Page 41 of Meant To Be - Irresistible Bachelors

“Go away!” I shout.

The doorbell rings again. My unwelcome guest probably didn’t hear my growl; my bedroom is tucked away on the other side of the house.

I huff as I get out of bed. Whoever it is, I’m going to give them a piece of my mind when I get downstairs. The sunlight blinds my eyes as I open my bedroom door, and I squint as I step out of my room for the first time today. I drag my feet through the mansion, stepping over empty pizza boxes and beer bottles.

This place is a fucking mess. I walk past a mirror hanging on the wall and catch a glimpse of myself. My hair is disheveled, and the dirty T-shirt I’m wearing is wrinkled all over. I don’t look anything like a rock star right now; I look like a broken man. I shuffle down the stairs, grumbling to myself every step of the way. The doorbell rings again.

“I’m coming,” I bark as I approach the door.

I place my hand on the doorknob and fling the door open in a rage.

“What?” I yell.

My heart sinks into the pit of my stomach as I stare into Nikki’s eyes. There she is standing on my doorstep, looking just as beautiful as the day I met her. Am I imagining this right now? Maybe I’m hallucinating. I rub my eyes, but when I open them, she’s still standing there.

I have half a mind to slam the door in her face. Why the hell would she come here now? It’s been a month since the last time I saw her, and now she’s here in Nashville unannounced. Why didn’t she ever return any of my calls? Why would she leave me hanging like that? I have so many questions for her, but part of me doesn’t want to hear anything that she has to say.

She stands there silent, her big brown eyes sparkling. Her plump lips are luring me in, but I can’t kiss her; I’m too angry with her. I want to hold her in my arms, but my broken heart won’t let me. She thinks she can just tear me apart and then show up on my doorstep like nothing ever happened? She can’t just waltz back into my life after abandoning me for a month. She’d better have a damn good explanation about where the hell she’s been for the last month.

20

Nikki

My heart is practically beating through my chest. I can see the hurt in his eyes. I didn’t mean to cause him any pain, but I had my own troubles I was dealing with. Neither of us says a word as we stare into each other’s eyes. I’m embarrassed that I pushed him away; he didn’t deserve that, but I didn’t know what else to do. I was going through a hard time, and all I wanted was to be alone. I take a deep breath as I try to work up the nerve to say something.

“Can I come in?” I ask, my voice shaking with every word.

He hesitates, then steps to the side to let me in.

The tension between us is so thick that I could cut it with a knife. I need to explain myself to him; he probably hates me right now. I just hope he’s willing to listen to what I have to say. He closes the door behind me, and as we stand face-to-face, my heart stops. His once lively, piercing blue eyes are now dull and full of sorrow, and I know it’s all my fault.

“What are you doing here?” he asks gruffly.

“I needed to see you.” I look him up and down.

I’ve never seen him like this before. My handsome rock star looks scruffy, and his usually sweet personality has been replaced with bitterness.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

“I’m fine,” he barks.

“I missed you,” I say as I take a step forward, but he takes a step back.

It’s like he doesn’t want anything to do with me. I know I hurt him, but I didn’t mean to. It was never my intention to leave him high and dry. I really did want to be with him after the tour, but I couldn’t. My mom was in the hospital, and she needed me by her side. I couldn’t just pick up and leave her while she was fighting for her life.

“If you missed me, why didn’t you reach out to me? You never called once, and you never picked up any of my calls either,” he says.

“I know, and I’m sorry,” I say as I hang my head low.

“Sorry?” he snorts. “That’s all you have to say? You abandoned me!” he yells, his roaring voice shaking the house.

“There’s more to it than that. I didn’t just disappear for no reason,” I beg him to listen.

“So tell me why. Why did you hurt me like this? I told you how much I love you and how much you mean to me, but you still left me. Even after you promised me you wouldn’t,” he says.

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