Page 41 of Bad Things Come in Threes (The Rule of Three #1)

Nathan held all our bags and on a normal day, I would try to take one from him but my mind was whirling from all the information I had absorbed. By the time we got back to the inn, I was both annoyed and embarrassed.

I was annoyed that seeing Joseph still hurt me. I was annoyed that Bailey was pregnant and that he was defending her even though they were both wrong. I was embarrassed that I almost cried over the situation and I was embarrassed that both Joseph and Nathan almost saw me cry over it.

I took my key from Bea, ignoring her question about how the walk was because I knew that anything that would come out of my mouth would be pure venom and I stomped up the stairs.

I slammed the door behind me hoping to hear the satisfactory bang but Nathan nudged the door open with his body just before it could slam shut .

He placed the bags on the bed and I waited for him to leave but instead, he took of his shoes and sat on the bed like it was his room.

“The door is that way,” I gestured to it.

“The view of your balcony from the bed is amazing. It’s a lot better than mine if I’m being honest.”

“Why don’t you do us both a favor and pitch yourself over it.”

He brushed off my comment with a dismissive wave of his hand then he crossed his legs and placed his hands beneath his head as he made himself comfortable in my bed.

“Get the fuck off my bed,” I walked up to him and pulled his feet off the bed and instead of arguing with me, he simply put them back off, “I’m not kidding, get out.”

“I’ll leave when you tell me what’s going on.”

If looks could kill he would be six feet under and rotting from the death glare I was sending his way. Lesser men would have cowered but he pretended like I wasn’t even there and sat up straight in my bed.

“I know that was Joseph Greene; the lawyer with whom you had a scandal last month. According to him, you barely knew each other but that didn’t look like a reunion of acquaintances.”

“My personal life is none of your concern.”

“It is when you’re almost crying in the middle of the street because of some rich prick who looks like he came out of a Kleenex ad.” I had never heard Nathan raise his voice until that moment, “You don’t cry over anything and you were one word away from breaking down.”

“I was shocked to see him,” I lied, “That is what happened now, get out of my room. ”

“I heard the conversation.”

My world stopped hearing those four words and I had to take a deep inhale to calm myself. My first instinct was to call him a liar and force him out but I knew that wouldn’t work on Nathan. He is far too stubborn and it would only make him want to ask more questions.

Instead, I stood up straight, squared my shoulders and crossed my arms then I forced every bit of emotion off my face so I was staring down at him blankly. It helped that he was sitting up on the bed and I was standing, that way I could pretend I was in charge.

“So what?” I asked, “We were engaged, big fucking deal. He fell in love with someone else and they’re happy together.”

“Maybe if you keep saying that to yourself then it’ll make you feel better.”

I scoffed in exasperation as his words hit their mark. Suddenly I was tired and I didn’t want to fight with him anymore. I just wanted him to leave but I knew he wouldn’t so I decided that I would.

I turned around to leave but he grabbed me by the elbow keeping me in place. He stood to his feet and I hated the height difference and the fact that I had to look up at him so I didn’t. I kept my eyes directly on his chest so I wouldn’t have to look him in the eyes.

“What do you want from me, Nathan?” I hated how tired I sounded. “I don’t have the energy to fight with you right now.”

“Then don’t fight with me,” he made it sound so simple, “For once would you just admit that you’re not fine.

As much as you like to pretend that you’re this emotional robot, you’re not.

You feel things and when you shove them down, they will spring up in random ways that you don’t expect.

Take your unwarranted hate for this town as an example. ”

“My hate for this town has nothing to do with it.”

“So you’re telling me that you don’t hate small towns because your fiancé cheated on you and left you to move to one?”

Suddenly I was angry. How dare he act like he knew me? He knew nothing about my personal life or my relationship with Joseph and how it ended.

“You know nothing about my relationship and about me.” I spat, “Do not pretend like you understand me because you do not. So do not waltz in here and act like you understand me and have all the answers.”

“I understand you better than you think.”

“That’s rich,” I sneered, “Just because we kissed one time doesn’t mean that you understand me. It was a fucking-,”

“Say the word mistake,” he cut me off, “I dare you.”

We were both breathing harshly and I looked up at him and realized how close we were actually standing.

Our noses were almost touching and we were practically breathing each other’s air at this point.

The air crackled between us like electricity and one of his hands found their way to my waist while the other slowly brushed my cheek.

I let my eyes fall closed in an attempt to regain whatever fragments of my composure that I could. His hand cupped my cheek and his thumb brushed across my skin softly over and over again and against all odds I felt my eyes begin to water.

“Tell me what you feel.” His voice was a sharp contrast to how it was before. It was softer, almost careful.

“I don’t know.”

“All I need is one word. You don’t need to think about it too hard; just tell me the first thing that comes to-”

“Anger,” the word left my lips before I could even process it.

“That’s good; what are you angry at?” I stayed silent because honestly, I didn’t know, “Are you angry at him for what he did?”

“No,” he didn’t respond so I opened my eyes and saw him looking down at me disapprovingly, “Yes, I am. I know I shouldn’t but-,”

“Who says you shouldn’t?” I was so caught off guard by the question that I had to replay it over in my head before I understood what he had asked, “You have every right to be upset.”

“No I don’t,” I shook my head, “He fell in love and I can’t hold that against him.”

“He cheated on you.”

“I know that,” I spat. I took a breath to calm myself before continuing, “I know what he did and didn’t do but he loves her and my anger isn’t going to change or fix anything. What happened has happened.”

“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be angry. He hurt you and it is not out of character for you to allow yourself to be angry or upset.” A tear fell from my eyes and before I could even move, he wiped it away, “Have you allowed yourself to cry about it?”

“Why would I cry over a man?”

“You were going to spend your life with him that is more than enough reason to cry.” A small laugh escaped me before I could stop it and I saw him smile softly illuminating that dimple I had forgotten existed, “It’s okay to cry, everyone does it.”

“Do you do it? ”

“No,” he said quickly and I raised a brow.

“I thought you said everyone.”

“I meant everyone but me.”

In spite of everything that happened earlier I found myself smiling. It wasn’t a fake smile I reserved for the media and fans and it wasn’t the business smile that I reserved for clients and workers, it was a genuine smile and I didn’t feel worn down by it at all.

Nathan stepped back and I found myself missing the heat of his body against me. I cleared my throat awkwardly and turned my back on him so he wouldn’t somehow read it in my expression.

“Thank you,” I managed out, “For everything,”

“It’s all good,” he made his way to the door but paused with his hand on the handle.

I wondered if he was going to turn around and walk over to me. I wondered if he would take my hand and kiss me the way he did in that motel room. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since it happened and I wonder if he has thought about it since then. I did say it was a mistake.

“I’ll be back by 7,”

“What?” I was confused as to why he was telling me when he would be back.

“You need time to process all this and I know you’d rather not do it in front of me,” without another word, he was gone.

I did need to process but thankfully I did not cry. A few drops of tears were all I was going to spend on Joseph Greene. Against my better judgment, I mainly sat in bed thinking about what had transpired between Nathan and I.

I didn’t realize how long I sat there thinking about it until Nathan knocked on my door. He was still in his outfit from earlier and when he saw me he raised a brow.

“Are you ready or do I have to drag you out of bed?”

I was tempted to stay in bed and see whether he would actualize his threat but all the fight in me had worn out so I stood to my feet and allowed him lead me. I wanted to ask where we were going but I also liked the silence that settled around us.

It wasn’t awkward or heavy, it was calm and peaceful and some part of me just wanted to bask in it. My life is always on the go, it is full speed ahead and sometimes I just want things to slow down and relax.

We walked for a while before I saw the large theatre screen and the dozens of lawn chairs around it. Nathan led me to the snack booth where he paid for popcorn, chips and M&Ms. He also paid for the tickets all the while I was just staring at him.

He led us to some chairs off to the side. They were close enough that we could see the screen but far enough that we wouldn’t be disturbed by anyone else.

We took our seats and he placed the popcorn bowl between us but handed me the M&Ms. I thanked him and we sat in silence while everyone else took their seats. Chatter filled the small area but it was like we were in our own little bubble that was undisturbed.

“Do you remember the second time we met?” he asked and I wasn’t expecting the question so it took me longer than it should have for me to respond.

“That was when you poured your beer on me. ”