Page 32 of I Saw Her First

No.

Tears press at my eyes as I burrow into the mattress. I’m so furious with Jess for his thoughtless actions, for putting me in this position.

The door creaks open a fraction, and Weston’s head peeks in. “I’ll leave you alone if you want, but I needed to make sure you’re okay.” His gaze lands on me, curled into a ball on the mattress, and his face crumbles. “Oh, shit.” He strides into the room, crossing to the bed and lowering himself beside me. I want to crawl under the bed and hide, but as his hand gently brushes my arm, my body uncoils against my will, ever so slightly.

“My son is a grade-A asshole,” he whispers. “You didn’t deserve that.”

I swallow against the lump in my throat, twisting to look up at Wes. Concern pools in his blue eyes, but the tension in his jaw tells me of the fury he feels toward Jess for his actions.

“He was lucky to have you, Daisy. He shouldn’t have let you go.”

My pulse tumbles over itself at Weston’s words, but before I can let myself consider what they mean, another feeling lashes through me: guilt. Because what Wes doesn’t know is that I was about to end things with Jesse. If anything, Jess saved me the trouble, and now I don’t have to be the bad guy. Yes, he went about it in a shitty way, but I can’t deny the relief I feel at him being gone. At the pressure to sleep with him being lifted from me. He shouldn’t have brought someone else home, but I also can’t blame him for being frustrated with me for not having sex with him. I can’t even understand why I held out so long myself.

I take in the indignation on Weston’s face and pull away. He believes I’ve played no part in things falling apart with Jess, and that’s also not fair. I can’t stand the guilt that claws at me, and I push up to stand on shaky legs.

“I should head back to the city,” I say, grabbing my bag and stuffing my things inside. “Can you take me to the Jitney?” I rub my forehead, reaching for my phone to check the schedule. I can only hope I won’t have to wait too long.

“Wait.” Wes rises from the bed, gently taking my phone from my fumbling hands and setting it back onto the nightstand. “I can drive you back.”

I feel awful for the inconvenience this causes him, but I’m too frazzled to say anything other than “Thank you.”

“Please don’t feel you have to leave, Daisy. You’re more than welcome to stay.”

I force myself to meet his gaze. “What?”

He lifts a shoulder. “You don’t have to cut your vacation short just because Jess doesn’t know how to behave like a decent human being.”

My mouth opens, then closes, as I absorb his words. He’s asking me to stay?

“I’ll drive you back if that’s what you want,” he adds quickly. “Of course I will, I don’t mind. But…” he pauses as if weighinghis words carefully. “If any part of you wants to stay, please feel welcome. You must have taken time off from work, right?”

I nod silently.

“And as you said, the weather is great. I have this huge house and no one to share it with.” He falters at this, shaking his head. “I mean, there’s plenty of space here, and it’s wasted on one person.”

I tilt my head, noting the way the olive skin of his cheekbones tinges with pink. He hasn’t shaved since we arrived, and his jaw has filled in with silver scruff making him look rugged in a way he never does in his suits. But it’s his eyes that captivate me, the way genuine compassion swims in their ocean depths. He really does care that Jesse’s actions have hurt me. He really does care about me.

Even if I’m partially to blame for things falling apart with Jess. Even if I was only minutes away from breaking up with him. But I can’t tell Wes that, not after what he said about me being good for his son. I can’t bear to see the disappointment in his eyes.

It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done, and Jess is gone. I should go too, but Weston’s right. I have the rest of the week off from work, and I don’t fancy heading back to spend extra time with Denise, who’s set up her home office in our living room. I’d have to find places to hide out in the city while I figure out what to do next.

That’s what unsettles me the most. While I was seeing Jess, I could distract myself from that stuck feeling. At least until I discovered Wes was his father. Now it will be even worse, because not only do I have to go back to my life as it was, I have to do that after spending more time with Wes than ever before. I have to do that knowing how sweet he is, knowing he’snotmarried, and knowing—as I always have—that I can’t have him.

So yes, I’m eager to delay that, even if it means spending more time with the man I should probably stay away from. The thing is, I can’t seem to make myself say no.

“I guess I could stay.”

A smile lights his face, and my chest fills with liquid warmth.

“Great. There’s a beautiful beach and nature reserve I want to show you, called Sullivan’s Cove. I think it would be great to photograph.”

I hesitate. After the emotional turmoil of this morning, I’m not sure I’m up for that.

You should take my Nikon and go shoot something… I have this feeling you’ll feel better.

His words from last night run through my head. He’s probably right, as much as I hate to admit it. As much as the thought of picking up a camera to photograph something scares me.

Wes seems to sense my hesitation because he softens. “I’dlike to shoot it, at least. I’m not asking you to, but it would be nice to have the company, whenever you feel like going for a walk. I think you’d like it.”

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