Cathy nodded. "She said you were often out of touch but to leave a message if I needed a callback."
Perfect. She was perfect, and I fucked it all up. "If you have any questions, please call. I won't be on the mountain, so I'll have good coverage." Without waiting for her to answer, I shoved my feet into my boots and doubled back through the living room, where I found Rosalee's phone wasn't where I'd left it.
She took it.
I started calling her before I even made it to my truck, and at first, it rolled right to voicemail, which made me think maybe her phone had died, but the fourth call rang and rangbeforeit rolled to voicemail, and that gave me hope. "Rosalee, it's Xavier. Call me back. Please."
I drove for nearly an hour, calling her nonstop like her crazy-as-fuck ex had, but I needed to talk to her, to apologize and let her decide if she still wanted to walk away. I would, of course, do everything in my power to make her want to stay, but I needed to find her first.
"Hello?" I picked up the phone, my heart racing. "Rosalee?"
I was met with silence and then familiar laughter. "You fucked it up, huh?"
"Nate," I growled. "What do you want?"
"As charming as ever, I see." He laughed again, and my hands clenched the steering wheel tighter. "This is a friendly reminder that you haven't responded to any of Mom's calls and she's coming to see you."
"What? When?"
"Don't know. She said something like if the mountain man won't come to his mother, then she'll have to go to the wannabe mountain man."
"Nate," I growled.
"That's what she said, Xavier, and that was two days ago."
With a grunt, I pulled into the parking lot of one of the many roadside diners that lined the Interstate and pinched the bridge of my nose. "You're just telling me now?"
"Got tied up in meetings all day yesterday," he explained. "But you're welcome foranyheads-up when we both know it would've been far more entertaining to let her ambush you."
"Yeah, yeah, thanks, Nate. You're a real gem." I looked around the diner parking lot and spotted a familiar vehicle. My heart sped up as my gaze scanned the inside of the diner and landed on familiar blond waves. "Holy shit, Nate, I gotta go."
"Wait, what's going on? How did you screw up with Rosalee?"
"I screwed it up bad, but I'm getting ready to fix it. Call you later."
"Good luck, and call if you need my expert advice."
"Thanks, but that's like asking a drowning man for swimming lessons," I laughed and stepped from my truck. "And thanks for the heads-up. If you hadn't pissed me off with your news, I would've driven past this place." With those words, I ended the call and made my way to the diner doors. One deep breath later, I stepped inside to find that the empty booth seat opposite Rosalee was now occupied by the man in the photos with her.
I saw red.
My hands curled into tight, angry fists.
Neither of them had spotted me yet, which gave me the advantage as I closed the distance between them.
"How did you find me?" she asked the man who was trying to grab her hands.
"I have my ways, babe." He was even smarmier than I imagined. "Now that you're available, I have a ticket back to Miami with your name on it."
I smiled and slid into the empty space beside Rosalee, wrapping one arm around her shoulders before I smacked a kiss on her temple. "Sorry I'm late, babe. Did you order yet?"
Rosalee stiffened beside me before she relaxed and gave me some of her weight. She wasn't happy to see me—that much was clear when her honey-brown gaze met mine—but she was willing to do whatever it took to get rid of her ex. "Not yet. Got an unwanted distraction."
We both turned to face the idiot who'd been too stupid to hang on to this incredible woman. "Something we can help you with?" I asked, one brow arched to let him know I wouldn't take any shit.
The man's mouth opened and closed as if he couldn't find his words. "What are you doing here?" he asked when he finally found them.
"Having a late breakfast with my girl. The better question is, what areyoudoing here?"
