BOUGHT: A Standalone Romance (11 page)

“Smile!”

Startled, we both turn to glance at a woman with a large camera and larger smile. We both give her a smile before she chuckles. Looking at the camera, she nods her head.

“You two make a very beautiful couple.”

I blush as she walks away. As I lay my head against Connor’s chest and start dancing with him again, I can feel the deep rumble of his chuckling. I glance up at him.

“What’s so funny?” I ask, puzzled.

“Nothing,” he replies.

I don’t ask any more questions. Instead, I let myself enjoy our moment together. As we move, I begin to wonder about tomorrow. We’ll be on a plane back to California, and then what? I’d been so eager for this whole thing to be over, but now I’m not so sure. Will we even have anything in common once this is done?

After a long night of dancing, eating, and way too much cake, we return to Connor’s parents’ place for the night. Gloria excuses herself early, but Connor and I sit with Mark. His father breaks out the good brandy.

“I’m surprised by you two,” Mark says as he pours us a drink.

“Why?” I ask.

“This family has a certain…taste, I guess you could say. All of the women we’ve ever married have been strong, if not a little bossy, people. Now, I don’t like to speak ill of people…”

“But he’s going to,” Connor mumbles with a grin into his glass.

“But that Charlotte was just awful. She was always mean to Connor, almost cruel. It got to the point that we thought Connor was going to have a breakdown. You don’t seem like that, though, Angela. Really, you seem like a sweet person.”

I smile. “Thank you, Mark. I do try.”

I spend the rest of the night listening to Mark tell stories about Connor and his sister. Each story makes Connor turn a little redder. I enjoy watching him blush for once.

“Look at that.” Mark squints at his watch. “It’s really late. You two should get some rest before you have to go tomorrow.”

I yawn. “I can’t disagree with you there.”

“The guest room is all set up.” Marks pushes himself up. “Goodnight, you two. Angela,” he says, taking my hand, “it has been a pleasure talking to you. I hope you stay around for a long time,” he says with a wink.

I follow Mark to the guest room. Both of us are exhausted as we crawl into bed. Connor wraps his arms around me once more. Maybe I’m overthinking things, but I’m beginning to think that maybe there’s more to Connor and me.

The next morning, we sit down to breakfast with Connor’s parents before we head back out. Gloria still seems pretty irritated that her plan to marry Connor off to Lilly isn’t going as planned, but despite that, it’s not a horrible experience. They stand on the porch, waving to us as we speed down the road.

“Well,” Connor says, “that’s it. I can’t believe we pulled it off.”

“I can’t either.”

I want to ask him, “What now?” but I don’t. The ride back to the airport and the plane ride itself are filled with silence. I can feel unanswered questions between us, but I don’t want to bring up the subject, and it seems that Connor doesn’t either. By the time we reach his place, I’m exhausted with the effort to keep quiet.

“Are you hungry?” he asks as we step inside.

I shake my head. “No, I promised Mary and Kyle that I would visit them as soon as I got back. I need to make sure that everything’s okay.”

“It’s kind of late, maybe you should do it tomorrow.”

“It’s only seven,” I muse. “I’ll be fine; I’ll just drive myself.”

“I would prefer you do it tomorrow. I want to have dinner with you.”

“Not tonight,” I say with a small smile. “Tomorrow. Let’s do it tomorrow.”

Connor frowns. “I didn’t ask, and I didn’t say tomorrow. I’ve told you before and I’ll say it again: you’re mine.”

When his hand grips my arm, my eyes go wide. “What is wrong with you? I don’t belong to you, or anyone else for that matter. It’s one thing to say that in the bedroom, but out here you don’t own me.”

“I paid for you. I still have plenty of time,” he says between gritted teeth.

I scoff. “Connor, let go of me.”

“No.”

I’m plagued with a sudden memory of Nathan. The way he’d always grab my arm, force me to listen to him when I didn’t want to. Panic rises in my throat, and I’m choking on it. I pull my arm away harshly.

“You’re hurting me! You know what? I can’t take this anymore. The assignment is over. I’m finished, Connor. Pay me so I can leave.”

“Tomorrow.”

“Fine!” I scream. I can feel the tears gathering in my eyes. “The contract says tomorrow, so you may be able to make me wait for it, but I refuse to stand here and let you push me around!”

I turn on my heel and storm out of the front door. As I’m waiting for my car to be brought around, I place a hand on my chest to steady myself. What was I thinking? How could I possibly think that Connor was changing? He’s the same as he’s always been: mean, selfish, cruel.

The moment my car is pulled to a stop in front of me, I hop in and speed off. It takes every ounce of my willpower not to dissolve into a pool of tears. My fingers grip the wheel so tightly that they go white. How can I let him get to me like this?

It isn’t just Connor, though; it’s the memories. The way he grabbed me, the tone of his voice. It was Nathan, right before he hit me, right before he would hurt me. I force myself to slow my breathing down, to take long deep breaths, but I can’t calm down. I speed down the highway, trying to outrun the memories that still haven’t healed.

I want to call Zoey, but I hold off. I can’t allow myself to break down just yet. I have a son to look after. More than anything, I’m afraid that if I lose it right now, I’m never going to be able to get back in control of myself. I decide to go to Zoey’s after I visit Kyle and Mary.

“You’re just in time! We’re going to the movies,” Mary says with a smile.

“A movie sounds great!”

I try to sound enthusiastic, but Mary glances at me a moment too long. She seems to be able to pick up on all of my emotions easily. It’s daunting. I don’t want to talk about it, though, so I move around her to look at Kyle.

“You ready to go?”

“Yep!”

Mary cancels the cab and we take my car instead. I can feel the end of summer coming. There’s a slight chill in the air that won’t be able to be ignored for long. We pull into the parking lot, and I take a moment to adjust my makeup before I climb out of the car.

Kyle is bouncing excitedly, talking about some movie with robots and explosions. Mary looks apprehensive. It takes a few moments, but eventually we all land on something we want to see. There are no robots, but there’s fighting, romance, and explosions, which seems to cover just a little bit of all of us.

“Here.” I hand Kyle a couple of folded up bills. “Go get us snacks.”

The boy grins. “Thanks, Angela!”

As he runs up to the counter, I turn to Mary. “Do you think he’ll ever call me Mom?”

“One day,” she says with a nod. “One day when he isn’t still healing. It can take a while to get over hurt. Even more so if that person is a child.”

I smile. “You should be his mother. You’re perfect.”

“Well,” she says with a chuckle, “the world has other plans. Oh, look at him. He’s ordered everything behind the counter, I think. Could you help him please?”

I nod before I walk over to Kyle. He’s struggling under the weight of two large popcorns, nachos, drinks, and an array of different candies. I pick up some of the food and drinks.

“Do you think you got enough snacks?”

“Did I spend too much?” he asks with a frown, and I detect an edge of panic in his voice.

I shake my head quickly. “I was just joking; you didn’t do anything wrong. Let’s go find our seats.”

A pang of guilt goes through me. I didn’t know Kyle was so sensitive, but then again, I don’t know much about him. Mary sent me letters with photos and emails with video attachments, but they have grown sparser over the years. Which was fine by me, because the guilt I felt looking at those photos and videos made me feel lower than dirt.

Kyle seems to recover quickly as we make our way into the theater. We settle down in seats near the front. As the lights go down, I heave a sigh of relief. It’s so hard to be “on” all of the time. I let myself sink into my seat.

By the time the movie is over, Kyle and Mary are happy, but I’m still hurt. I wish I could just shut it off, shut Connor out. I turn on my phone, and message after message populates the screen. Without reading one, I delete them.

I refuse to be stuck on him, not when he can’t seem to realize what it is that he’s doing wrong. Mary touches my arm, and I realize that I’ve been glaring at the screen for way too long. I throw both of them a smile.

“Kyle? Do you like pizza?”

“Duh,” he says with a laugh. “Who doesn’t?”

I chuckle. “That’s a valid response. What do you like on yours?”

“I like anchovies, but definitely no pineapple.”

I laugh at how alike we are. Seeing myself reflected in him is still so eerie, but I can’t help but wonder what he would be like if I’d raised him. Resisting the urge to sling my arm around his, we push out of the theater in search of food.

I text Zoey, but there’s no reply. Shaking my head, I can imagine that she’s out, surrounded by beautiful men who drool over her every movement. Any other night, I wouldn’t care what she’s doing, but tonight I’m hoping that she comes home early. I could use my best friend more than anything right now.

“Are you okay?” Mary asks as Kyle heads to the bathroom to wash his hands.

I shake my head. “No, I’m not okay.” I choke down the burning sensation of fresh tears. “I’m just kind of tired for falling for the wrong ones all of the time.” I wave away her worried expression. “It’s nothing. I have Kyle to focus on now, and finding us a place to live.”

As I speak, I feel fat tears rolling down my face. Quickly, I wipe them away before I laugh. It’s a bitter, empty sound, but as I take in a deep breath, I force it away. I can’t break down right now, not in front of Kyle.

“Hey,” I say as I force a smile, “why don’t you stay with us? I mean, I’m going to need help with Kyle, and he’s going to need time to adjust. This way you can at least stay around for a while.”

“I-I don’t know…”

“Don’t you want to stay around Kyle?” I ask, puzzled.

“Of course I do! There’s nothing I want more, but I can’t let him watch me—”

Her words are cut off in her throat as Kyle walks back out and sits down next to her. She turns her head, wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. I wish I could talk to her more, but we both seem to be speaking a silent language, and “don’t upset Kyle” is the theme.

For the rest of the night, I try my best to push all of the drama away. I have a son in front of me who needs me. Mary needs me too, even if I didn’t realize that at first.

By the time we’re stuffed full of pizza and ice cream I’m ready for bed. The drive back to their hotel seems to take forever. Kyle waves when I drop them off, making me grin like a fool.

“You can stay here for the night, if you want to,” Mary offers.

I shake my head. “I don’t want to take up space. I’m going to go by my friend’s house and stay the night with her if I can. I’ll be back soon.”

Mary nods, a faint smile on her lips. “Be safe.”

“I will.”

I watch as both of them disappear into the hotel before I pull off. The night is pitch black and lonely. Usually, I like it when the trees and dark buildings are the only things around me, no cars clogging up my road. Now it just feels empty, lonely. I find myself missing the place that I’d called home for so long. At least I could go there, curl up, and forget the world even existed for a while.

My phone rings, jarring me out of my thoughts. I fumble in my purse for the sound, my fingers brushing over it until I’m able to fish it out. Zoey. Her smiling face has probably never comforted me as much as it is now.

“What’s wrong?” is the first thing that she asks.

“I’m fine. I just need a place to sleep tonight, if you’re not busy.”

“Busy?” Zoey scoffs. “I can have any of these guys next weekend. Let’s focus on you for now. Where are you?”

“I’m heading towards your place.”

“Okay. If you get there before I do, let yourself in.”

“You got it.”

Once we hang up, I can’t deny that I’m feeling a little better. I turn up my radio until the bass is thudding inside, rattling my body. I don’t care. For a long time, I’ve been deluding myself. But it seems as though it’s time to face reality.

When I reach Zoey’s, I fish the spare key out of my purse before letting myself in. I flip on a couple of lights before I kick off my shoes and walk into her bedroom. In the bedroom I find sweatpants and a tank top and switch into them. By the time Zoey gets home, I’m nestled on the couch with a cup of tea in my hands.

“Let me change, and then you can tell me what’s going on.”

I nod as she disappears into her bedroom. For a moment, I wonder why she always looks so stunning. She was wearing a tight black dress that shimmered in the living room lights. Her heels were so tall that I wonder, not for the first time, how she walks in them. When she reemerges, she has traded the dress for a soft pink nightgown, and curls up beside me.

“Spill. How’d it goes with Connor’s family?”

I tell her everything. When I’m done, she’s smoking a cigarette, flicking the ash into a black dish. I hesitate to hell her about what happened when we reached Connor’s again, but I have to tell someone. By the end of it, I’m wiping at my eyes once more.

“I can’t understand why I’m so upset!” I exclaim in frustration.

“You like him.”

“I’m not supposed to,” I mumble as I clutch a pillow to my chest. “He’s just a client. This was supposed to be a simple deal.”

Zoey laughs. “Nothing is ever simple.”

“I don’t get it. Why is he such an asshole? One minute he’s sweet and loveable, the next he’s demanding and cruel. I just wish…I don’t know.”

Zoey sighs as she smashes the butt of the cigarette into the dish. “I didn’t want to tell you this…” She trails off, lost in her own thoughts.

After a few moments of silence, I prod her. “Tell me what?”

“I’ve known him for a while now. The only time he goes back and forth like this is when he’s back on it again.”

“On what?” I press.

Zoey pinches the bridge of her nose. “Connor’s always been pretty stable. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he can be pretty demanding, but that’s just him. When he gets back to drinking, though, he gets even worse.”

“What do you mean?”

“Connor’s been an alcoholic ever since his first marriage. He was only twenty-two back then, but it gripped him hard. When he starts, it’s hard for him to stop.”

I think back to the last few times we were together. How could I have not noticed it? When he was sober, he was stern, but not overly cruel. I think back to the times when we drank until we passed out.

“I completely missed it,” I mumble.

Zoey shrugs. “It’s hard to miss. He’s hidden it from everyone from a long time. I thought that if he was around you maybe he’d stay clear, but I’m starting to think I was just being optimistic.”

“What should I do?”

“That’s for you to decide. It’s not going to be easy to see him through this, but if you really care about him, it will be worth it.” Zoey catches my gaze and gives me a grin. “You’ll be fine. Both of you will. Maybe you two just need to talk.”