fact, I know it’s not, because instead of meekly taking a seat, she rips her arm out of my grasp and walks as far away from me as possible. She hits a dead end at the other side. A glass wall separates her from the mountainside. She shivers and turns around, arms crossed.
“You were in New York and you didn’t tell me,” I say, tone hard.
“So what?”
“You stopped responding to my calls and texts months ago.”
“Life got busy.”
“Bullshit.”
Her eyes cut to me, finally showing me what she’s been trying to hide since my arrival earlier today. The brown has been displaced by burning amber. She’s livid.
“I’m sorry, when exactly were you trying to get ahold of me?” she asks angrily. “When you were flying off to Dubai? Spending a few weeks in Paris? Oh right, let me pencil you in for a predawn phone call since that’s the only time we’d both be awake anyway.”
“I don’t buy it.”
Her fists clench at her sides. I think she’d charge toward me if she weren’t so scared of our surroundings.
She inhales a deep breath—on the precipice of saying something—and then she shakes her head and turns away. “Believe what you want. I don’t really care.”
I’m disappointed by her willingness to just throw in the towel like that.
“You never did know how to fight.”
That gets her attention. She rears back, staring at me with narrowed eyes.
“Excuse me?”
“I got the job offer in New York and you didn’t even ask me to stay. You fucking pushed me out the door.”
Her jaw drops and she blinks as if in complete disbelief of what I’m saying.
“I didn’t push you out the door,” she says, talking slowly and enunciating every word. “You left in the middle of a vacation. Or have you forgotten that little detail?”
“I haven’t forgotten a thing,” I say pointedly. “Not the vacation and not what we did the night before I left.”
Our minds both jump to those moments by the pool. I know it because her cheeks flush with embarrassment and she shakes her head, looking down toward where we’re headed, willing the gondola to speed up. So much for that fear of heights. I guess it’s nothing compared to the anger she’s harboring toward me.
“Do me a favor and steer clear of me for the rest of the week,” she commands.
Impossible.
Chapter Fourteen
Aiden
It’s late and I’m lying awake, aware that Maddie and Brent are sleeping one room over, together on a bed. I know they’re lying side by side, and I don’t like it. So instead, I imagine Maddie in a jacket, beanie, and two pairs of pants zipped into her own personal sleeping bag. Brent is on the floor in the closet, shivering and alone.
I stare up at the ceiling and strain my ears to hear anything from their room. I have the bathroom door open on my end. If one of them needs to piss, I’ll know it.
I’m aware that I’m not handling this well, but I never signed up to greet Maddie’s new boyfriend with open arms.
I groan and turn over onto my side, facing the bathroom.
I hear a sound and shoot up into a sitting position, eyes narrowed in focus. Then, annoyed that it proved to be nothing more than a cough or something, I push up off the bed and head into the bathroom.
With quiet steps, I head toward their door and listen closely.
Nothing sounds out of the ordinary. No talking or laughing or…that.
I drag my hands down my face, trying to grab ahold of some sense.
I can’t stay on patrol all night. Besides, what’s my plan? If I hear them doing something I don’t like, am I going to barge in and interrupt?
Maybe.
With a low groan, I decide it’s probably best to leave my room and head for safer ground. I take my pillow off my bed and walk out into the dark hallway, glad Jolie and James have a huge house. I don’t have to worry about waking anyone up with my nighttime wanderings.
In the living room, I’m about to flip on a light when I notice someone lying on the couch. The soft glow of a Kindle blinds me until I step closer and see Maddie bundled up under blankets.
She jumps and stifles a scream when she notices me standing there.
“Holy sh—”
“Sorry.”
She squeezes her eyes closed as if trying to calm herself down.
“What are you doing out here?”
“Reading,” she says, opening her eyes and refocusing her attention on her e-reader, not exactly pleased to see me.
“Yeah,