Frayed (27 page)

“Guess Bass is doing a-o-kay without you next to him. He sure will be checking out the ladies.” Carter broke our thoughts with his venomous remark.

“For the love of all that’s holy, SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!” Lindsey spat at him. Carter looked taken aback from the ferocity of her words, and gladly remained silent until we got to our destination.

The rest of the evening was uneventful. Carter tried to get us out to some bar, but the three of us just wanted to go back to the hotel and sulk, though none of us were brave enough to admit the fact.

Here we were in the great city of London, but our thoughts were somewhere in Paris. Funny wasn’t it?

***

At a quarter past three in the morning, I grudgingly got out of bed due to being severely parched. I hadn’t slept a wink and I was bound to be awake for the rest of the day.

Ever since we got back to the hotel, all I did was stare at the engagement ring Harry had given me. The expensive bauble seemed to mock me.

I was putting the cap back on the bottled water when I jumped out of my skin as a figure appeared out of nowhere. “Shit! Carter!” I yelled at the boxer-clad man. He gave me a light chuckle then a small yawn. I couldn’t help checking out those impressive thighs of his. Emma kept yapping about them back in the day and I never understood her fascination
until now
. They were thick and honed to muscular magnificence.

I stopped drooling over those epic thighs—and nice body—after it dawned on me that he was wearing boxers coming out of Emma’s room. “You stupid little shit! You didn’t have sex with her, did you?” I hissed, careful not to wake the girls up.

That definitely made him frown. “I was close to making a move, but I stepped back. I knew if I did that, my chances would get slimmer. She needs to trust me and I need to be patient to earn that from her.”

Well, the man did grow a heart after all.

What the hell was Emma doing? She was playing with fire having Carter so close. Even if she wasn’t doing anything with him, it still was dangerous. “Bass is going to flip about this, Carter. Why show up here? You could’ve waited until she got home.”

“That was the plan, but fuck, Tris. I fucking miss her. I just wanted to see her for a couple days, that’s all. I just wanted to be around her smiling and laughing at some stupid
jokes.
It’s bad
.
I’ve got it bad
. You don’t know how hard it is to fight for something you lost. The fucked up part was that it was too late when I realized
just
how much I fucking love her.” Carter ran his hand over his hair and sighed, closing his eyes. Without opening them, he asked me a question. “Is he good to her? Does he love her?” Each word came out with such pain that I didn’t have to guess how much it cost him to say them.

“I think he does. He definitely looked like he did to me. Bass treats her with kindness and loving affection like a woman should be treated. If Bass makes her happy, you have to set her free. Confusing her will not make her go back to you, Carter.”

“That’s like asking me to stop playing soccer, Trista. It’ll never happen, even if she was married to another man. She still loves me, I know it, though she won’t admit to it. She might be an actress, but lying about her love for me was something she was never good at.”

I stared at him, speechless, as he went back inside Emma’s room.
Fuck, Emma. Please, be careful.

Chapter 26

Trista

The next day, we found ourselves in The British Museum. The four of us were admiring The Elgin Marbles that were originally from the Acropolis of Athens, when we heard an American girl speak behind us.

“I don’t want to be weird, but are you that new actress that was on E!
News filming that movie in Greece with Bass Cole? Emma Anderson, right?” The tall, strawberry blonde, valley girl asked, hopeful and a tad star-struck.

“That would be me.” Emma smiled at her first official fan. “I wasn’t aware that they ran it already.”

The fan was all bright-eyed and smiling from ear to ear. “Oh gosh, they totally did, like a week ago. My friends and I are doing the whole Euro-trip thing. Do you think I could get a picture with you?”

“Sure, just give me your camera and I can have my friends take the picture.”

Carter stepped in and offered his hand towards the fan. “Here, let me take the pic. I promise I’ll only take it from the best angle.” He then immediately took care of the shot before handing it back to the girl. “Here you go.”

“Shit, you’re
her soccer boyfriend, aren’t you?
Do you think I can get a picture of the two of you, please? You guys look so perfect together!”

Before we knew it, Carter stood behind Emma and wrapped his arms around her neck and kissed her cheek. The fan, of course, took a few instead of just one. “Thank you, Emma. I promise I’ll watch your debut movie. I’m sure you’re going to be amazing. See you on the big screen very soon!” The fan waved before retreating towards her friends.

Emma glared at him after Carter unwrapped his arms from her neck. “Did you really have to kiss me, Carter? And for the record, you and I are done. So, do the rest of us a favor and take those pictures down from your page please.”

Lindsey excused herself to pick up a phone call. She moved up ahead of the rest of us before she took it, though.

“Why? Bass Cole can’t take a little competition?” Carter cockily said.

“God, Carter! You cheated on me! As far as I’m concerned, you and I are through.” Emma grated on him, her eyes spat fire.

Carter’s jaws locked as he stared at the woman he was so crazy about. “So if Bass cheats, too, you’re going to dump him?” He bit out. His words were like bullets to Emma.

“Damn you, Mason. That’s fucking enough! Really, please, she’s already had enough.” I interrupted their little spat. I wasn’t sure what these two had been up to talking all night long, but I wasn’t going to let Carter put doubts into Emma’s brain.

Whatever Carter Mason needed to say or do, he could pick up where he left off in Santa Barbara, but until then, he could just kindly shut the hell up.

***

It had been five days since we got back from our vacation and I was more than antsy since I was going to see Harry tomorrow night. These five days, though, were terrible since thoughts of both Taylor and Harry hounded me day in and day out. My only consolation was that we were now in our new rented house, and just as Lindsey promised, I got to enjoy my morning cup of
joe
Joe
with some nice, hot men as distractions.

Amber came back two days ago and I must say it was the best feeling to see my friend back after so long. She was still the same, sassy and bitchy as ever. Spilling my
guts out about what happened wasn’t the easiest thing, but Lindsey was there for me when I couldn’t go on any longer. As to be expected, Amber wasn’t very forthcoming about her situation, although she did promise that she was off her cocaine habit. At that point, Lindsey and I were just more than relieved that she was actually paying heed and had stopped her deadly addiction to drugs.

It was obvious that Amber was still coming to terms with whatever shit she had gone through. I wasn’t going to force the issue, but whenever she was ready to spill her demons, I was always here for her, no matter what.

When Saturday afternoon, rolled in, I was ready to collapse from the nerves I felt about seeing Harry again. The man had booked the Four Seasons cottage for the occasion. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be offended about his lack of sensitivity or to be touched since that place held so many great memories of us together.

Dressed in a cotton baby blue, long dress that matched my eyes and nude, wedge sandals, I strode out of the parking lot of Four Seasons and headed towards the cottage. Had I made a decision? No, I had not, but I had the ring with me. Questions and more questions plagued my mind since Harry and I didn’t get the chance to talk much the last time I saw him. Taylor made sure the man was in no condition to do much of anything.

When I rounded the corner, the first thing I saw was Harry leaning against the cottage door, waiting. He gave me a dashing smile when he saw me walk towards him. “You look beautiful as always.” He greeted me with a big hug before kissing my cheek.

I could see that he still had a few bruises from Taylor’s act of madness, but Harry didn’t even address it. “Do they hurt?” I pointed at the yellowish, bruised spot on his face.

Harry took hold of my hand and guided me inside. “Not anymore. I can’t say I blame him. I deserved each shot.”

That was honest of him to admit that.

He spun me around, his eyes pleading. “I’m sorry, but this is killing me. Do you have an answer to my proposal?”

“No, I don’t. I have so many questions, Harry. How do you think Becka and the rest of the family will react to this? You’re going to be a father soon, for crying out loud. Divorcing Becka and then proposing to me was fucking insane. Especially after you ended things when you found out I was carrying your baby.” Sighing, I continued. “How do you expect me to trust you after what you’ve done to me? If it wasn’t for Taylor being there, I would be dead by now.”

Harry frowned, as he stood closer. “What do you mean by that, Trista? You wouldn’t have died.” His voice was paper thin, but I heard him loud and clear.

“I was swimming at night. I wasn’t even thinking about suicide, it never occurred to me, but something changed while I was out there. I remembered feeling free of the weight of everything just before I passed out. If it weren’t for him, swimming out to come and get me, I wouldn’t be here today.” Events of that night surfaced in my mind’s eye. The heartfelt concern from Taylor’s eyes, the doubt, the scare, the horror and finally, his determination to make sure I wasn’t stupid enough to attempt it twice.

“God, I feel like a monster. I had no idea you were that far gone with your pain, Trista,” Harry whispered as he tried to read me, but my mind was back in Greece, with Taylor.

“He’s gotten to you. I can see it in your eyes.”

It was impossible not to. Taylor was different, a one of a kind man who marched to his own beat, most of all, he had a heart. This truly magnificent human hadn’t left my thoughts. At. All.

It was
him
now, the moment Taylor broke through my façade and my barriers, I had no chance in Hades of turning back, no chance to go on with life without him in it. He left himself there, inside my head and with my now willing heart. The decision
had
been made… weeks ago. I just hadn’t realized that until now. Without qualms, I handed the velvet, ring box back to Harry with a steady hand. “I can’t marry you.” Harry pushed my hand away, not willing to take the ring back.

He gave me a sad, teary smile, but spoke with a calm, clear voice. “Keep it. It was for you. I wouldn’t know what to do with it.”

“I’m not taking this with me Harry. Once I walk out of this door, I don’t need any reminder of you, my guilt alone is enough. Tokens from you, I can live without.”

When I took hold of his hand and shoved the box in it, he didn’t argue. In a second, he had me in his arms, holding me like I was his lifeline. “I love you. I always will love you and I will always regret the day I hurt you. Losing you is my punishment; I don’t know how I will survive without you. I want you to live your life. You deserve another chance at love, to marry someone who will never hurt you. I’m sorry I wasn’t man enough to protect what I had in the very beginning. That’s my regret, not yours.” I tasted tears when his lips met mine, but wasn’t sure if they were mine or his; it was bittersweet. “Goodbye, my love.”