Page 30 of The Right Guy
His chin lowered. “I’m sorry, Ada. You should take someone else.”
“I won’ttake anyone else, Theo. I want you to take me.” My fingers tightened. “You owe me a date.”
Theo’s head cocked and his brow creased. “Owe you a date?”
“Yes.” My heart pounded wildly. “A date.”
An odd look flashed behind his eyes, and he slanted backward. “I’m not the fucking reserve. Or a substitute on the bench,waitingfor you to realize Ro Huxley won’t ask you to the ball. This is exactly the reasonwhyI’m leaving, Ada. I need space.” Theo shirked my hand away.
That act alone mortally wounded my pulsing heart with one stab, but it was the next statement that crushed my entire world.
“I don’t want to be your date for the ball,” he said coldly.
The music grew louder, and I couldn’t gather my thoughts over the boisterous singing in the bar. Our relationship had gone from the ‘best thing ever’ to ‘the worst’, in zero to sixty seconds flat.
I watched him retreat into the back office, staying out of sight. He chucked a wad of paper towels in the trash on his way past, like he was throwing in the towel. One of the bar girls sauntered out to take his place. This was a normal occurrence, the changing of staff, the shift takeover, but tonight, it represented his exit out of my life forever. The pain in my belly devoured my heart. Shaky fingers pressedto mymouth and I sucked inheart-brokensob.
He was mine.
I was his.
I gathered the courage to follow him. When I rounded the doorway to the office, I discovered Theo by the desk all broody and manly and dominant. He’d removed the picture frame of our happy smiles and was staring at it like he wished we could go back in time, to when things were simpler.
“Theo, I’m sorry,” I said bravely, sucking in my lips.
He didn’t turn to face me. “What for?”
“I kissed you.” Silence.“I crossed a line.”
His sigh was loud enough to hear, and his fisted restraint hard to decipher. “It doesn’t matter now.”
“It does matter,” I protested. “It’s a big fucking deal, Theo.”
He spun around, his blue eyes darker and intense. “The first thing you remembered was the kiss with Ro. That says it all, Ada.”
He was right. I didn’t remember, not right away. But Theo’s beautiful lips haunted me, tormented my dreams, and took over the obsession I once had with Ro. “I—”
“Ada,” he interrupted. “I used to think we were a team, but now I know you’re not the right woman for me.”
A ragged gasp caught as a stutter. My fingers curled around the hem of my tee, and I inched back. I couldn’t exhale. My eyes bugged, and I wanted the room to stop spinning. In a flood of crushing defeat, I spun around and murmured, “You’re the right one. You always have been.” Then I stormed out of the office, sucking back the sobs that made my throat ache. I heard him call out to me, demanding I repeat what I’d just said. I couldn’t say it again. The agony of rejection was the hardest cruelty to endure.
You’re not the right one for me.Those words, those painful truthful words, stabbed my fairytale and slashed it to pieces.
There was still an hour or two left of my shift, but Iwas done—emotionally, mentally, and physically.
Theo had ripped out my heart, crushing the last beat in his bare hands. I deserved it. He’d beenthereall this time, even when I phrased Ro Huxley.His billions and athletic build had swayed me and tricked me into a false perception of a suitable husband. Now, I realized there was only pitiful small talk between us. He was my roomies brother, nothing more. He lacked thequalitiesI expected, and I didn’t mean financial and physical—I wanted happiness, companionship and true love.
Now, I’d lost my best friend and the one guy who breathed life into my soul with just one smile.
Whatever we had togetherwasruined.
Fourteen
A brief moment...
Who wanted to attend a grand ball, dateless? Not me—but it was out of my control. I’d purchased the ticket when life was simple, and the money collected was for a good cause. My family always helped the less fortunate and donated money to fund scholarships.
So basically, I had to go. I’d madea commitment. Theo wouldn’t leave town withoutsaying goodbye, and the bar staff were throwing him a leavinga partyonthe same evening. I devised a plan to go to the ball with Kim, hang around for the first dance and then sneak out. I wouldn’t miss his farewell bash, or the chance to plead with him to stay. I couldn’t make him love me, but I’d try.
