Page 59 of When You Were Mine

“No, I got one.” She waved her phone. “I’m good.”

“Cool.” He caught his spirits before they crashed. Because he’d just turn this into an opportunity to hang out with her. “I’ll walk with you.”

“Trevor—” But her jaw snapped shut, and she pocketed her phone. “You really don’t have to do that.” Abruptly, she walked off.

He loved her fiery nature and couldn’t help wondering what it would take to steer hate to love. What were the magic words to clear anger and resentment? That would make her understand he was a kid who’d made bad choices but with the very best intentions? “Let me take care of the car.” In the time it took to pay the valet to park it in the lot behind the restaurant, she’d gained some distance, forcing him to jog to catch up.

And no, it didn’t warm him up. It made his throat sting and his eyeballs burn.

Jesus, it’s cold.

In a silence that was anything but companionable, they made their way down the crowded street. As they passed restaurants, conversation hit them in bursts. Music from a second-story club filled the air.

“So, you’re going to hire the Westman Island chef?” he asked.

“We haven’t talked about it, but that will be my recommendation. Why? Is that the meal you liked the best?”

“No.” He couldn’t remember a single thing he’d eaten all day. “It was the only one you tasted, so I just assumed it would be your choice.”

She smiled. “You always were too observant. Usually, I’m pretty good about moving food around my plate so it looks like I’m tasting everything equally, but I just couldn’t eat that fermented skate.”

“That was clear to me when you gagged.”

“I did not…” She looked worried. “Was it that obvious? I only threw up a little in my mouth. Did everyone notice?”

He laughed. “Not at all. You kept the conversation going like nothing happened.”

“The conversation was about theuric acida skate secretes through its skin. They wanted me to eaturine. That’s?—”

“Piss. Yeah, not appetizing.”

“I mean, my God. That smell. Did you notice it? What was it? Ammonia?”

“Yeah, it was pretty bad.”

“You ate every bite,” she said incredulously.

“What was I supposed to do?” He laughed, and it felt so good, like the bindings had broken free. “The chef was right there watching me chew. I thought I had to eat everything.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. You have to learn the tricks of moving your food around and making it look like you’re taking equal bites of everything. But also, the older I get, I’m more like, ‘Screw it. This is Chris’s resort. He has to like the food.’” She gazed up at him with a smile, and she must’ve felt the same zap of electricity as he did because she quickly looked away.

But that was okay. That one single moment was enough. For now.

She stopped outside a store. “I’m just going to pop in here and grab some gifts for my family and staff. You might as well head back. It’s a long drive. I’ll be fine on my own.”

She was cute when she was trying to get rid of him. “You know, I’d like to bring home some gifts too. I have four granddaughters.”

He regretted the words the moment they left his mouth. The stark pain in her eyes nearly took him down. But he had to keep moving forward. He couldn’t pretend his family didn’t exist. So, he reached around her and opened the door. “Come on. Let’s see what we can find.”

Unfortunately, her stony look told him he’d lost whatever ground he’d gained. “Trevor, I don’t want to be your friend. Do you understand that? I don’t care that you were only twenty when you abandoned me. I don’t care that you thought you were acting out of some misguided sense of purpose. You left me alone in Las Vegas, and you never looked back.”

“Oh, trust me. I looked.” He caught her arms and moved her out of the doorway. “I came back to town to apologize and win back mywife, but you refused to see me. My second attempt was cut short when I had to take a DNA test. And by the third time I came for you, you were married with a child. So, don’t say I never looked back. I absolutely fucking did.”

She reared back. “What are you talking about? I never married, and I don’t have any kids.”

Why was she saying this? He’d seen it firsthand. “You were working at a resort in Idaho, and I came to talk to you, but when I saw you carrying a child, I asked the girl at the desk if you were married, and she said you were.”

“Well, I don’t know who you talked to, but it wasn’t true. And if I was carrying a child, it was probably for one of our guests.”

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