“And what if I don’t?” I shot back at him. “Are you going to rescind the job offer after I worked my ass off to earn it? Or make me pay back the money spent on Winston’s vet bills and my roof?”
He blinked at me silently, like he was shocked I’d suggest it. I swore I could see the wheels turning in his brain as he formulated a response, and I could tell by the hard set of his jaw that it wasn’t going to be pretty.
“Might not be a bad idea, if you refuse to finish out this commitment we agreed to.”
My body was flooded with white hot fury.
“Are you … do you really think … why would you …” I couldn’t find the right words and I hated that I sounded like an idiot.
“Emilia, calm down, put the damn ring back on, and get back out there.”
“Iamcalm,” I shrieked at him.
He pursed his lips at me. “So I see.”
We stared at each other in silence. The room was now feeling way more claustrophobic, and even though I wanted to get far away from Andrew Ashford, Certified Asshole, there was still a part of me that hoped he’d come to his senses and admit that what we’d shared was worth fighting for.
That Iwasn’timagining our connection.
I was still clutching the ring so tightly that I probably had grooves in my fingertips from it. I saw him glance down at my hands then back up at my face.
“Well?” Drew demanded.
I straightened my back and held my left hand in the air. I slipped the ring back on then briefly flashed the finger at him, so quickly that he probably thought he imagined it.
“Good,” he said with a nod. “This fucking nightmare of a wedding is almost over. After tomorrow you won’t have to worry about me, but for now the charade continues.”
He held my gaze for a beat longer and I did my best to strangle any remaining hope from my body. When he finally strode towards the door and it clicked closed behind him, I knew without a doubt that we were done.
26
DREW
This wasn’t the silent treatment, it was a total ice-out. Emilia refused to even look at me for the entire drive home.
She’d disappeared into the house without a word, leaving me to try to figure out what was going to happen next. More cold shoulder, or a knock-down fight? I couldn’t get a read on the situation, but whatever was going down, I knew for a fact that it wouldn’t be good.
We had one more day to get through, and then everything was supposed to get better. All the stress and strain would be gone. The wedding from hell would be in the rearview mirror, and we’d finally relax and enjoy ourselves in a way that we hadn’t been able to ever since we’d met.
But it looked like that plan was out the window now. Or at least… it was severely altered. Because in one more day, the weddingwouldbe over, and that weight would be off our shoulders. But there’d be no relaxing or enjoying ourselves. Not together, anyway. Not anymore.
The disorienting throb behind my eyes made me feel like I wascoming down with something. I refused to believe it was anything more than pending illness.
It certainly wasn’t regret.
Was I abrupt with Emilia? Maybe a little bit, but in that moment, I was twisting myself in knots to try to hold everything together. Her pulling off her ring and making a whole scene was the absolutelastthing I’d needed to deal with tonight. It was just further proof—as if I’d needed it—that relationships always went sour. And when they did, they screwed everything up.
Not that we’d had a real romance. Not really. We’d always known that there was an expiration date. And if I’d been fool enough to let myself forget that… well then, shame on me. I should have known better. I’d just gotten so caught up in all of it. For a change I hadn’t been overthinking. I’d been content.
No. I’d beenhappy.
But still. Deep down I knew that the crash landing we were experiencing was a given.
I poured myself a drink and walked out to the yard to chat with my confidant. As always, Winston beelined for me when I stepped into his enclosure.
“Hey you,” I said softly. I sat down in the grass, not caring that I was still in my suit. “How’s life?”
Winston walked closer and swung his head back and forth in front of me, like he was inhaling the details of where I’d been.
