Page 24 of Love at First Swim
Gunner was the one who had been trying to buy her store. He was the man behind it all and he had an eviction notice for them, stating that their shop wasn’t up to code.
She looked around, wondering what wasn’t code worthy, and wondering how he could do this to her. She had never done anything to him.
She saw the rest of the file, how they had called her unreasonable and that she was too emotional.
She blinked back the tears and felt the papers fall to the floor.
She should have known better than to trust a man that handsome. That perfect.
She knew he had to have flaws somewhere, but she didn’t know it was this.
She turned away from the papers and she heard the front door open again.
When she looked over her shoulder, Gunner was there, with another man who stood a head over Gunner’s tall height.
He saw her heartbreak in her eyes and his face filled with pain.
He took a step toward her, “Arielle, my Siren?”
She backed away from him, “You need to leave. Please.”
He took another step in her direction and she held up her hand, “Just go. You did enough damage today. And you win. Okay? I will sell you my shop and that is that.”
He took another tiny step, “Babe. No. I don’t want that. I did at first, but it was because I thought it was necessary to expand.”
She turned away from him, not wanting to hear more, and she felt him grab her elbow, which she pulled free and whirled on him, “I asked you to leave. This is still my business for now, and I will call the cops.”
She refused to look up at his face and when his friend pulled him toward the door, she couldn’t watch, just shutting her eyes until the bell dinged.
Then she hurried to the door and locked it. She slid down it and sobbed into her knees.
She thought he was the one. How wrong she had been. How stupid of her to believe in love at first sight existed.
She stayed on the ground next to the door for a minute longer, and then she stood.
She ignored the papers on the floor and walked to the back, cutting blindly, knowing that she could do it in her sleep.
After that was done, she spent the rest of the day sewing the dresses together, knowing that it was all she could do.
She was numb and every once in a while, a tear would fall and she would whisk it away, not needing the reminder of her pain.
When it grew dark, she stayed longer, needing to get these dresses finished and not wanting to go home and face the pain.
She knew it was late when she left, and as she went out to her car, she looked around, glad that the parking lot was well lit.
She didn’t see anything, but felt as if someone watched her.
She hurried to her car, and got behind the wheel, locking the doors and driving home.
When she got there, Kadence was waiting for her.
“You never answered your phone. We have all been worried sick.”
She put her stuff down on the back of the couch, and then burst into tears, making Kadence hurry to her side and pulling her into a hug.
Arielle told her everything and when she was done, Kadence calmly told her to go shower, and that she would fix her some food.
Arielle did just that, washing the night away from her skin. The evidence of her lost virginity still staining her skin.
