Know Your Heart: A New Zealand - Tracey Alvarez Page 0,87
being even blunter. “I like you a lot, but the fun ends once you leave for Auckland. I’m sorry, we don’t seem to be on the same page.”
Evidently, they weren’t even reading the same book. He’d told himself he wouldn’t let her walk away a second time…guess his giant ego blocked the possibility that Savannah wouldn’t share his feelings. Magic, his butt. She didn’t love him; he’d imagined the whole thing. She didn’t want longer than today, tomorrow, the day after… Each beat of his heart was a horse kicking his ribs with nail-spiked shoes.
Her eye tooth nipped at the soft skin of her bottom lip, and she shivered. Huh? Was she scared of how he’d react? Did she think he’d make a grab for her? He was an idiot, but he wasn’t a stalker or a doormat. He wouldn’t try to change her mind or beg for her affections. Not while he still had some pride. But a few more days in her presence and she’d bring him to his knees.
“Thank you for clearing up my misunderstanding. I think under the awkward circumstances, I’ll concede defeat to the better player. I’ll leave you to your victory in peace.” His ears burned with the sound of his voice.
Pompous asshole, much? But better a pompous asshole than a heart-broken loser.
Her eyes widened a fraction. “You’re leaving? But what about your book?”
Shrugging would’ve used muscles that still ached from the beating of the waves, so he merely stared, part of him irritated by his brain’s insistence he memorize the last glimpse of her face.
“I finished the book three days ago, so there’s nothing keeping me in Bounty Bay. Consider the last four days of my tenancy a thank you gift for the amazing sex.” He strolled to the corner of the house.
A sharp inhale behind him made him glance over his shoulder.
“You’re right, I forgot.” Another smile, so broad his jaw ached. “Good luck with the audition, Sav. You won’t need it though. You’re a hell of an actress.”
This time, he would be the one doing the walking.
Chapter 15
“Heard anything yet?”
Glen looked over at Jamie, red faced and sweating, sitting next to him on a bench overlooking the Waitemata Harbor after their five kilometer run. Glen could’ve easily gone for another five, but since his brother was building up from years of physical neglect, he didn’t want to push him too hard.
Tipping up his water bottle, Glen drank deep, stalling. The question could be answered in a number of ways, depending on what Jamie was really getting at. He tackled the easiest first.
“Yeah. I’ve got a couple of interviews next week.”
The interviews were for positions in environmental law firms. His father nearly stroked out when Glen walked into the office and quit on his first day back in Auckland two weeks ago. And Jamie? Glen shook his head, a smile curving his lips. Jamie was focused on repairing the damage with his wife and kids, and didn’t notice much of anything.
“Good for you. When one of the publishers bite on the three-book deal your agent’s pushing for, you’ll have more free time to write the next one.”
Glen snorted. “Who the hell are you, and what have you done with my brother?”
“That asshole’s long gone.” Jamie stretched out his legs, pale below his brand-spanking-new running shorts. “FYI, Erin wants to know when she can get signed copies. I told her we get first dibs and will make a fortune from your first editions when you die.”
“Ahhh. Good to see the asshole’s still in there somewhere.”
Jamie bumped Glen’s shoulder. “The asshole didn’t convince his wife and kids to give him a second chance and move home, I did.”
“Still sleeping in the spare room?”
Jamie deflated a little bit. “Hopefully not for too much longer.”
“Yeah, well, don’t screw things up this time.”
“I never want to lose Erin again.” Jamie stared out over the harbor to the distant Sky Tower rising above the city skyline. “She’s the love of my life.” He stiffened.
Yep, the words had plopped through the love haze and made a splash in the fraternal guilt pool.
“So, you haven’t heard anything from, ah, up North?” Jamie asked.
Glen forced his hands to remain loose around the plastic water bottle. Squeezing his tension out through his hands would be a dead giveaway if the bottle exploded. “From Savannah? No. I assume she’s still prepping for her audition, if she hasn’t left the country already.”