Make Me Yours (Bellamy Creek #2) - Melanie Harlow Page 0,64
way you think.”
I pulled back slightly to look at him. “What?”
“Today was mostly tough for me because I felt bad about last night.”
I stiffened. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. The way it ended was all wrong.”
“But it had to end that way, Cole. I know it’s hard to understand, because I can’t make you feel what I feel, but believe me when I say that we’re better off today having stopped things last night.” The song ended, so I let him go and stepped back just as Griffin and Blair approached.
“Hey, we’re heading back over to the bar at the inn,” my brother announced. “Coming, Cole?”
“Maybe,” said Cole. “I need to make sure Mariah gets to bed.”
“Chey?” Griffin looked at me.
“Actually, I’m a little tired, and my feet kind of hurt. I might just go back to my room.”
Griffin frowned. “Don’t be fucking lame. Go put some other shoes on and come down to the bar.”
“If she’s tired, she doesn’t have to come.” Blair caught my eye to let me know she understood.
“I’ll think about it,” I said, mostly to avoid an argument.
But when we finally made it back to the inn, I pulled Blair aside in the lobby. “Hey, will you be okay if I don’t go to the bar?”
“Of course,” she said, her eyes concerned. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. It was just a really long day.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cole saying goodnight to Mariah, giving her a hug and kiss before turning her over to his mom. “And I’m going to sneak off before Cole sees me go.”
Her eyes widened. “Why?”
“Because he feels bad about last night, and I just can’t listen to another apology. I want to forget what happened—or almost happened—and try to get back to normal. But that’s not going to happen tonight.”
“I understand.” She hugged me. “You’re amazing, and I love you, and someday we’re going to do this all over again for your wedding.”
I swallowed hard. “I hope so.”
“Get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Okay.” I let her go and headed immediately for the stairs before anyone could stop me.
In my room, I breathed a sigh of relief as the door shut behind me. Going over to the bed, I sank down and slipped off my shoes. From inside my evening bag, my phone buzzed, and reluctantly I took it out and looked at the screen.
Griffin: Get your ass down here.
Me: I love you but I’m too tired. Goodnight.
Griffin: Unacceptable.
Rather than fight him, I simply put my phone on Do Not Disturb and set it aside. There was no way I was going down to that bar. Griffin would get over it.
Flopping onto my back, I flung an arm across my eyes, blocking out the light from the bedside lamp. Waiting for tears. Surprised when they didn’t come.
Was I simply too exhausted to let out all the feelings I’d held in all day? Was that possible? And what was I going to do about the future? I couldn’t go on like this. Living next door to him was a special kind of torture. And even after he moved, he’d still be right there in town, at all family functions. We’d still bump into each other all the time.
Maybe it was time to think about moving away from Bellamy Creek. Applying for a teaching job somewhere else. Making a fresh start.
While I was pondering it, someone knocked on my door—three hard, staccato beats.
I groaned in annoyance. “Go away, Griffin. I’m not coming down.”
Three more knocks.
Exasperated, I hauled my ass off the bed and shuffled to the door in my bare feet, my velvet gown dragging behind me. “Stop it, Griffin! You’re going to wake the entire inn. And I’m not coming—” I opened the door.
Then I stopped talking.
It wasn’t my brother.
Fifteen
Cole
Pushing inside her room without being invited, I held the door open with my hand. “You don’t have to come down, but goddammit, you need to listen to me.”
She looked taken aback for a moment, then shook her head. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Because we don’t want the same thing, Cole. I mean, yes, tonight we probably want the same thing,” she said, her eyes traveling over my shoulders and chest and down to my crotch before she quickly flicked them up again. “And there was a time in my life when I’d have done it in a heartbeat, just to be with you like that. But I’m—”
“Stop talking,” I said, putting a finger over her perfect lips. The door