Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 85608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
“Do you think that whether or not you’ve told him those exact words that he hasn’t felt them for the last months you’ve been together?”
“I … I don’t know.”
“He has. He knows exactly how you feel. Everyone knows exactly how you feel about him, except you.”
“I don’t think …”
“He loves you, Whit, and you love him.”
I shook my head as I pulled away from Wyatt. “You don’t understand. None of that is enough if we can’t even be honest with each other.”
Wyatt sighed, dropping his hands. “Then, maybe today shouldn’t happen anyway. Maybe it’s a good thing the wedding was called off.”
“Yeah,” I agreed.
But the words felt hollow.
And I felt even worse as we walked together to Dad’s hospital room.
33
GAVIN
I was fucked.
The wedding was off.
Whitley was gone.
No amount of texts or calls got me the answer to which hospital her dad had been taken to. So, there wasn’t even a way for me to storm in there and make this right. I was stuck in the middle of New York City, the city that never sleeps, with no answers.
“Fuck,” I said for the hundredth time since I’d watched Whitley get into that car and drive away.
Someone else, likely English, had contacted the wedding planner and the rest of our friends about what had happened. Camden and Katherine came downstairs and took control like they owned the place. Which they did.
Katherine took one look at me and rushed everyone away from me. Camden took me by the arm and plopped me into a seat at the bar.
“Give him whatever he wants on me,” he growled at the bartender.
The man looked terrified under Camden’s growing irritation and nodded. “What’ll you have?”
“Start him on top-shelf bourbon and work your way down.”
I nodded and took the first glass offered to me and downed it. I barely tasted it. Everything tasted empty and hollow with her gone. Somehow, I’d fucked this up as royally as I’d always thought that I would. Why had I brought up Safia then? Why wasn’t I there for her when her dad freaked out? I could have been on the way to the hospital with her right now. We could have been dealing with this together.
Camden clapped me on the back. “I’ll be back. I’m sending in reinforcements.”
I waved him off. It didn’t matter. Nothing anyone said could make any of this better. My wedding was currently being called off.
Fuck, money. I was supposed to pay people today. Balances were coming due, and I’d promised I’d pay it all. The money didn’t fucking matter to me, but now, it was the time, and there was no wedding.
“Camden, the money.”
He seemed to realize what I was saying without more explanation. “I’ll take care of it.”
Then, he was gone. And I trusted him to do exactly as he had said. He had more money than a god. I could pay him back later if need be. Right now … I was going to focus on the next drink. And the next after that.
I didn’t know how much time had passed.
Court and Sam came by and had a drink with me. They tried to cajole me to move from my seat. To go home and sleep this off. Promising that it would all be better in the morning. But I didn’t move. I wasn’t sober any longer, and I had no intention of sitting around at home, alone.
When home was where I was supposed to be bringing Whitley back to. Every inch reminded me of her. The way she lay across my bed, her full breasts spilling out of the top of the comforter. The smell of her on my sheets.
No. There was no way I was going home anytime soon. Maybe not ever. Not without her. I was going to have to fucking move if I couldn’t figure this out. Because I’d never be able to walk into our building and not think of her.
The guys must have been running interference on access to me. I kept expecting my parents to show up or my aunt and uncle. Fuck, even my cousins. Malcolm would be knocking some sense into me. Nate would be disappointed. Trey would cross his arms and look cranky. I could picture it all, but that didn’t mean I wanted to deal with any of it.
And as day turned into night with no answer from Whitley, one person made it through their defenses.
“Hey, Gavin,” Maggie said as she slid into the stool next to me. She waved at the bartender. “I’ll have a gin martini, extra olives, extra dry. Thank you.”
“Coming right up.”
“Mags,” I said with a head tilt toward her. I wasn’t quite seeing double of her. I’d been force-fed food from the restaurant next door when I refused to move. So, I wasn’t on a completely empty stomach, but I wasn’t sober either. “What are you doing here?”