“Are you talking about the hospital, because if so, you need to head back to the hospital for another fucking brain scan. I showed up in San Diego because you were fucking injured. I only walked out because you forced me out the door.”
“I wasn’t in a position to force anyone to do anything at the time, if you remember. Besides, what were you going to do?”
I ignored the comment about him lying in a hospital bed. I knew nothing I said would make him feel better about the injury or the loss of his military career. So, I focused on the question he asked.
