The Rivals

I blinked a few times. “Weston?”

He sat leaning against the wall next to my hotel room door with his eyes cast down, his luggage parked next to him. Seeing me, he stood.

My heart sped up. “What—what are you doing?”

Weston looked even more awful than the last time I’d seen him. Dark circles framed his glassy red eyes, and his naturally tanned skin had turned sallow. He’d grown what was almost a full beard, but it wasn’t groomed and neat. It just looked like he hadn’t bothered to shave. Even so, he was still stunningly handsome.

“Could we talk?”

I’d just gone looking for him, yet my self-protective mechanism had me hesitating.

He noticed and frowned. “Please…”

“Sure.” I nodded. The camera in the corner of the hallway caught my eye. “Let’s go inside.”

As I opened the door, my nerves grew frazzled. I needed a drink in the worst way, and that made me think of something. I turned back and looked into Weston’s bloodshot eyes.

“Have you been…drinking?”

He shook his head. “No. Just not sleeping well.”

Nodding, I set my laptop and purse on the coffee table and took a seat on one end of the couch, adjacent to the chair, where I assumed Weston would sit. But he didn’t take the hint. Instead, he sat down on the couch right next to me.

After a minute, he reached out and took my hand. “I miss you.” His voice broke. “I’ve missed you so fucking much.”

I tasted the familiar salt in my throat, but there were no more tears left.

Before I could figure out how to respond, he continued. “I’m so sorry I hurt you. I’m so sorry I made you doubt what you mean to me.”

I shook my head and stared down at our hands. “I’m afraid, Weston. I’m afraid to believe you.”

“I know. But please give me a second chance to show you I can be the man you deserve. I fucked up. It won’t happen again. I promise you, Soph.”

I stayed quiet for a long time, sorting through the mess of tangled feelings and doubts. When I was finally able to focus a bit, I looked up at him.

“Why did you bid one dollar?”

I could tell he hadn’t expected me to know what he’d done.

“My family didn’t deserve to take care of this hotel—not with what my grandfather did to yours all those years ago, and not with what he thought I should be doing to you. Things needed to be made right, once and for all.”

“That’s very noble of you. But what if your grandfather finds out what you did?”

Weston looked into my eyes. “He already knows. I flew to see him the day after I turned in our bid and they informed you that you’d won. I told him in person.”

My eyes widened. “How did that go?”

The corner of Weston’s lip twitched. “Not too well.”

“Did he fire you?”

He shook his head. “He didn’t have to. I’d already quit.”

“God, Weston. Why would you do that? To prove your loyalty to me?”

“It was more than that. I needed to do it for myself, Soph. It’s been a long time coming. This was just the last straw. I realized my family had a lot to do with my struggle with alcoholism. I drank because I didn’t like myself. And that started with how they made me feel. I spent most of my life trying to prove to my parents and grandfather that I’m more than just spare parts. I finally realized the only person I need to prove that to is myself.”

I didn’t know what to say. “It sounds like you’ve done a lot of soul searching over the last week.”

“I have.”

“What will you do now? I mean, now that you’re not employed by the Lockwoods anymore?”

He shrugged and gave a faint smirk. “I’m not sure. Got any positions open over at Sterling Hospitality?”

I looked him in the eyes. He’d hurt me badly, that was for sure. But it hurt way more being apart from him. Would I get burned if I gave him a second chance? Quite possibly. Nothing in life was certain. Well, except for the fact that I’d be miserable if I didn’t take the risk and give things another chance with this man. Weston had jumped off a cliff. Maybe if I did, too, together we could learn to fly.

“Actually…” I took a deep breath and stood at the imaginary edge. “There is a position at this hotel I think you’d be perfect for.”

Weston lifted a brow. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“Well, it’s a position underneath me.”

His eyes flickered with hope. “Underneath you? I could deal with that.”

“And it has long hours.”

His lip curled at one corner, just the slightest bit. “That’s not a problem. I have plenty of stamina.”

I raised a finger and tapped it to my bottom lip, as if contemplating. “Actually, I’m not sure you’re right for the position. There are a few other candidates I need to consider first. Can I get back to you?”