“Ha.” I breathed out a laugh. “Nothing about me or my life is normal.”
“But it can be if you let it. I have a conference call in five minutes. Go take a hot bath or something and relax. We’ll talk later.” He smiled.
After changing my clothes, I walked down to the beach and sat by the shore, staring out at the calm water. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day.
I placed my hand on my chest and took in a breath. Parker Hamilton. Just thinking about him tightened my chest. What I felt was dangerous. Parker looked at me like I was someone other than what Hearthstone made me. No one had ever done that, and it terrified me. He made me wonder what it would feel like to stop calculating every move. To stop believing that love was a weakness.
I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of the waves moving against the shore. Parker’s voice echoed in my head. The feeling of the way he held me came to the surface. His smile and the way he tucked strands of my hair behind my ear before stroking my cheek.
What if Gabriel was right? What if my heart was hidden behind endless layers of survival? I wasn’t afraid of Parker hurting me. I was afraid of needing him.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and stared at the picture of him I'd secretly taken. I was sure he tried to contact me when he woke up and found that I was gone. But the moment I left his house in the middle of the night, I blocked his number. I was supposed to forget about him when I stepped on the plane, but Parker Hamilton was a man you couldn’t easily forget.
Chapter Nineteen
One Month Later
Parker
I buried myself in my work. Harder than I ever had. I’d do anything to get my mind off Paige. It almost worked. But then I’d see or hear something that reminded me of her, and the ache started all over again.
I hadn’t heard from her in a month. It was time I accepted that I’d never see her again. But that was the one thing I didn’t want to accept. All these years of building up walls and staying clear of relationships, and she knocked it all down the moment I saw her.
They say every single person in the world has a soulmate somewhere out there. I never believed it until my brothers found the loves of their lives, and I still didn’t fully believe it until Paige walked into my life. She was the breath of fresh air I didn’t know I needed.
I arrived back from court and told my secretary I didn’t want to be disturbed. I hadn’t been in the best of moods for the last month, and everyone noticed. But I didn’t care. I sat behind my desk and turned my chair, so I was staring at the city beforeme, thinking about Paige. My office door flew open, and when I turned around, Julian stood there, looking panicked.
“Laurel is in labor, and I’m taking her to the hospital. I need my brothers there with me.”
“Let’s go.” I smiled, grabbing my suit coat.
As we sat in the waiting room, waiting for Julian to update us, Roman walked over and handed me a cup of coffee.
“Thanks.”
He placed his hand on my shoulder. “I know you’re hurt, but it’s time you accept the fact that she’s not coming back. You barely go out anymore. You’re hiding yourself, and we’re all worried about you, bro.”
“You don’t need to worry about me. I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not. That’s what I’m telling you.”
“What’s going on over here?” Our father walked over. “Roman, give me a minute with your brother.”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. The last thing I needed was a lecture from my father.
“Paige is an extraordinary woman, son, but she’s broken in ways you can’t even imagine.”
“You don’t think I already know that,” I said. “How would you be if Love took off and you never saw her again?”
“It would break me.”
“Exactly,” I said.
“But you can’t spend the rest of your life wondering ‘what if.’ She’s gone, son. You need to realize that and move on.”
“What if I don’t want to move on, Dad?”
“You don’t have a choice.”