Page 7

As I walked out of the bathroom, Olana shut the hotel door. “Who was that?” I asked, drying my hair with a towel since I changed in the bathroom.

When she turned around, I bit my tongue so hard I tasted blood.

“Why the hell are you wearing my shirt?” I stalked over to her, wanting to rip it off.

The collar.

Britt and everything we did last night flashed through my mind when I looked at that shirt, and Olana was tainting it. Like she did everything in my life.

Clutching the edges of the collar, she glared at me. “You don’t expect me to answer the door naked, do you?”

Funny. When I took that shirt off last night, I’d planned to never wash it again. Now all I wanted to do was burn it.

“That’s odd,” I gritted out, clenching my hands. I was close to kicking her out in that shirt, and getting rid of her forever. The only thing stopping me was the possibility that Britt might see her, and I doubt she’d believe me if I didn’t get to explain why Olana was here first. “You were wearing your clothes from last night when I got in the shower.”

A horrific thought crossed my mind. Had she gotten naked to try to join me?

Olana’s smile faltered. “I just wanted to feel a little more relaxed. A lot happened last night.”

“Tell me about it,” I grumbled, walking past her and kicking the sheets out of my way. Not only did I miss a night with Britt, but I had to sleep on the floor even though I’d paid for a damn king-sized bed.

I picked up my phone, expecting to see messages from Britt, then remembered the battery was drained and I couldn’t find my charger.

Anger coursed through me, as the longer I looked at that shirt, the more I thought about Britt. I should’ve been with her last night, showing her all the ways I planned on cherishing her for the rest of our lives. Instead, I was stuck in my room, arguing with a woman who thought she could blackmail her way back into my bed.

Britt hadn’t come down to find me after I left her half-naked. As annoyed as I was about that fact, I was thankful she hadn’t seen the shitshow of an argument Olana and I had.

Britt would understand. Once I explained what happened, she’d forgive me. We were in it for the long haul, after all.

Once Olana was asleep, I tried to go back to Britt’s room, but in the haze of everything that went on, I couldn’t remember her floor or the number, so I went down to reception and asked for it, who were reluctant to give it to me. Even telling them she was my wife didn’t make them budge. With no paperwork or a ring on my finger, they didn’t believe me. The fact she was registered single to the room didn’t help either.

“You look really good, Ben.” Her voice was frail, as though she was trying to make herself sound more innocent than she was. “I haven’t seen you dress up like that in years.”

I ignored her, straightening my shirt before snatching my phone and my wallet. The battery might be dead, but I wasn’t planning on leaving it anywhere near Olana.

“I’m going downstairs for breakfast,” I said as calmly as I could.

Olana rubbed her belly, stepping toward me. “Oh, what a great idea. I’m starving.”

Flat-lipped, I raised my hand. “I didn’t say you were joining me.”

Her jaw dropped, and honestly, I was getting pretty tired of the innocent act she was trying to pull. “Matty, I’m pregnant. I need to eat.” She glared at me with surprise.

Olana’s hand rested on her belly, then I noticed what was on her finger. My jaw clenched, and anger coursed through my veins.

“Why are you wearing my grandmother’s ring?”

She lifted her hand, inspecting it as though she wasn’t the one to put it there. “Oh, this?” She frowned but made no attempt to take it off. “I thought it looked nice and figured it wouldn’t fit on your fingers, so what harm would it do for me to wear it?”

“It’s a family heirloom.” Why I still found myself explaining things to this woman, I’d never know, but she seemed to have that effect on me. “I plan on giving it to my daughter one day.”

Using her thumb to toy with one of the rubies, she showed no sign of removing it. “If it’s that important to you, then why were you traveling with it?”

I didn’t answer. She knew why. She knew I carried everything important to me in my bag. Thank God it was only my grandmother’s ring she found, and not my mother’s.

Holding out my hand, I said, “Olana, will you please give me my ring back?”

She looked at it one more time, then dragged her gaze back to me.

“You still haven’t gotten me a ring of my own, you know.”

This woman was delusional.

“That’s because I haven’t proposed to you.”

She grunted, rolling her eyes, and twisted the ring off. It took a while and looked like it was causing her some pain, but I kept my palm open. Still pulling, she made a show of it with no emotion, then dropped the gold ring into my hand.

The minute I felt the metal, I clasped my hand shut. She might have ruined all the memories of Britt in my shirt, but she wouldn’t take away the memories of my grandmother too.

“I don’t know why you’re being so shitty about all of this. We both know that it’s going to be mine one day, anyway.”

“You’ll be waiting a long time for that to happen.” I turned away and tucked the ring into my wallet.

“Really? Even after everything last night?”

“ Especially after everything last night.”

Olana might be pregnant, but that wouldn’t change things between me and Britt. We were together, and I wouldn’t let Olana ruin it for us.

Shaking my head, I turned back to Olana, tired of all her shit. “Look, I need to go downstairs and see my friends for breakfast. I’ll bring you up a croissant, but you have to stay here. They can’t know you showed up.”

“Still trying to impress those losers, I see,” she drawled out, sauntering over to the bed in what I assumed was supposed to be a sexy sway.

“I’d be careful what you say, O, considering you’re the one that showed up uninvited to a wedding for a couple you don’t like.”

“That—”

Slam.

With the door shut, relief rushed through me. I was done with her and listening to her argue her point would just drive me to the brink of insanity. She was done ruining my life. I didn’t care anymore.

I closed my eyes and let out a long breath.

I hate her.

It felt good to think those words without guilt, and I regretted how long it took me to feel like this. I headed down the hallway, anxious to see Britt.

By the time I got to the main dining room, I was surprised at how packed it was since it was nearing midday. A waiter led me to a private room where the wedding party was having their breakfast.

Running a hand through my still-wet hair, I walked into the room solely focusing on finding Britt. I ignored the whistles and cheers as I walked past a table full of Devin’s family toward my friends. Or, I should say, what was left of them. Devin and Adam weren’t there, which left me with Jackson, Aiden—my old roommate and landlord—and his girlfriend, Lyss.

“Morning guys,”

“Morning?” Aiden snorted. “More like afternoon.”

“It’s eleven fifty-nine. He’s got one minute left to use that greeting,” Alyssa pointed out before popping a chunk of watermelon in her mouth.

“Do you really want me to show you what happens to girls who think being pedantic is fun?” Aiden gave his girlfriend a hooded glare, and her chewing slowed as she tried to hide a smile.

“Where were you last night?” Jackson asked. With dark shadows under his eyes, I assumed he hadn’t slept much either.

“Stayed in the club with you guys,” I said, knowing the actual answer would blow everyone’s mind, and to be honest, the night was becoming so hazy I wasn’t sure I was remembering it correctly.

Did I actually spend any time with Britt? Was she even at this wedding, or had I made it up?

“Yeah, that’s why we didn’t see you after Jackson performed an entire K-Pop routine solo,” Aiden said, glaring at our friend, unamused. “Who was the band again?”

“BTS,” Jackson griped, shunting a Covey U baseball hat on his head. “And it wasn’t the entire routine. It was just the chorus. Their dance routines are too intricate for me to perform after more than three beers.”

“Where’s Britt? Thought you guys would have come down together?” Alyssa asked, looking behind me as though the blonde bombshell who had been haunting my dreams for the last few years might appear.

Good to know others had seen her yesterday and she wasn’t just a figment of my imagination.

I tracked the other tables and the fruit bar but didn’t see her.

“She hasn’t come down yet?”

“Nope,” Aiden said, looking at me pointedly. It was as though he already knew I’d fucked up.

“You mean you don’t know where she is?” Alyssa pulled her phone out, and, I assumed, started texting Britt.

“Um. No. I figured I’d just see her down here.”

“What did you do?” Aiden glared.

“Nothing.” I raised my hands, feeling guilty that it was kind of a lie. What Britt and I had done was a hell of a lot more than nothing. “Where’s Adam?” I changed the subject.

“Oh, you know what,” Jackson said, “I just remembered I saw Hayden and Adam leave with their bags as I was walking in.”

“They left? But I was supposed to get a ride with them.”

“Like you can’t afford your own jet to take you home.” Aiden scoffed.

Ignoring him, I watched Lyss’s facial expression go from placid to confused.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, and she looked up, surprised that I was talking to her.

“Oh, nothing. Apparently, Britt went with them to the airport. She apparently had an early flight.”

“Home? She left already?” What the hell was she talking about? Britt hadn’t mentioned anything about leaving early. She hadn’t come to my room or texted me to say goodbye, which was usually the polite thing to do after someone eats your pussy.

I cursed, remembering my phone was still dead, so maybe she’d told me, but I hadn’t seen it.

“So, you guys didn’t spend the night together?” Jackson asked with an amused smile.

“Apparently, she had tickets to the Catfish game so needed to get home before it started.” Lyss read the text out, giving a lackluster explanation.

“The Catfish game? The one that starts at eight tonight? She changed her flight because she was going to that?” It sounded fishy, and it wasn’t just because of the name of the team. Yes, Britt’s brother was a player, but she didn’t mention this yesterday. Had Max arranged all of that for her after I left?

“Whoa.” Aiden’s eyes went wide as he looked behind me. “What’s Matty’s ex doing here, and why does she look like a low-resolution version of Britt?”

Anger coursed through my veins. There she was, the instigator of all of my problems over the last twelve hours. The sole reason I had no idea where Britt was or why she bailed without a word.

As Olana sauntered in, she had this smug smile on her face. She loved going against my wishes.

“Hey, everyone,” she said to the group, and I had to admit, there was one thing I admired about her. She didn’t give a fuck what people thought. Even though everyone at our table was staring at her with daggers, she smiled like none of them existed.

“What are you doing here?” Jackson asked again.

“I came to be with Matty.” She rested her hand on my shoulder before giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Don’t use me as your excuse.”

I shrugged her hand off, and without another word, I headed over to Alyssa.

Leaning in so only she could hear me, I said, “I know this sounds crazy, but is there any way I could borrow your phone? My battery died, and I need to call Britt.”

With a pinched expression, Alyssa raised her brow. “You want me to help you talk to my friend who randomly left early after you brought your ex here?”

My stomach sank. That was exactly what I was worried about. People jumping to the wrong conclusions.

“It’s not what you think.”

Her glare had me feeling like she was planning all the ways she could gut me like a fish, and I wouldn’t lie, it made my stomach bottom out. She’d perfected that look since dating Aiden.

Alyssa rolled her eyes and tossed her phone at me. “I’m only doing it for Britt’s sake, but I swear to God if you break up with her or do something shitty on my phone, I will kill you.”

Raising my hands, I knew it looked bad, but I didn’t have time to explain why my ex was stalking me. I needed to speak to Britt before anyone else got to her.

I brushed past Olana on my way out. She tried to grab my hand, but I shook her off and headed for a quiet corner.

Britt’s contact picture filled Lyss’s phone screen, and I couldn’t help but smile. This girl was everything I wanted, and I needed her to know that.

I clicked the green call button and brought the phone to my ear.

“Hey Lyss. What’s up?” Her voice was lower than usual, but that could have been because she was at the airport.

“Britt? It’s Matty.”

She was silent for a beat, then I heard some ruffling.

“Oh, hey Matty,” she said brightly, sounding a little more like her usual self. “I’m just—”

I pulled the phone away to look at the screen and the call had failed. I called again, but she didn’t answer. Maybe it was because she was getting on the plane.

When her voicemail came through, I left a message.

“Britt. It’s Matty. I’m on Alyssa’s phone because mine died. I, uh…” My hand was shaking, so I ran it through my hair. “I guess you’re boarding the plane, so you can’t talk. I’m, uh, sorry I didn’t get back into your room last night.” I glared at my hand, picking at my fingernails. It felt wrong to be talking about this over the phone instead of directly to her.

“Some stupid shit went down. Doesn’t change how I feel about you, though, so please don’t take that as some kind of rejection.” I winced. Why the fuck would I say that? She knew it wasn’t rejection. I declared my undying love for her too many times for her not to see that. “Anyway. Have a safe flight and call me when you’ve landed. I should have signal by then.”

I cut my gaze to the table, and Olana was pointing at Aiden and yelling. Rolling my eyes, I knew if I didn’t intervene, then things would get messy.

“I’m in Vegas for the rest of the day, and I’m planning on getting a charger after breakfast. Hopefully that means I’ll be back in action by the time you land. Give me a call.” I paused, my stomach knotting because there was so much more I wanted to say. “I miss you,” I choked out, and cleared my throat. “Jackson said you’re heading to the baseball game tonight. Is Max playing? I can’t wait to hear all about it.”

I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at Britt’s picture for a second too long, trying my best to memorize it. That smile. The little mole on her cheek. Those blue eyes. Everything about her was perfect, and I couldn’t wait until I could explain everything and have her back in my arms.

It wouldn’t be long. I just had to wait for her flight to land.