Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 120631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 603(@200wpm)___ 483(@250wpm)___ 402(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 603(@200wpm)___ 483(@250wpm)___ 402(@300wpm)
“You should call your brother.”
“I’m not worried about Greyson right now. I just care about you.”
She stood, leaving him on his knees, and turned to gather her keys. “I’m not your worry anymore.”
He bolted to his feet. “What do you mean?” She was already walking away. “Jocelyn!”
When she reached the door, she turned and looked at him with such regret it knocked him back a step. “It was fun while it lasted, Soren.”
“Jocelyn, wait!”
He rushed after her, prepared to chase her down and tell her that walking away wasn’t an option. They didn’t quit on each other, but as he flew out the door, he slammed directly into Logan.
“Move!”
“No.” His brother planted his palm on his chest as Jocelyn retreated down the street.
Soren flung his arm away. “Get out of my way.”
Logan squared up, making it clear Soren would have to go through him if he wanted to get past him.
“What’s your fucking problem?” Soren snapped.
“You! You don’t get to stand her up, stand Grey and Wren up, and everyone else, and then bulldoze in here and make it all about you. You’re only making more of a mess, and she’s already had a hard enough day.”
“Logan,” he said through gritted teeth. “Either get out of my way, or I will fucking move you.”
“Try. I dare you.”
He met his brother’s eyes, seeing a side of him he didn’t know.
“She doesn’t want you to follow her, Soren. If you can actually put someone else’s feelings before your own for once, you’ll respect that.”
His body hummed with the urgent need to go after her.
Every part of him needed to fix this. Now. But what if Logan was right? What if he was only making more of a mess of things? Maybe she just needed time to cool off.
Breath unsteady, he debated.
Logan slowly lowered his arm. “Go home, Soren. Your dog misses you.”
“Fuck off.” Soren spun, storming in the opposite direction of where Jocelyn had gone, back to his rental, unsure if he was doing the right thing or the absolute worst. Hating the fact that he had never been so unsure or scared.
When he got to the car, the gravity of the situation settled over him like an avalanche. He might have permanently fucked up one of the best things he ever had.
CHAPTER 17
“WELL, THIS AINT OVER, NO, NOT HERE. NOT WHILE I STILL NEED YOU AROUND.”
The house was too quiet.
Soren had been restless since being sent home six hours ago.
“Not now,” Soren bit out as King approached with his favorite toy. The dog halted mid-stride, for once, obeying a command.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and stared at it, scrolling back through the messages he’d received while he’d been trapped at the golf course. Trying to understand why she couldn’t talk to him, hear him out.
I need you.
Soren!!!
Fish emergency. Half the menu’s dead.
His head dropped in defeat. He hadn’t been able to focus earlier when he should have been reading between the lines. Maybe he’d been too preoccupied with the jet situation, or maybe it was Warren’s constant observation that made him not realize the damage he was doing.
Each text tightened like a fist around his heart.
He’d been playing golf. Playing fucking golf while she was drowning. She had every right to be mad at him.
Sliding past his last text, his lame apology, he opened her contact and called her again.
“This is Jocelyn. Leave a message. But if you want a response, text.”
Soren hurled the phone across the room. “Fuck!”
This couldn’t be the end of them. He refused to accept that she could walk away like this. He loved her, and he thought she loved him.
She didn’t have to say the words for it to be true. He felt it every time she touched him, every time he caught her staring. The way her gaze lingered, and when her lips parted every time he held her. Every time he gave her a safe space to be fragile.
He swore to protect her, and he’d done the exact opposite, letting her down and not showing up when she needed him. It took so long to finally build her trust, and now that trust was broken.
Somehow, he would get her to understand this was a once in a million mistake and he would never let anything like this happen again. If she wasn’t going to pick up the phone, maybe he should just go there. Fuck what Logan said.
His intensity was what drew her in, after all, but it also had a way of scaring her off. He knew her, which was why he’d done his best to handle obstacles without involving her. His approach had worked fine until it didn’t.
How the hell was he supposed to predict getting stranded in Newport?
Closing his eyes, he recalled how she looked, sitting alone in the restaurant. There had been no life left in her eyes, no real emotion on her face. She’d looked…empty.