Page 75 of Passion in Bloom

Nothing at all.

I felt sick to my stomach, dizzy with anxiety so sharp, so brutally acidic and pervasive, that I feared I’d puke.

Walls were closing in on me.

I was trapped. Cornered. Preyed on.

I swallowed hard, blinking at the sight of Roarke sitting on the rickety chair outside my cabin. He was waiting for me there, and as I parked, he stood.

I couldn’t handle him. Not now. Not with the fact his niece was conspiring with my fucking ex.

I couldn’t handle even being here at all.

Nowhere seemed safe, and I latched on to the warning voice in my head.

Run.

Go.

Get the hell away from them all.

I was a fool to ever think I could trust anyone. I was a moron to confuse lust and physical attraction for a deeper connection that would allow me to lean on Roarke.

“I want to make up for our first real fight as a couple,” he said as an introduction.

His hands were in his pockets. He seemed sincere. He didn’t look like a threat.

But I couldn’t trust myself to know that anymore.

I shook my head, not in any mood for him. Not to make up or anything. I was one second away from being triggered into a panic attack. “We’re not even really together, Roarke.”

He raised his brows, seeming like he was ready to argue.

“We won’t be together, either,” I added.

He pressed his lips together in a firm line.

“Because I’m leaving,” I announced. Fear drove me to the decision. Panic pushed me to want to run far and hard.

“I’m taking a new job somewhere else,” I said, just now making that choice because it was the quickest out.

I’d be leaving my hometown to start over—again.

Alone. But hopefully safe from anyone trying to mess with my heart.

THE END