Page 79 of Fake Wife
I hang up the phone and dig my keys out of my pocket.
“What can I do?” Caitlin asks.
“Stay here and keep your phone charged. If she needs a friend it’s you she’ll call.”
“I don’t think she thinks of me as a friend.”
“What?” My head jerks. Of course she would. Unless…“What’d you do, Caitlin?”
She shrugs. “Nothing except tell her she was wrong about you.”
“You blamed me, too!”
“Because I was mad she took off. And she believed it so much. God, even I know you’d never send your dad to deliver that shit.”
“I didn’t.” My teeth hurt. My jaw aches. I need to fucking relax. I will.
As soon as I find my bride.
“Stay here.”
Chapter 26
Teagan
There comes a time, in the haze of rage and betrayal, when the storm settles and all you’re left thinking about is how you ended up here.
That’s where I am, sitting on the hood of my car, parked in a pull-off overlooking the entire city of Portland. I’m not even sure how I got here. But I could only drive through the city, up and down the streets and zooming on and off highway exits, wandering aimlessly, limbs trembling with pain and fury before I decided to pull over.
The last thing I need to do is cause another car accident, and the irony isn’t lost on me, that in the span of less than two weeks, I’ve now run off from two very different men, for two very different reasons.
The sun is still high in the sky, my stomach has been rumbling for hours, but I can’t find the desire to get back in my car and grab something to eat.
Because I think I’ve made a colossal mistake.
The rage is settling and I’m left only thinking about the last week and a half with Corbin. The last few days in particular.
I love you.
I love you. I love you. I love you.
I can’t erase the words, the gruffness in his voice when he first said them.
I can’t forget the look in his eyes or the honesty all over his face.
He loves me.
So why would he have his father deliver papers to me, effectively saying I mean nothing except a contract?
He cares for his mom. He loved his grandma. He takes care of Caitlin and protects her. He’s repeatedly told me he wants to take care of me.
He’s toogoodto have a man he despises more than anything else in the world deliver papers that would destroy my world.
I’ve missed something. The pieces aren’t connecting the way they should, and I only know one thing as I continue to watch cars in the distance and listen to the rustle of trees, the birds, and an occasional jet flying overhead.
I once ran from a man who betrayed me without giving him time to explain, regardless of whether or not it’d help.
I will not make the same mistake again.