Page 90 of Resisting You
I swallowed hard. “And staying gives them a target.”
“So what?” Reid said. “You love each other. Doesn’t that mean something? Doesn’t that meanmorethan a headline? Hazel and I have both been in the papers for less than favorable things. They pass. And they pass easier because we have each other.”
My fingers tightened around the edge of the laptop. I didn’t answer. I just stared at the screen. The cursor blinked inside the credit card field, like it was tapping out a countdown. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Reid’s snort drew my eyes back to him. “But maybe you’re right. Maybe you don’t love him enough to stay. In which case, he deserves someone who will.” His voice was surprisingly cold.
“Reid!” Hazel gasped, then turned swiftly to look back at me. “He didn’t mean that.”
“Yes, he did,” I managed to choke out. “But you’re wrong, Reid. I do love Noah. He means everything to me. And it’s because of that, that I can’t be the reason his career tanks. I can’t be the woman he looks back on in five years and thinks,She ruined everything.”
Hazel’s voice softened and she reached out to grip my hand. “Do you really think he could ever see you that way?”
“I don’t know.” I met her eyes. “But I’d never forgive myself if I stayed and watched it all fall apart around him. Because of me.”
They went quiet then, the room heavy with the kind of silence that only came after too much truth had been spoken. When Ilooked back at Reid, his eyes had softened and he gave me one single knowing nod.
He understood. Finally.
I glanced back at the screen, at that glowing “Confirm Purchase” button, and wondered how I was supposed to let go of the only man I’d ever wanted to keep.
My phone buzzed with a text message and when I glanced down, I had to read it three times to make sure it wasn’t a prank. Lilly was texting me. Confirming our appointment for Monday.
I responded to her asking if she was sure she still wanted to keep our appointment.
Clearly, she hadn’t seen the blind item yet and it was only a matter of time.
Her text came back quickly with a smiley face.
Lilly:
Of course! You’re the best therapist I’ve ever had. And now you know exactly what Jason and I go through on a daily basis. It’s a rite of passage to have a filthy blind item about yourself out there.
Tears filled my eyes as I looked at her text. I was being given a chance. Lilly and Jason weren’t jumping ship. Maybe, just maybe, some of my other clients wouldn’t either.
A knock at the hotel room door echoed through the room, breaking the silence that had settled like a thick blanket. My whole body tensed. The sound was sharp, sudden—like a spark in a room full of gas. I snapped my head up, heart pounding so hard it throbbed in my throat.
Hazel’s eyes went wide. “Do you think?—?”
“No,” I said quickly, but my voice wavered. “No, he wouldn’t… he wouldn’t come here.”
But maybe he would.
Oh God, what if he had?
My stomach twisted at the thought. Of Noah standing on the other side of that door, ready to fight for me. To beg me to stay. To tell me I was worth the risk, the backlash, the headlines. That he still wanted me. That he loved me enough to weather the storm that followed.
Part of me wanted it to be him so badly I could hardly breathe. And the other part? The part that was trying to keep it together? It knew that if I saw his face, I’d never go through with leaving. I’d crumble. I’d stay. I’d ruin everything. It took everything I had to walk out on him and Birdie once. I didn’t think I could do it again.
Reid stepped toward the door, turning back to me with a raised brow. “You want me to check?”
I hesitated, then gave a shaky nod.
As he cracked the door open, Hazel craned her neck, trying to peek around his shoulder.
The door opened wider.
And instead of Noah—tall and tousled and devastating—there stood my father.
