by Lindsey Hart
“No,” she whispered. “I mean, my sister was with him. It was for the money. I’ve never really told you why I never go back home. That’s why. My parents are just- well, they’re different than I am. So are my sisters. They all think it’s perfectly fine to marry a rich guy for the money and not love him. She probably treated Rhett so bad. He would never say, but she was cheating on him and that’s bad enough. I don’t even know how he could have been with her. She must have been a really good actress.”
“Or did all kinds of kinky things to keep him interested.”
“Thanks for that mental picture,” Bella moaned.
“No problem.”
She shook her head. “A billionaire? You’re serious? You looked up the right guy?”
“Yeah. Totally. I’m sure. Look for yourself.”
“I didn’t even bother checking.”
“You didn’t look him up?”
“No, I said that.”
“Right. Well… that’s awesome. I mean, you landed your sister’s ex, stuck it to your family and now you’re with some rich guy who can give you the world. What more is there?”
“That’s what my sisters would probably say.” Bella exhaled loudly. “I think there’s a lot more. First of all, neither of our families know. We’re not going to tell anyone anytime soon for obvious reasons. Also, we’re not together, so there isn’t anything to talk about.”
“You’re not together?” John scoffed. “What’s with the seeing each other every single weekend and the moping around and pining around the house the rest of the time? I’ve seen more than my fair share of people and I can tell you, you guys are so into each other. You’re seeing each other. I think it’s real, even if you don’t want to admit it to yourself. I know you’ve dated a few losers in your time, okay, a lot of losers and assholes, but this guy seems nice. So what if he’s rich? That’s a huge bonus in my books. I wish I could meet a rich lady and she’d take care of me.”
“Jesus,” Bella cursed. “That’s also a mental picture I don’t want to consider.”
John chuckled to himself. He seemed completely oblivious to the sea of chaos currently going on inside her body. Her head and her chest were a mess. Both in disagreement with each other.
“So, do you need that bag?”
“Uh- let me get back to you on that.”
“I’m going to work in half an hour. Just let me know before then. If not, I’ll find it anyway and set it out for you. I’ll set it in the hallway.”
“Okay,” Bella responded absently. She got lost in her own thoughts and wasn’t even aware of John leaving, which he must have done because when she looked up at the doorway, he was no longer there.
She let out another long, audible exhale. Right from the start, she’d known what she was doing was wrong. It was a mistake and it couldn’t last. Their families would never give their blessing. Not that she needed her parent’s consent or praise, but she figured that what Rhett’s mom thought meant a lot to him. She knew he hadn’t told her. There was also the whole thing about her not doing commitment. She wasn’t looking for a relationship. She didn’t want to be in one. She hadn’t really meant to get involved with Rhett. It kind of just happened. And kept on happening.
She had to put an end to it. Bella knew Rhett had money, but she had no idea how much. She thought that he maybe made a few hundred grand a year. Enough to keep her gold-digging sister manicured and in fancy clothes. Maybe that was mean, but Sarah kind of walked right into it.
Bella wasn’t going to do the same. She wasn’t going to be with Rhett and have everyone say that she was just doing it for the money, especially when he treated her or bought her a gift or anything. She’d never wanted to be like her sisters. It wasn’t about the money for her. She was proud that she was able to provide for herself, even if it wasn’t always much and the things she had weren’t overly nice and her car was older and her condo was in a transitional neighborhood and to really afford it, she had to have a roommate.
She wasn’t going to sell out. Even if she was with Rhett and she wasn’t truly selling out, her family would see it that way. Everyone would see it that way.
That road wasn’t one she was willing to go down. Not after spending her whole life trying to be independent. She had her pride.
Rhett had never told her that he had that kind of money. He obviously didn’t want her to know. Maybe it wasn’t an issue for him. Maybe he didn’t even think about telling her because he thought she already knew. God, whatever the reason, she couldn’t go to Phoenix. She had to stop seeing him.
She always knew that it had to end. She’d just kept putting it off because it felt… strangely amazing. Good in a way she didn’t know good could be. Being with Rhett was like a new definition of the word.
When she was with him, she felt hopeful for the first time in a long time. She shouldn’t have. She knew they were running on borrowed time. That every single time together should have been the last.
All the odds were stacked against them. They were never supposed to be together. Finding out that Rhett was actually a billionaire just confirmed it.
One of them had to be a grownup and do the right thing. The thing that was best for both of them. She glanced one more time at her suitcase, at all the clothes strewn around her bed. Just a few minutes ago she’d been contemplating what to weed out, what she wouldn’t need, if she actually needed clothes at all, considering she’d spend most of her time naked… god, it hurt.
With trembling hands, Bella reached for her phone.
CHAPTER 17
Rhett
“So, let me get this straight. It’s because I have money that you won’t come this weekend.” Rhett gave his head a shake. He had to have the worst damn luck in history.
“I can’t be like my sister.”
“You’re nothing like your sister.” Rhett barely resisted the urge to curl his fingers around his phone and crush it in his grip. Seeing as that would be completely counter-productive to actually finishing his call with Bella, he managed not to.
“Still. I can’t. You didn’t tell me that you’re a fucking billionaire, Rhett. I can’t do it. I can’t keep seeing you. Everyone is going to say that it’s bad. We already knew that just based on the fact you were with my sister and now, you’re banging me, and our parents would think that’s completely off the hook inappropriate-”
“I don’t care what people think.”
“Yeah- well- I do. I care that people don’t call me a gold-digger or a money-grubber just like my sisters. I’ve always cared. I’ve always made my own way. I don’t want someone to give me a free ride. I want to have my independence. I want to work. I want to feel like the things I have in my life were earned, not given to me because I was scamming them off of someone.”
“But you aren’t scamming anything off of me.”
“Still. I know what’s going to happen and where this is going to end up. I- I can’t do it.”
“But you knew that I had money before.”
“Not like that. You didn’t tell me. Honestly, I can’t believe my sister. She had it made, because that’s exactly what she was going for. I can’t believe she fucked it all up and I mean that in the nicest sense.”
“Wow. So, one sister only wants me for my money and the other sister refuses to be with me because of it. Like fucking wow. I just can’t win.”
“This isn’t your fault. I- it’s me.”
“Isn’t that what everyone says in a breakup.”
This time, it was Bella’s sigh that drifted over the phone. “Honestly, I don’t know. We aren’t dating though so this isn’t a breakup. We were just having some fun. That’s all this was. I thought we both knew that. I thought we were both adults. Don’t prove me wrong.”
“You know what?” Rhett’s ire rose and since his chest was caving in and his heart splintered- again- he wasn’t able to keep the biting tone out of his voice.
“What?” Bella sounded just as crushed and he almost felt
bad. Almost. Maybe that would come later. For the moment, his anger was definitely clouding his vision.
“This is just bullshit. It’s ridiculous. You say that we’re both adults, but you’ve always been so afraid of what people are going to say about you that you can’t even take a step in either direction without worrying about how it’s going to look. About who you’re going to piss off because you like that. I’m honestly surprised that you don’t want everyone to know about us. That you don’t want to keep doing this. It would piss your parents off big time and that’s basically what you live for, isn’t it?”
The low grumble over the phone was definitely exasperated. There was absolutely no doubt about it. “I’ve told you before. That’s not who I am. That’s not how I’m made. I needed to take a break from my family because I wanted to be a decent, honest person. I’ve never agreed with them because I’ve always wanted to do the right thing, even if it was hard and that pisses a lot of people off, my family included. How I look, how I dress, where I live, those things were for me. I don’t do things just to make them angry, even though you clearly think so. I thought you would have learned after our first argument that I get really pissed off when things like that are suggested.”
“I…” Okay, now he really did feel like a grade A asshole.
“No. Seriously. Just save it. We’re both pissed and nothing good is going to come from that. This was never destined to work. We had some fun. It was good while it lasted. The first time was definitely a mistake. The second time was supposed to be closure. Everything after that was just bonus. It was what we both needed. Let’s just remember it that way. I had a great time, for the most part. I think you did too. It’s not going any further, so let’s just let it go before either of us gets hurt.”
Too late for that. And didn’t that make him an idiot? How the hell had he gone and actually developed feelings in a month? Technically, it had been a month and a half, but god. He should have learned after his wedding. Or non-wedding, as it were. He should have had his walls miles high, and honestly, if it was anyone else, he would have.
Not Bella.
Bella was different.
He couldn’t exactly figure out why, other than that she’d been there at the exact time he needed her. She’d seen him at his worst, and she hadn’t turned away. She’d extended a helping hand and if there was anything more attractive than kindness, compassion, and wit, he damn sure didn’t know what it was.
“Bella?” Rhett realized belatedly that he was lost in his head and she was still there. If it was the last time he talked to her, he didn’t want her to go thinking that he wished her ill. Because he didn’t. He just wished that someone would give him a chance. Him. Not his bank account. Not his house. Not his things. Not his company. Him and him alone.
Which, really, he realized Bella had done. She’d never given two shits about his money. She’d never asked for anything. She was the one who kept trying to tell him it wouldn’t work out. She’d warned him. She hadn’t used him. She hadn’t meant to hurt him. If anything, he’d done it to himself. He’d pursued her. He’d tracked her down. He’d gone and got that damn tattoo, which he actually really liked now that it was finally healed. He wasn’t quite brave enough to show it to his mom yet, but that was another story.
“Yeah?”
He closed his eyes and savored the sound of Bella’s voice. She should have been on a plane on her way to Phoenix. He didn’t buy her the ticket. She’d paid for her own when she said she wanted to come to his place for a change. She should have been on her way, getting closer and closer with every passing minute. He’d been so stupidly excited he hadn’t slept properly for days. He’d been shit at work. The only thing he could think about was her. He’d counted down the days like a little kid getting close to Christmas.
She should have been on that plane, but she wasn’t. She was on the phone. Telling him she wasn’t coming. That she was never coming.
And damn it, he felt like he’d just been kicked right in the stomach. By a damn elephant.
Or run over. By all the busses in the world.
God, he felt worse than he had at his wedding when he’d left that church. If anything, he had felt relieved about finally figuring out who Sarah was. When he got over the shock, he was so damn thankful that he hadn’t made the mistake of marrying her.
“Rhett?”
“Yeah. Sorry.”
“I- uh- take care of yourself, okay? You’ll find someone. A good one. Just be patient. Stay away from high maintenance women like my sister. If they ask for trips to the salon or a designer handbag or a thousand dollar pair of shoes that’s a dead giveaway. Run. Run as fast as you can and don’t look back. And if you’re lonely and tempted to make bad decisions, don’t bother with five hundred dollars an hour therapy. Just keep getting tattoos. You’ll be a lot further ahead and a lot more colorful in the long run.”
Rhett could almost hear the smile in Bella’s voice. He tried. He really tried so damn hard to match it, but he couldn’t. He mumbled a depressed response, something that sounded close to you, you too, and hung up before he handed his balls in right along with the man card he nearly surrendered the day he got his tattoo.
Although, if that’s what it took, he would have done it. Bella was worth it.
He didn’t really know her. Not yet. But he wanted to. He wanted to spend weeks and months and years turned inside out. He wanted to keep making a complete fool of himself and feeling like some brat with his first crush. He just wanted to enjoy spending time with Bella. She was cool. She was nice, at heart. Real good. The golden kind of good that’s hidden under layers of dark eyeliner, black hair dye, tattoos, and snarky wit. She’d let him in, let him have a peek at her heart and soul and it was blindingly beautiful.
He was drawn to it like the poor moth to that flame. Okay, that was a shitty analogy, but at the moment, with nothing but his lit-up phone screen staring back at him and the silence closing in around him, he was all out of non-clichéd analogies to use for his life.
He just wanted Bella back.
He wanted that potential to have a real future back.
He wanted all the things he thought they could have. The things they could have been. That rightness. He’d never felt that with Sarah. Or anyone.
Bella was it. And she was gone.
So, where the hell did that leave him?
CHAPTER 18
Bella
After a few weeks of moping around, it was clearly obvious to everyone that something wasn’t right. Bella thought she was doing a good job of hiding the aching gaping hole in her chest but clearly, she was only fooling herself. Or so Rick’s crossed arms and his suspicious stare, including the famous stern left eyebrow that only ever lifted when he was pissed off or concerned, told her.
“What’s up, Bella? Clearly, something’s wrong.” Rick’s arms bulged out of his t-shirt. His chest rippled with muscle. He was a fine specimen and if they didn’t work together, she might have given him half a chance. If he was interested. Which he wasn’t. Rick liked to focus on work and that was pretty much all his life consisted of. When he wasn’t working at the shop tattooing people, he was at home drawing. He probably dreamed about drawing and designs and tattoos in his sleep.
Bella shook her head. She plastered on a smile that made her face ache and leaned back in the reception chair. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about. Everything’s fine.” She glanced around the shop like maybe Rick was talking about something she’d forgotten to do, a mess on the floor that needed to be swept, or one of the paintings or pieces of art that needed to be straightened out because a customer knocked it crooked. No such luck. The place was immaculate.
Rick gave one of those irritated snorts he reserved for customers that started moaning and groaning and writhing like Armageddon was upon them in the first fifteen minutes of their tattoo. He pegged her with one of his famous stares. His left brow twitched. “Something is definitely wrong. I can tell.”
“
Mind telling me what it is then?” Bella finally looked Rick straight in the eye, hoping he’d believe her. No such luck round two.
“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking. I can tell something’s up. You’re not yourself. You look tired. You look sad. You look like some asshat broke your heart and that pisses me the hell off- and the rest of the guys here too- and we would have no trouble kicking his ass for you if you give us the address.”
“As much as I would like a good gang bang-er gang pound- er- gang ass beat down, you’re wrong. No one broke my heart. That isn’t even possible. I’d have to fall in love with someone first and god knows that isn’t possible.”
Rick’s eyebrow did that twitch jump itch thing again. “No? Last time I checked, you had one. You like to pretend that you’re tough. You might have a thick skin, but even the thickest skin is still able to be punctured. Trust me. I make my living by poking art into people’s skin. I haven’t met a hide too thick to be pierced yet.”
“And you’ve even tattooed me.”
“Right. So that’s how I know for sure I’m not out to lunch here.” Rick paused. “Look. If you don’t want to talk about it, I get it. That’s alright. I just want you to know that we’re here for you if you need anything. None of us like to see you upset.”
“Was Nicole in on the ass-kicking as well?” Bella forced another smile, though it had a little authenticity to it. Nicole was the only lady artist at the shop, and damn, she was tough. She also did piercings and rocked probably a hundred herself. Some visible. Some not.
Rick winked. “You bet.”
“Well, I’m okay. Thanks for worrying about me though. I’m good. Just- maybe it’s because the weather has been so shitty lately. Always grey and gloomy. We never see the sun anymore. Maybe I’m running low on Vitamin D. Or maybe I need to get my iron levels checked. I have been tired lately, but I chalked it up to the clouds.”