Series: The Laws of Opposite Attract Series by Vi Keeland
Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
“I’m gonna head back to the hotel,” I announced as I started to walk away, leaving her sitting on the bench.
She called after me. “Brayden…”
Refusing to turn around, I kept on walking. That was one of the hardest things I’d ever done. But the sooner I learned to walk away, the better I’d be.
I got in my car and took off.
***
Later that night, holed up in my hotel room, Owen’s name lit up my phone. It had been a while since I’d caught up with him.
I answered. “What’s up, Dawson?”
“Hey, man. Long time no speak.”
“How’s everything going?” I asked.
“Can’t you hear how everything’s going?”
The sound of a baby crying was pretty much all I could hear. Owen’s fiancée, Devyn, had just had a baby boy. So they had their hands full.
“Earlier today, Holden filled me in on everything that’s been going on with you,” he said. “You’ve been hooking up with that woman from Ryan’s House, and I didn’t know about any of it.”
“What made him tell you today?”
“Well, I told him I’d spotted you practically mauling some woman outside our building the other day. He said that was Alex. You hadn’t even mentioned you were dating anyone. God, I’ve really been out of the loop, haven’t I?”
“You’ve had some things on your plate. And there’s nothing happening anymore anyway.” I shut my eyes for a moment. “It’s over, and I don’t really feel like talking about it tonight.” I sighed. “It’s been a day.”
“Shit. I’m sorry. Holden told me about the whole daughter thing, too—that you used to date her in college. That’s some shit luck. It’s not her biological daughter, though, right?”
“Stepdaughter, technically. But it doesn’t matter. She considers her a daughter.”
Owen’s fiancée had a younger brother and sister he’d become a father figure to. “Think about how close you’ve become to Heath and Hannah in the short time you’ve known them. Now, imagine if several years went by on top of that. There’s no way I’m ever gonna be more important to Alex than her daughter. And she’s decided it needs to be a choice.”
“Well, that just sucks, Brayden. Truly. It’s so rare for you to have these kinds of feelings for a woman. And to have this happen…” He let out a long breath into the phone. “Each one of us has ended up with the person we’re meant to be with, and the same thing will happen to you. I’m sure of it. If Alex is the one, she’ll come around. And if not? Someone better will come along.”
I stared out my window at the dark parking lot below. “I thought I’d finally found my person.” My voice cracked. “Thought I was gonna finally join the ranks with you guys. Finally settle down.” I paused. “I used to feel pressure about joining your club, though deep down I didn’t want to. But what I had with Alex was easy. There was no pressure. It all fell together very naturally. And I’m sorry you’re not gonna get to know her. Because she’s really special.”
“I’m sorry, too.”
“Thanks,” I murmured.
“Brayden, if I haven’t said this already, I’m damn proud of you. I mean, we’re all involved in Ryan’s House to some extent, but you’ve really taken the reins on that. He would be so proud of you, too.”
I looked up at the ceiling. “This whole Caitlin thing better not be Ryan fucking with me from up there.”
“I do think he’d find it pretty ironic.” Owen chuckled.
“Thanks for calling, but I’d better let you go. Say hi to Devyn—and Heath and Hannah.”
“By the way, speaking of my honorary brother, Heath, I should probably let you know something.”
“What?”
“He happened to take some footage of you and Alex kissing outside the building the day we drove by and saw you. We were at a red light. So just be on the lookout for that on the Internet—or potentially a blackmail letter.”
“Great.” I rolled my eyes. “Thanks for the heads up, but that doesn’t really faze me right now.” Nothing does.
After Owen and I hung up, I felt a tiny bit better. Talking to him had been a step up from staring blankly at my uneaten room-service food, like I had for the majority of this evening.
I decided to take a shower. Under the water, I pondered how strange it was to know Alex was in the same hotel tonight, yet we weren’t together. I had no idea what to expect from the rest of this weekend. But this was the way it had to be.
When I exited the bathroom, I’d just put on gray sweatpants when there was a knock at the door. I’d been in such a funk that I couldn’t remember if I had ordered something else from room service or not.
I opened the door and found her standing there. Alex.