Two hours of sleep was all I’d managed. Every time I’d closed my eyes, I’d seen her under me, arching toward my mouth. I’d felt her hands in my hair, tasted her on my lips.
One fucking kiss, and I was addicted.
I’d also been a royal asshole and wrecked her yearlong relationship. He was wrong for her anyway, but I hadn’t exactly made it a smooth exit for her. What if she didn’t exit?
I stopped that thought before it could consume any more of my head. She couldn’t go back to him, not after the way she’d reacted to me—us. What if you’re the only one who felt it?
“Shut the hell up,” I muttered to myself. Great, now I was losing it.
The number on the dashboard clock changed, and I headed for the front door, a single peony in hand. My stomach turned over, and my palms dampened as I rang the doorbell.
“Hold on a second!” Morgan’s voice was muffled through the door.
Don’t puke. It took forever for her to get to the door. Her brown hair was in a messy knot at the top of her head, and her eyes were rimmed red.
“You look like hell.” The words were out of my mouth before I thought. Shit. “I’m sorry. I mean, you look like you need a good night’s rest?”
“Well, aren’t you just the example of chivalry,” she drawled with arched eyebrows. “Lee isn’t here.”
I checked again to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. “Isn’t that her car in the driveway?”
Morgan looked past me. “Yes, but she’s in Birmingham for the weekend.”
“What is she doing in Birmingham?”
“Treating a broken heart.”
My stomach clenched. “Is she alone?”
Morgan shook her head, and a part of my soul threatened to shrivel up. “No, but she’s not with Will, either. Her mama is up there with her.”
“Oh, thank God. Are you trying to kill me?”
She ripped the sunglasses off, and her eyes narrowed. “Kill you? Kill you? You might be the biggest bastard to walk the planet at the moment. I get it, you’re hot, and she was hooked from the minute you walked down that beach. And sure, you’ve got that whole savior thing going for you, but you ripped her whole world apart in ways you know nothing about. So yeah, maybe I feel, as her best friend, I get to give you shit.”
Damn. She didn’t pull punches. “I didn’t plan it. I mean, yeah, I’ve thought about it pretty much since I pulled her out of the water, but I respected that she was in a relationship. But then I found out it was Carter, and I couldn’t not fight for her. Not when every fucking cell in my body screams out that she belongs with me.”
“Just…” She sighed. “Ugh. Jagger, give me that. I’ll deliver it.” She took the flower and then hauled her bag out of the doorway. She locked the door and then turned to me. “Look, we both know they were horribly wrong together, but that doesn’t mean that they knew it. Yesterday morning, she would have married him if he’d asked, and you eviscerated that whole future.”
“By kissing her.”
“By existing. Lee isn’t typical—”
“You don’t have to tell me that. She’s extraordinary.”
“Shut up and listen.” She jabbed her finger at me. “She doesn’t let people in easily, and until now, she hasn’t had to. She’s had me, who’s known her basically all her life, and Will, who watched her grow up. Will, who may treat her like a child, but he’s a great guy and he’s sure as hell there to pick her up when she needs it. You took that from her.”
As if I didn’t feel like shit already. Well, the part of me that wasn’t ready to hurl from the excitement of just having a chance with her. But yeah, the other part of me? Shitty.
“So you’d better be ready to step up, because she doesn’t need some little flyboy. She needs a man strong enough to handle his own shit and carry her.”
What was I missing here? It was something she wasn’t going to tell me—I’d have to hear it from Paisley. At that moment, resolve unfurled within me, stretching from my chest through my appendages, until it reached my fingers and toes. I felt…strong, capable, and determined.
“Let me worry about Paisley. I can handle more than you can imagine.”
She pushed past me, headed to her car. “That’s the easy answer, Jagger. Think about it, and if you’re not ready to stand up, don’t show up. She’d be better off without you.”
She didn’t bother to say good-bye, just threw the bag into her trunk and took off.
A thread of hope wove itself around me. If there was one thing I hated, it was being underestimated. I could do this. I could be with Paisley, tackle anything for her. Flight school was tough, but my grades kept me neck and neck for top of the OML. She wasn’t going to be a distraction; if anything, she was my incentive to prove myself.
Dropkick Murphys sounded, and I pulled out my phone, holding my breath. The Seattle number sucked away any hope that it was Paisley.
“This is Jagger.”
“Mr. Bateman?” The female on the other end had that tone, the one that preannounced bad news.
“That’s me.”
“I’m calling about Anna—”
“Yes?” My stomach dropped, and I braced my hand on the side of the Defender.
“I’m so sorry, sir, but I need to tell you she walked out this morning. She’s gone.”