Garrett steps between us, not even blinking at the phone cameras pointed in his face. “I’m the man who’s done letting you treat Annie like she’s nothing. You talk to her like that again, I’ll show you what nothing feels like.”
The silence is deafening. I can’t breathe.
Elliot tries to act unfazed, but even in his candy-colored, rhinestone-trimmed suit and with his lifted chin, he looks like a yapping dog going against a wolf. His voice squeaking as he’s grasping at control. “Annie, don’t be stupid. If you walk out, you’re done. You’ll never work in this city again.”
Garrett steps closer, his large frame swallowing Elliot whole. His voice is like thunder, eyes blazing, every muscle in his body tight. “You ever talk to her like that again, I swear to God, you’ll regret it. You don’t get to threaten the woman I love and get away with it. As a matter of fact, I don’t even want you saying her name. She’s worth a hundred of you, and if you ever make her feel like a piece of shit again, I’ll make damn sure it’s the last thing you do as a so-called man.”
Garrett’s fists clench at his sides. “This is your only warning. Keep your mouth shut about Annie. You don’t own her…you don’t own shit.”
Elliot shrinks, eyes wide, his spine now pressed flat to the wall. No one in the room can doubt who’s in charge now.
Garrett looks at me, voice gentle, soothing my panic. “Annie. You don’t have to stay here. You don’t have to take this shit anymore. I’ll be everything you need. Hell, I’ll even move to this miserable city. I’ll learn to love overpriced coffee and people if it means I get to wake up beside you every day.”
He’s here. He came for me.
Wait…did he say he loves me?
My heart pounds so hard I think it might explode out of my chest. “Are you serious?” My voice is shaking. “You’d give all that up for me?”
He cups my cheek while his thumb wipes away my tears. “You’re worth it. But I don’t want you miserable. I want you to be happy. God, Annie, I just want you…whatever that looks like.”
I look at Elliot…fuming, lips gone thin, already plotting his next cruel jab. Then, I look at Garrett, who’s standing in front of me, with his heart wide open, raw, and terrified.
“I just… I’m not sure if I can do this, Garrett. I’m scared. I’ve never wanted anything like I want you, and that terrifies me.”
He smiles, looking hopeful, and so goddamn beautiful. “I’m scared too, Annie. I’m scared of being alone again. I’m scared you’ll leave me. But I’d rather risk my heart than never see you again.”
I’m crying, sobbing, and laughing all at once. “Garrett, you barely know me. We literally just met like three days ago…”
“Technically four and a half…but who’s counting.”
“Apparently, you are. I don’t know…this is all too much. I need some time. I just…Please, I need to wrap my head around this. I need to figure shit out.”
He nods, but there’s a wildness in his eyes, something fierce and desperate. He steps back, hands up in surrender. “Fine. Take your time, Annie. I’ll give you that; it’s going to be hell for me, but I respect you and your wishes. But don’t think for a second I’m giving up on you…on us. You’re mine, and I’ll wait as long as it fucking takes. Even if I have to prove it to you, I’ll show you…I’ll make you see it if I have to.”
Without another word, not even an embrace. He walks away, his broad shoulders rigid with everything he’s trying not to say. As the distance grows between us, a cold emptiness washes through me, like he’s taking a vital piece of me with him. The noise and lights of the party blur and fade; everything that mattered to me before is now meaningless. All I feel now is the echo of his absence. I’m empty and hurt, like I’ve been hollowed out from the inside. I never knew it was possible to miss someone this much while they’re still in the room.
My hands won’t stop shaking. I stand there, eyes burning with tears, until I can’t take it anymore…I turn and run out of the ballroom, pushing past startled faces, not caring if anyone sees me falling apart. I find the first empty bathroom I can, slam into a stall, and finally let the tears fall. Sobs wrack my body. I’m a mess…makeup streaked, shoulders heaving, breath coming in ragged gasps.
I fumble for my phone, hitting call to the only person who I feel is truly a friend and would understand.
Aubrey picks up on the second ring, her voice instantly concerned. “Annie? What’s wrong?”
“I…I don’t know what I’m doing,” I choke out, trying to hold myself together, failing miserably. “Garrett showed up in Charlotte, Aubrey, at my job. I’m at a work event tonight. He…how did he even know where I was? You know what, it doesn’t matter. He came. He stood up to my asshole boss. He told me he’d move here, or I could move there, whatever I want. He said he’s not giving up on me, and he meant it. God, he meant it. He even said he loved me, Aubrey! What the hell am I supposed to do with that?”
Aubrey sighs. “He came storming into the diner this morning, Annie. Lost as hell. Half-naked, wearing two different shoes, yelling about you like the world was ending. I had to drag him into the kitchen before he went completely apeshit and caused an even bigger scene. He looked like a crazed madman.”
I cover my mouth, holding back another sob. “Why do I do this to myself? Why do I always run when something feels real?”
There’s a pause, then Aubrey continues, “You know Garrett’s best friend, the one I was telling you about…well, ex-best friend?”
“Yeah.” I sniff.
Aubrey’s voice goes rough, like she’s trying to hold her own emotions together. “Clint was also my fiancé. When all that shit went down between him and Garrett, he left me, left town, left everything. I promised myself I’d never let anyone in again after that. It hurt so bad. DoI still feel that way? No. Because I realized afterward, Clint and I would have never worked. At the time, I didn’t realize how toxic our relationship was. He didn’t respect me; he didn’t value me the way Garrett does you, Annie. Ever since that night at the diner, when you two came in, I knew the moment I saw the way that man looked at you, even when you didn’t notice…Garrett Hall was head over heels in love.”
I rest my head against the cool stall, mascara dripping onto my hand.
“Letting yourself love someone, Annie, means risking that they’ll walk out and rip your guts out. But you know what hurts more? Not taking the chance, shutting yourself off, watching someone you care about give up on happiness because they’re too afraid.”
