“Let’s just go,” Georgia snaps up at me. “I don’t want to be here any longer.”
I nod, unable to think of anything to say. Part of me wants to chase Robert down and punch him for the way he talked to his daughter. The other part of me—the one driving my brain at the moment—is stunned and really fucking ashamed.
I knew I shouldn’t have done this. I knew I shouldn’t have crossed this line.
But how did he know we were sleeping together?
“Did you tell him?” I ask Georgia as she falls in step beside me to my car, which is parked along the curb.
I turned around to come find her because I wanted to spend more time together. I saw Robert pulling Georgia out by her elbow, and I knew I had to do something. “It’s okay if you told him.”
She shakes her head and lets out a sigh as I open the passenger door for her. “He guessed it. I probably gave it away, though. I… I thought he was in Italy. I was shocked to see him…”
I shrug, fighting the urge to be angry, though not sure at who. “I did too.” I can’t come up with anything else to say. Mystomach knots up as I open my own door, and I catch sight of Robert tearing out of the parking lot.
Fuck, I’m going to have to deal with him at some point.
But I have no idea how it’s going to go, and before I do, I’ll have to figure out what the answer is to this… thisthingwith Georgia.
She clicks her seatbelt in place and falls into silence as I navigate back to the yacht. I still have errands to run, and as much as I know we need to talk about everything that happened today…
I need time to process all this first.
I shouldn’t have let this happen,I keep thinking.If I had had the self-control to justnotsleep with her, none of this would have happened.
A few minutes later, I pull up along the curb and put the truck in park.
Georgia closes her eyes, lets out a sharp exhale, and then turns to me. “I take it you’re not coming back to the yacht?”
I hate the frustration I see in her eyes. “No, I’m not. I’m sorry. I still need to run those errands.”
She nods. “And I’m not invited to go along.”
I swallow hard. “I think it’s best right now if we aren’t seen together in Charleston.”
“Got it,” she says, tipping her head back. “Of course.” She shoves the door open.
I reach for her arm before she slides out, stopping her. “We can talk about this after dinner tonight.” My voice comes out sterner than I intend, and she winces.
“Yeah,” she mutters, pulling away from me. “Sounds great.” Her tone is entirely flat as she gets out of the car.
“Georgia—”
She cuts me off with the slam of the door.
“Fuck,” I breathe out, watching as she storms toward the yacht, pulling her blonde hair up into a ponytail. I watch her walk away, feeling an urge to run after her—to kiss her and tell her that I’m really sorry for how this is going…
But I don’t.
I have to break this off tonight. I have to tell her it’s over.
And that’s exactly why it’s best not to follow my goddamn heart.
It’ll be much easier for her to move on if I’m not playing the hero and consoling her. I shake my head as she disappears from view.
I should’ve known. I should’ve never slept with her.
And I should’ve never let Emmett talk me into this being a good idea.
