He nodded his head, and in seconds, he, Ellie, and I were running toward his car, and we drove off immediately. Dawson was speeding while my heart was thudding loudly as I gripped my seat tightly.
“Fuck! His mindlink is closed. Is he gone a long time ago?”
“No. He just drove off, but he was speeding off too.”
Dawson didn’t answer, and Ellie, who was sitting beside me in the back seat, took my hand, squeezing it tightly. “Are you okay?”
I shook my head, and she smiled weakly at me. Her hand flew to my cheeks as she wiped away my tears. “It’ll be okay. Dawson said Trent is a good guy and very responsible, like you. I’m sure you just need to talk things over.”
I nodded my head. “He asked for a chance, but he left before I could make my decision.”
“Will you give him a chance?”
“I see him now. Hold on tight, I’ll overtake him.” Dawson’s voice stopped me from replying to Ellie as we held on to each other and to our seats tightly.
And then the car halted, our bodies jolting forward but being held back by our seatbelts. Dawson managed to block Trent’s car, forcing him to stop as well.
It was Dawson who stepped out of the car first, but he didn’t close his door so I was able to hear Trent.
“Move. Or I will drive over your car. I just want to go home.” Trent’s voice was painful to hear.
When I opened the door on my side, his gaze went to me. His mouth was open as if he wanted to say more to Dawson, but he closed it as he stared at me as I made my way to his car.
When he realized I was aiming to reach him, he stepped out of his car and stood beside it, biting his lips as he slipped his hands into his pockets, probably to steady himself, but I could hear his heartbeat. It was as loud as mine.
This is it, Bella. Don’t cower now.
Between Ellie and me, I was the risk-taker, and I never backed down from any challenge, but the thought of Trent hurting me was terrifying to me.
My lips curled into a smile. I wiped my tears before I offered my hand for him to shake. “Hi! My name is Bella.”
He let out a nervous chuckle before he let a smile grace his beautiful face and took my hand, shaking it gently without taking his gaze off of me. “Trent. My name is Trent.”
“Can we start over again?” I asked, trying my best for my voice not to sound broken. It was my turn to bite my lips out of nervousness.
“Can we forget that you heard bad things about me and start to get to know each other?”
I nodded my head, and he took my hand into his mouth. He peppered my knuckles with kisses before he closed his eyes and held my hand on his cheek.
“Thank you.” His voice was almost broken.
Words got caught in my throat, and he might have felt my nervousness. He opened his eyes and cupped my face, wiping my tears with his thumb.
“Would you like to have lunch with me, Bella? Just the two of us?”
I nodded. “That would be nice. But can we take it slow?”
He smiled at me again, and my heart felt like it would jump out of my chest. “Yes. We’ll take it slow. At the pace you want.”
Chapter 92
NADIA.
After the commotion withBella and Trent a few days back, the packhouse was back to normal. Riley’s family flew back to Atlanta on a private plane the following day so that Bella wouldn’t miss her exams.
I had no idea that Riley had a private plane, which he said he barely used. I guessed there were things I still had yet to learn about my mate. But other than that, I had no complaints.
Riley and I went back to our routine. While he worked today, I visited the day care centers around with Beta Dominic trailing me.
