Anyone But Nick (Anyone But... #3) - Penelope Bloom Page 0,70

fall into place, and now I was sneaking away on a last-minute flight to LA so I could grovel for a job from my ex-boyfriend. It sounded so far fetched it could’ve made me laugh, except all it made me want to do was cry.

I’d gone back and forth on telling Nick what I was doing. Ultimately, I decided I just needed a day’s head start. I wanted him to know what was happening once it was too late for him to talk me out of it. He’d make some argument about how he and his brothers could easily survive this or how it really wasn’t going to be a big deal.

I was surprised by how much the idea of leaving Bark Bites stung. Part of me had resented the job. I knew what everyone must’ve been thinking when they found out I’d been let go from Crawford and ended up there. The great Miranda Collins must not have been so great, after all. Now she’s so desperate for work that she’ll sign on to that joke of a business. But despite all that, I enjoyed working there. Sure, Nick was probably a big reason, but I thought it was more than that. My contributions at Bark Bites mattered, and I still had big ideas I was never going to get to see through.

I hated admitting it, even to myself, but I knew there was one other reason I’d decided to run. Nick had proved before that he’d let obstacles come between us. I never knew if it was that he enjoyed the flirtation with me but not the idea of a real relationship, or maybe something else. All I knew was that it had almost broken me the first time. Feeling that much for him and then watching him disappear from my life had been one of the hardest things I’d ever done. Except this time, I had the chance to walk away before he could do that to me. If it wasn’t for the blackmail and all the other circumstances, I knew I wouldn’t have ever gone through with it. But it felt like fate was pushing me toward it already, and maybe this was the only way to protect my heart from the inevitable—to leave before he could leave me.

I let my forehead thump against the little oval window to my side. I didn’t know why I had done this. When I found myself in a situation that might wind up taking control from my hands, I always ran from it. Except I ran in a way that let me keep the illusion of being in control. I couldn’t kid myself. I wasn’t leaving Nick. My feelings weren’t going to evaporate just because I put half a country between us. Deep down, I think I knew the same was true for him. No, I hoped it was.

When Nick had asked out Kira, I was the one who had pushed for us all to swear an oath to stay away from the King brothers. A bitter realization settled in on me like noxious fumes: I cared so much about being in control of how I appeared to everyone else that I would have sacrificed anything to maintain my image.

The only thing I had really stood up for myself on was Robbie. He was exactly the guy people thought I deserved. But for once in my life, I’d put my foot down and said no. All those confusing emotions I’d felt were the sense that I might finally be carving my own path. And now I was riding a plane back to Robbie. It was exactly the path that everybody would’ve expected me to take. Worse, it was the path that protected me from Max’s story, because I knew how eagerly people would jump headfirst into believing it.

I glanced at the text Nick had sent for the hundredth time.

Nick: Please tell me where you are. Whatever you’re thinking, we can talk about it. Let’s figure this thing out together. Please call me. I just need to hear your voice.

I pressed the phone to my chest and closed my eyes. I just had to believe I was doing the smart thing. After all, it was only a job. I was a big girl. Whatever Robbie thought he’d be able to pull by having me come work for him wasn’t going to matter.

By the time I arrived in LA, it was in the early hours of the morning. I had wanted