The Risk: A Billionaire Romance (Wagered Hearts Series, Book 2) (27 page)

“Are you all right?” Mel asked me.

I looked down at her blankly. I’d been so lost in my own thoughts, I had almost forgotten that I wasn’t alone. My expression must have been thunderous judging by the look of concern that reflected off Mel’s face. I quickly schooled my features and pasted on a bland friendly smile. “Of course.”

Before I could say anymore, Emilia had emerged from the water and had called for me. I looked out towards where she was standing by the water’s edge and frowned. She waved me over and I looked towards Mel, who had seemed to shrink a little into herself. I wanted to reassure her and tell her that Emilia meant nothing to me, but I couldn’t find the right words to say it. My mind was already running in a thousand different directions, the first of which was revenge. I needed to make sure Cora paid for what she did and was no longer in any position to hurt Mel or myself any more.

Emilia continued to call over to me while I sat and brooded. “You should go to her,” Mel said softly.

I nodded my head and stood up. I looked down at Mel again, struggling for the right words to say, but nothing came to mind. Instead I turned and walked towards Emilia.

“Well? How did it go?” she asked breathlessly once I reached her.

“Is that why you called me over?” I asked, sounding a little annoyed. Each step I took away from Mel felt like a mistake. I should have turned back and said something—anything—to her. Now here I was with Emilia draped on my arm and I could just imagine what Mel must have thought. I looked back to where I had left her sitting, but she was gone. There was no one there, as if I’d imagined the whole conversation in my mind.

“Of course. What did you find out?” Emilia asked again.

Suddenly, I felt very tired and weary. I wasn’t in the mood to talk about what I’d just learned from Mel. Especially to Emilia. Though she was only trying to be helpful, a part of me couldn’t help shake off the feeling she was only treating this as a game; some amusing little diversion for her to while away her boredom. I had to take care of this situation on my own and I knew exactly what to do. Emilia couldn’t help me.

“Not much,” I lied. “I’ve got some phone calls to make, so I’ll see you later for dinner.”

Emilia didn’t look like she bought my answer, but I really didn’t care. She must have seen the hard set of my jaw and thought better of arguing. Instead she shrugged her shoulders carelessly and let go of my arm. “Suit yourself,” she said before I turned around and walked back towards the house.

“It was a mistake to come here,” I said to Lily as I began stuffing my clothes into my overnight bag.

“What? What are you talking about?” Lily said. She sat up on the bed where she’d been taking a nap. She still had a little bit of grogginess in her eyes and looked dazed and confused.

I had stormed into the room after my conversation with Ryan on the beach. I’d confessed everything to him—about my mother, about Chad and he just…walked away. I was so stupid. What was I expecting? For him to wrap me up in his arms and tell me he never stopped caring about me? I felt so foolish.

For a moment he looked utterly stunned. Almost as if he couldn’t believe what I’d just told him. I couldn’t blame him. It was pretty radical, the depths of my mother’s schemes. She seemed more like a movie villain than a real person. I wasn’t sure what Ryan’s reaction would be, but he had looked so angry. I shivered remembering that cold hard gleam in his eye.

I’d wanted to reach over and touch him, to make him realize that I was nothing like my mother and that I still had feelings for him. I wanted to tell him that the reason I couldn’t be happy with Chad was that I’d fallen in love with him instead, but I didn’t. That fantasy had been shattered with the sound of Emilia’s voice calling him from the water. He looked torn, like he’d wanted to go to her but didn’t want to be rude about leaving me. I could see on his face the indecision. I was sure he’d rather be anywhere than next to me, so I told him to go. And he’d done it without even a backward glance.

I felt humiliated and foolish sitting there after my confession, while Ryan walked over to his new girlfriend. I gathered up my blanket and slunk out of there. He was probably telling her everything I told him and they were no doubt having a good laugh about it all. I cringed thinking about it.

Lily’s hand on my arm stopped my frantic packing and I looked up at her, the tears blurring my vision.

“What happened, Mel?” she asked. Her brows were knitted in concern and the pressure she placed on my hand was surprisingly strong. I knew she wouldn’t settle for anything less than the whole truth. I let go of the pair of socks I’d been trying to stuff into my bag and sat back on the bed, wiping the moisture from my eyes.

“I shouldn’t have come. I don’t know what I was thinking, Lily. There’s no hope for Ryan and me,” I said sadly.

“What do you mean? Did something happen?” she asked.

I let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, you could say that. We had a little conversation on the beach,” I said, as I sat up and turned to face her. “I told him everything about what my mother had done and that I’d broken up with Chad.”

“And what’d he say?” Lily asked eagerly.

“Nothing. He sat there and didn’t say anything. Then Emilia called him over and he just got up and walked away.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Lily said. She sounded truly disappointed but still hopeful. “Are you sure you read that situation right? Maybe if you just give him some time—”

I pinned her with a scowl. “How else should I have read the situation?” I asked. “I’d rather not stay here and feel even more humiliated than I already do and have to witness Ryan flirt with his new girlfriend in front of my face. Besides, I’m sure he’ll be relived once I’ve gone. You didn’t see how badly he wanted to leave after I had poured my heart out. It was like he couldn’t get away fast enough.”

The fight died in Lily’s eyes and she slumped her shoulders. “I’ll go back with you,” Lily said as she got up off the bed and went to the closet to grab her suitcase.

I waved her off. “No, don’t. You should stay and have fun.”

“I won’t have fun here by myself. The only reason I came was for you. I hate half the guests here,” she said.

I wasn’t in any mood to argue so I shrugged my shoulders and continued packing. Lily called the driver to meet us out in front of the house. On our way down the stairs, we ran into Helen, who looked much too pleased when we told her we were leaving. She didn’t try to make us stay or ask for any explanations, which was a relief. It’d save us from having to tell Ryan of our plans. I didn’t want to face him again.

Once we got in the car, Lily closed her eyes and pretended to fall asleep. I was grateful for her thoughtfulness since I was in no mood to talk. I stared out the window at the passing scenery and tried to blot out the past few hours from my mind. I just wished I could blot out the last few months as well.

“You need to wipe that sad pathetic look off your face.”

I looked up to see Candace scowling at me from across the table. We were at Pearl Bar waiting for Lily to arrive to celebrate her final night out as a single woman.

This girl’s night out was a lot tamer and more low key than her bachelorette party in Vegas. Only Lily, Candace and I would be participating and we’d only be out for a little while. Since it was her wedding tomorrow, there was no way Lily was staying out past midnight and I couldn’t blame her. She couldn’t look haggard and hung over on her wedding day.

I was always a little surprised at how quickly the time flew by while at the same time, my life remained at a standstill. Every time I thought about her wedding, I couldn’t help but picture Ryan there as well. I knew he’d absolutely be in attendance since he was Roman’s best man. It’d be the first time I’d see him since that weekend in the Hamptons. The jitters in my stomach told me that I wasn’t ready to face him yet.

Since the disastrous conversation with Ryan, I had tried to fill my time with other activities just to keep the memories of that day at bay. But it was no use. Whenever I had an idle moment, I’d jump right back to that day on the beach and remember the look on his face as I’d poured out my heart to him. He’d just stared at me blankly before his face filled with anger.

I shook my head and mentally cursed myself as I’d done hundreds of times before. Why couldn’t I just let it go? It was over. If I had any doubt about that after I’d left the Hamptons, it was hammered home to me when day after day, Ryan still hadn’t contacted me. If he had cared, and just needed time to process everything, then he would have tried to see me by now. But he hadn’t.

Even my mother had tried to call me once, but I’d ignored her call. There was a part of me that was desperately curious and wanted to know what she wanted. But the newer and wiser Mel slammed the door on that line of thinking. I knew I’d only be disappointed and left feeling hollow once again when she proved herself to be the selfish and shallow woman she’d always been.

The only bright spot in my life was Lily’s wedding. It had been a godsend and had helped take my mind off of my own depressing life. There were fittings to attend and the final girl’s night out to help plan. Lily had been surprisingly cooperative about having another celebration in her honor. After the fuss she’d put up about her bachelorette party, I thought she’d refuse outright, but she had agreed almost immediately.

“I don’t have a look on my face,” I said automatically.

“You do and you’ve been wearing it for the past twenty minutes,” Candace shot back. She’d been in a grumpy mood since she arrived from work. I knew it was probably stressful and crazy at Chère ever since news of my mother’s exit made the headlines so I couldn’t be mad at Candace for her short temper. I was just glad I didn’t have to deal with all that mess.

“So, have you decided what you’re going to do now?” she asked.

I blew out a weary breath and shook my head. After quitting at Chère, I’d been lax about finding a new job. It wasn’t as if I were in dire straits yet. Thankfully, I still had all the money in my trust fund that my father had set up for me, so I didn’t have to settle for any job. I could take my time and find something that I really wanted to do, which was a blessing. After the tortuous few months working for my mother, I finally realized how important it was to find a new position that I was happy with and wouldn’t dread going to every day.

“It’s a good thing you got out while you did. The whole atmosphere there now is so toxic. People are leaving left and right and it sounds like they’re doing some more shakeups at the top,” Candace confessed. “I’m about to follow in your footsteps, actually. It’s gotten too much for even me to bear.”

“Really? What will you do?” I asked. Working at Chère had been Candace’s dream, so I was surprised to hear she was thinking about leaving. Granted, she had that dream before she ever stepped foot inside Chère’s offices, so the reality may have left her disappointed.

“I’ve got some things lined up,” she said mysteriously.

“Why does that sound slightly worrying?” I asked.

“Because you don’t have an adventurous spirit like me,” she teased.

I frowned at her and bit my bottom lip. Even though she’d meant it as a joke, somehow her little throw away comment hit a nerve. Had I become a stick in the mud as she suggested? I’d always prided myself on being adventurous and not afraid to try new things. Hell, I’d gone with Chad to China for three weeks after only having known him for a few days. I’d backpacked around Europe and Asia after college and taught English in Mexico, but lately I realized I hadn’t done anything with my life. I’d just been waiting on other people to act while I merely reacted. As if sensing my plummeting mood, she pushed a shot of something towards me on the table and I looked at her doubtfully.

“Just forget about your problems for one evening and try to have fun,” she said.

I didn’t even realize she’d ordered shots and was hesitant to drink it. The last time I’d had a shot, I’d gotten blisteringly drunk and wound up in Ryan’s bed. I shook off that memory and reached over for the tiny glass. There was no way that’d be happening tonight, I thought morosely. I tipped my head back and downed the drink in one gulp. It left a burning trail down my throat as it went down—tequila.

Candace followed suit and lifted her hand to order more. I didn’t even try to stop her. In fact, I found that I welcomed the idea of drowning out all my doubts and troubles in alcohol. I wondered why I hadn’t thought of it earlier. It would have made my lonely nights a little more bearable.

Lily arrived shortly after we’d finished our third shot. I was already tipsy by that point and I could see her giving Candace and me the side eye. She sat down cautiously and frowned at us like she was about to launch into a lecture about the dangers of drinking.

“Don’t start,” I said, holding up my hand and cutting off whatever she was about to say. “It’s your last night out and we’re just celebrating.”

Lily had been about to argue, but after a quick glance between Candace and me she just shrugged her shoulders. “Suit yourself,” she said. “I just hope you don’t regret it tomorrow. You know it is my wedding and you’ll have to get up at the crack of dawn, right?”

“Don’t worry,” I said, giving her a goofy grin. “We’ll be there with bells on, right?” I said, looking over at Candace as I hooked my arm around Lily’s neck.

“Right!” Candace agreed enthusiastically.

We ordered another round of shots and toasted to Lily’s happiness before leaving. Candace knew of an intimate little wine bar she wanted to try out. The wine bar was on Greenwich Ave. and as we made our way there on foot, we passed by the record shop where I’d waited for Ryan on our first date. I stopped in my tracks and jerked Lily and Candace to a sudden halt as well. They scowled at me as I pulled them into the record store, an excited look in my eyes.

“What the hell?” Candace said. “You almost took my arm off.”

“Why are you dragging us in here?” Lily asked, pulling on my arm to try to slow me down.