Page 7 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 2
"Mason, I..."
"He's missing, Penny. I woke up at 6 a.m. and he was gone. He's not answering my calls. I can't find him anywhere. Something's wrong. I don't know what else to do here. Don't you care at all?"
"Of course I care."
"Then what the hell are you waiting for? Get your ass back here and help me find him, he needs you."
I swallowed hard. "He doesn't need me, Mason. He needs you, his friends, his family. Not me. He made that pretty clear last night. You weren't there. You didn't hear what he said. He never needed me. He just needed to realize what he already had. You and Matt, Rob and Jen, his parents if he'd give them another chance. He doesn't even love himself, I don't know why I ever thought he was capable of loving me." My Uber car pulled up in front of me.
"Just because someone doesn't think they're capable of love, it doesn't mean they haven't loved. He's just...broken."
"And I can't fix him."
"That's bullshit and you know it."
"I have to go."
"Penny, don't give up on him. And what about me? And Bee? Rob and Jen and Matt? Do we mean nothing to you either? You said we were your family. You don't just walk out on family."
That's not fair."When you find him, tell him I'll always love him. And that I'm sorry...about everything."
"Penny, don't..."
I hung up the phone. I had lost James. I had lost my new family. Tyler was gone. Melissa would probably never speak to me again. I had no one. Didn't Mason see that? Didn't he realize how much it killed me to walk away? But that's what James wanted. He asked me to leave. He never wanted to see me again. I hadto go. I had to disappear. I grabbed the door handle and climbed into the car.
"Where are you heading?" the driver asked.
Despite what Mason thought, I did care. That's why I was leaving. I looked down at the phone in my hand. What if James was hurt, though? What if something really was wrong? Mason sounded concerned. I would never forgive myself if something happened to him because of me. Because of what I had done.
I thought about what Tyler had said about going through your whole life wanting someone. Why was I running away? That wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to fight for James. He didn't know why I had done what I had. He didn't understand that I was trying to protect him. He didn't understand that I did it out of love. And he was hurting. He was missing. This was my fault. I needed to fix it. I needed to make him understand. I needed to find him before it was too late.
Fuck."I'm sorry," I said to the driver. "Just charge me whatever it would have cost."
"That's not how it works..."
But I was already climbing out of the car. I needed to talk to Rob. He'd know what to do. He'd know where to find James. He'd help me. He had to help me. I slammed the car door and turned back toward Rob's apartment.
And I ran straight into someone. No, not someone. All I could smell was him. All I could feel was his grip on my arms.James.It didn't feel real. I didn't want to look up and realize it was justa memory. I'd always be haunted by him. I'd never stop wanting him.
"You came here too." His voice was gruff, like he hadn't used it since he had woken up. Or maybe he had never slept. But it was definitely him. He had come back to me. He had been drawn to the coffee shop just like I had.
I looked up at his face. He was as soaked as me. Droplets of water clung to the scruff on his face. His eyes were red and there were dark circles underneath. But even when he looked a mess, he was still the most handsome man I had ever seen.
"James, I thought something had happened to you." I put my hands on both sides of his face. "Thank God you're okay."
He wiped his thumb under my eye, where I wasn't even aware a tear had fallen. "Why did you come here?"
I had the vague sense that maybe he had been walking around remembering too. Like he thought this was some kind of dream or nightmare too. "Where else would I have gone, James?"
"I thought you'd be with Tyler." The pain on his face made me want to cry. But before I had a chance to say anything, he said, "Penny, I don't care why you did it. I just need to know if you want me instead of him. I need to know that you'll always choose me. Please choose me. Please tell me I'm not too late."
He really didn't know the truth. No one had told him. But he was still here. He still wanted me despite what he thought had happened, and that meant everything. "I'll always choose you."
His lips crashed against mine before I even knew what was happening. Part of me wanted to push him off and slap him. He had hurt me too. He hadn't apologized to me. His hand moved to my hair and he gripped it hard. But I wanted this too. The kiss was salty, and I wasn't sure if it was from my tears or his. I had never meant to hurt him. His fingers slipped underneath the back of my wet tank top.No, this isn't right.He needed to know what had really happened. He had diminished our relationship to nothing. He had hurt me. We needed to talk about everything. I turned my head away from him and tried to catch my breath.
His fingers intertwined in my hair again and he pressed his forehead against mine. "I thought I'd never see you again. I thought I lost you. I thought..." his throat made a desperate gasp, holding back a sob that made me start to cry again.
I closed my eyes. "Then why did you push me away? Why didn't you believe me?"
