“I’m serious, Nick. I can’t take anymore tonight. I need you to hold me, to reassure me things are good and my brother is an asshole.”
“Maybe tomorrow would be better.” His voice is raw, and my heart splinters.
There is no more energy in me to fight. The one person I thought I could count on is turning me down. I know Nick will understand my reasons, but there’s no way I can go through it again.
“Okay, call me tomorrow.” I hang up without saying I love you.
He calls back immediately, but I hit ignore and get back on the road. I’m done pleading my case.
What’s done is done.
Chapter 25
Nick
I bang on the door with brutal force, hearing it rattle on the hinges. Rage pulses through my veins, threatening to explode.
When Logan finally answers, panic sets in. He looks like shit. He doesn’t seem surprised to see me. Without a word, he goes back to his office, me following on his heel.
He falls into the closest chair, his body deflating in a heap. “She called you.”
“No, I called her, ready to put my plan into action. Instead, I’m greeted with her crying. Actually, that’s not right. She was bawling. The only thing she said was she’d had the worst conversation of her life with you. Of course, I was confused, because last we discussed, I was going to be the one to try to make her see reason.”
“I fucked up. Fucked up big time. I didn’t mean for it to happen, but once it started, the words, the lies just poured out of my mouth so easily. I didn’t mean any of them, but still, I said them with such conviction and certainty.”
My own panic starts to set in. What lies? This man in front of me looks physically ill. “What did you do?”
As he tells me what happened, my rage from earlier grows with each word. When he’s done, there’s shame brimming in his eyes, but I can’t see past my own fury. My arm jets out, punching him with ravaging force. He flies to the side, the chair going over with him, and I take a step back to try to find some control.
“You told her I’d replace her with a trophy wife? That our friends would dump her? WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?” I roar, my voice bouncing off the walls.
“I don’t know! It came out of nowhere.” He rights himself, smartly staying on the floor.
“Did it come out of nowhere, or do you really believe that shit? Was this your way of expressing your jaded fucking opinion?”
“No, I don’t think that. It was all lies. I know you love my sister.”
“I don’t only love your sister, I cherish your sister, and instead of taking the delicate approach and letting me handle changing her mind, you’ve now planted vicious thoughts in her head about me. About us. About our future. No wonder she was sobbing.”
He stays quiet, shaking his head.
“What did you think you’d gain from that? As each vile word spewed out of your mouth, what was your end game?”
“The only end game I had was looking out for her, which is the polar opposite of what happened.”
“You know what, Logan? I had it handled. I was ready to be the asshole, ready to push her away for the sake of this fucking opportunity. But now, I can’t be the asshole because you’ve done it for me. It’s been killing me inside, the last six days, watching her light go out as I started putting my plan in place. Our families are bonding and getting to know each other, yet, I stayed back. Our first holiday together, one where I was going to announce she was moving in and start the process of building our lives together. She’d stare at me with so much confusion as I prepared to keep my word to the Monroe men and make her chase that dream. Now, my woman, who is everything to me, is sitting in her house, thinking I’m mad at her. She’s all alone while I deal with your bullshit.”
“You should go to her. Don’t let her be alone.”
“Oh, I’m going to her. I’ll be in her bed tonight comforting her as she tells me, in her words, what you’ve said. My job is to take care of her, and if I can’t calm her, you bet your sorry ass I’ll be back tomorrow, and the least of your problems will be a black eye.”
“I deserve that.”
“You know what I don’t get? Why? Why is this so damn important to you? What do you get out of it? Will the gallery be more exclusive if she does this? Will you be a major player in the Miami art world?”
“Don’t
insult me.” His eyes heat in anger.