Don't Hold Back (Love Hurts 4)

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she snaps. She takes off in the direction of the check-in counter.

I laugh and fall into step beside her.

“You were the best of a mediocre selection pool. At least, I thought you were.”

“Harsh,” I chuckle. “All because I’m having a little bit of fun with you? Or because you feel like you owe me? If you wanted someone to pat you on the back and tell you how brave you are for doing this, then I’m not your guy.”

“I’m not after your praise,” she retorts. Her eyes flash as she faces me. “God, you can be so infuriating sometimes, Cade, and that’s impressive since this is only the third time I’ve met you.”

“Yeah, I have that effect on people,” I joke. “And I can’t be all that bad. I did save your life, remember?”

“Which you keep going on about, even after telling me to forget about it. Funny, I remember you being the reason I fell in that river in the first place,” she replies, glowering at me.

I hand my passport and ticket to the attendant at the desk, and load my bag onto the conveyer belt. She smiles at me as she hands my ticket back, telling me to have a nice trip. I wait to the side for Erin to finish, chuckling to myself as she struggles with her oversized suitcase.

“You could have helped me,” she mutters after she’s done.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but you don’t seem like the type of girl to willingly accept help.”

“I accept help when I know I need it.” She sighs and rubs her temples and I wonder if she’s also thinking about that morning by the river. Her flushed cheeks and shallow breathing have me a little worried. “Can we sit down somewhere? I’m feeling a little dizzy.”

I take her arm and lead her to a vacant table at a nearby café. Once I’ve helped her into her seat, I head over to the counter and order a bottle of water, and take it back to the table. She smiles gratefully as I twist the cap and fill her glass.

“Thanks,” she says.

“Can I get you anything else? Do you have a headache? Are you cold?”

“I always have a headache—just sometimes it’s more manageable than others.” She smiles, biting her lip before continuing. “Hey, I’m sorry if I seem a little strung out.”

“A little strung out?” I snort with a grin. “Erin, you’re channelling Hitler.”

“Ugh.” She bows her head. “I know. I’m just really nervous, and when I get nervous I get anxious, and anxiety leads to angry Erin.” She sighs. “It just goes on.”

I laugh and sit down opposite her. She can take things out on me as much as she needs to. Whatever makes her feel even just a little bit better, because all I see is a vulnerable little girl—the part of her she seems desperate to hide.

“Don’t apologize. It’s kind of entertaining, seeing you all worked up.”

“Gee thanks,” I grin.

The conversation stops, and we both sit there awkwardly. I glance around, trying to think of something to say. Apart from her illness, I really don’t know much about her. There must be more to her than that.

“So, tell me a bit about Erin. What’s she like? Family, job, that kind of thing.”

She smiles at me and my heart races. Such a fucking beautiful smile.

“Tell you about Erin?” she giggles, making a face. “Okay, well, let’s see.” She sits back in her chair, running her fingers through her golden waves. “Well, I have a good relationship with my parents. I have one sister. I love pizza and beer, I hate birds and blueberries, and up until a week ago I worked as a consultant for a global sports company.”

“Are you close to your sister? This whole thing must be hard on your parents,” I comment. What a stupid thing to say. Of course it’s going to be hard on her parents.

“You can ask them yourself.” I must look confused because she laughs and nods over my shoulder. I turn around and see a couple who I assume are her parents heading towards our table.

Oh shit. Fuck.

“What’s the matter?” she asks innocently. “They were so excited to meet the guy who is taking their little girl away from them that they insisted on coming to see us off.”

“Nothing,” I mumble. Just the fact that the people paying me to keep an eye on you are standing a few feet away. What if I let something slip? I rub a layer of sweat off the back of my neck and continue my panic attack.

Erin starts laughing so hard that she’s gasping for breath, and it takes me a moment to catch on. “You should see your face,” she grins. “Honestly, I have no idea who those people are. I just thought I’d mess with you.”