Page 3 of Payback
“Huh, but I suppose you’d be free to bed-hop just as you always have, right?”
His expression was dark, laced with warning when he said, “You really believe that? Don’t you know that I’ve just been killing time with other women, waiting for you to come to your senses and admit we belong together?”
Grace had said the same thing countless times, that she couldn’t shake the feeling Loran and Bella belonged together. But she was wrong. They were both wrong.
“I’m better off alone,” she said, clearing her throat. “I’m not even sure I’m capable of being faithful and I know you’re not.”
“You really think if I got another chance with you I’d be stupid enough to blow it by banging some random chick who meant nothing to me?” He sounded irritated, making Bella question everything. “And I know…” He curled his large hand around her wrist. “For a fact that you’d never want another man as long as you had me. I’d make sure of it. Every. Single. Night.”
Cue the shivers.“You’re not around every night,” she said, forcing herself to look him in the eye so he wouldn’t think he had the upper hand. “You guys go on long road trips during the regular season. How do you know you could trust me?”
“That’s how we ended up here, isn’t it? The fact that I couldn’t trust you? I was so sure you were in that bar, flirting with that guy…” He shook his head. “I was an idiot. I can admit that now. After what we shared in that hotel room there was no way you could have been interested in anyone else.”
“Then why did you overreact?” Bella had tried to step between Loran and her newfound acquaintance but his blood still spilled all over the floor. “I seem to recall you calling me some choice names, telling me that I could fu—”
“Damn it, I know what I said!” He winced. “I’ve tried to apologize to you every way I know how. Flowers, gifts, voice mail messages, texts, emails.” He released a deep breath. “But I’ve never had the chance to say it face-to-face before.” He curled his thumb and forefinger around her chin. “Bella, I’m so damn sorry I hurt you. I never meant to offend you. And I sure as hell never wanted to give you an excuse to walk out on me.”
***
Loran had been waiting for some face-time with Bella for over a year and he was sure when he got it he’d be able to convince her to give him another chance. But things weren’t going as planned. Instead she was dancing with her engineer and he was knocking back beers with her brother.
“Did you two talk?” Ethan asked, giving him the side-eye.
“You know we did,” Loran muttered. “You saw us talking.”
“Yeah, but did you get anywhere?” His gaze drifted to his sister. “Since she’s with her date and not you I’m guessing not.”
Loran scowled. “You’re a genius, man.”
He didn’t mean to take his bad mood out on his friend, but it was finally starting to sink in. The only girl he’d ever really wanted was the one he couldn’t have and he didn’t know what the hell to do with that.
“Maybe it’s not you,” he said, shrugging. “Maybe she’s really into this guy.”
“You don’t believe that any more than I do.”
Ethan watched his sister for a minute before shaking his head. “You’re right, I don’t.”
“Which means it is me. She just doesn’t want me.”
Chuckling, Ethan said, “She wants you. Anyone can see that. She just doesn’t want to want you.”
Ethan’s wife, Grace, returned to the table and dropped a kiss on his lips before re-claiming her seat beside him.
Loran felt an unfamiliar ache when he watched them. They were so solid, so comfortable with each other. He wanted that too… with Bella. Only with Bella.
“I should head out.” He smiled at Grace. “I know you didn’t invite me to your husband’s birthday party so he could listen to me whine and complain all night.”
“Oh, don’t go!” Grace reached across the table and gripped Loran’s forearm. “Please. We’ve barely had a chance to talk.”
“Fine,” he said, prepared to indulge one of his favorite ladies. “What do you want to talk about? Baseball? Your beautiful kids? The weather?”
“Smart ass,” she said, slapping his hand. “You know what I want to talk about! I saw you and Bella talking. How did it go?”
Loran knew Bella’s best friend was in their corner, trying to convince her to give Loran another chance, but even that didn’t seem to be helping his cause. “Hon, I appreciate you trying to bring us together tonight, but I think it might be time for all of us to just accept it. It’s a lost cause.”
“No!” Grace was wide-eyed when she said, “You can’t give up now. Not with you two finally living in the same city, hanging out in the same circles. This is the time for you to step up your game, not back off.”
“I’ve tried everything with her, you know that. There’s nothing left for me to do.”
