Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

PAISLEIGH

I stare at myself in the mirror. With the power being out, it’s hard to make out much but Rhett wasn’t kidding about his clothes being too big on me. The shirt hits my knees and hangs off my shoulder. I’ve had to roll the sleeves too, and don’t get me started on the sweatpants, I could’ve fit my whole body in one pant leg. At least I got the socks to work for me. I’m sure they’re not meant to come up to the knee, but whatever.

This is as good as it’s going to get.

I can’t hide out in the bathroom forever. I’m just not sure how I face him. I mean, he didn’t say more than a couple of words to me once I got in his truck, and the conversation didn’t pick up after we arrived at his cabin. He just shoved his clothes in my face and told me to take a shower. He didn’t ask any questions or give me an opportunity to explain why I left my fiancé at the altar. He just looked at me like I was nuisance.

A knock sounds at the door interrupting my pity party.

“Pais…are you okay? You’ve been in there a while.”

I smooth a hand over my hair and open the door.

“Sorry,” I murmur, meeting his gaze.

His gaze lazily tracks the length of me, pausing on my bare legs before darting back to my face.

“Something wrong with the pants?” He asks, his jaw clenching slightly.

“They fell off as soon as I put them on,” I explain, dragging my fingers through my wet hair. I glance around the bathroom, purposely avoiding his hardened gaze, and my eyes land on the wedding dress that sits in a heap on the bathroom floor. I bend to grab it, draping it over my arm.

“I think it’s ruined,” Rhett says from behind me.

I turn to him and eyes catch. “I don’t know what to do with it,” I admit as I absentmindedly toy with the lace.

He juts his chin toward the bathtub. “Well, since it’s wet why don’t you drop it in the bathtub? We can figure out a more permanent solution once it’s dry.”

I nod and do as he suggests. Once the dress is dealt with, I exit the bathroom, and Rhett leads me back to the main living space.

“You should make yourself comfortable on the couch. The fire will keep your legs warm,” he says as he makes his way toward the kitchenette. He pauses in front of the island and reaches for a bottle of bourbon.

“Can I have some of that?”

He lifts his gaze to mine. “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”

I try not to roll my eyes. “I’ve been legal for a while now. I can decide if I want a drink or not, Rhett, and considering I walked out on my fiancé, and nearly got taken out by a tree, I think I deserve one.”

He seems to consider my words for a moment before he turns and reaches for a glass on the shelf next to the sink. While he fills it with the bourbon, I take a seat on the couch. My eyes dart around the cabin, taking in every square inch. It’s the first time I’m in his space, and it’s nothing like I imagined. For starters it’s a lot smaller than I thought it would be. I always pictured him in some massive log cabin with floor to ceiling windows that overlook the mountains— like the ones you see in those ritzy travel magazines. But the only windows in this cabin are the two skylights that hang over the loft and the one over the kitchen sink. I’m sure the views are great when the weather is nice, but on nights like this, I wouldn’t want to be lying in bed with a clear view of the angry sky.

The couch dips as he takes a seat next to me, and I tear my gaze away from the loft, taking the glass he offers.

“I called Cade. Let him know your safe.”

“Did he tell you what happened?”

He shakes his head, leaning back against the cushions. He doesn’t look at me though, he just keeps his eyes focused on the fire raging in front of us.

“He just said you walked out and that you stole Gary’s uncle’s truck.”

Humming, I take a sip of the bourbon. I suppose there isn’t much more to tell. It’s not like I bothered to explain myself to anyone. I took the coward’s way out.

“Aren’t you curious?” I whisper.

His hand tightens around the bottle of bourbon, but he doesn’t tear his gaze away from the fire.

“Rhett, I?—”

“No, I’m not curious,” he says, cutting me off as he turns to face me. Those dark eyes of his—normally so guarded, flash with danger, and something I can’t quite place. “I’m fucking terrified,” he rasps. “Because there is no going back from this, Pais. You’re sitting on my couch with another man’s ring on your finger.”

I glance down at my engagement ring. I was so anxious to rid myself of the wedding dress, I forgot all about the shiny rock on my finger.

“I want to rip it off you,” he growls. My gaze snaps up to his. “And I know that’s wrong. I should be consoling you. I should be asking questions, and helping you make sense of whatever it is that’s going on in your head—that’s what your brother would do.” He sets the bottle of bourbon on the coffee table before settling back on the cushions. Dragging a hand through his thick hair, he stares at me. “But I’m not your brother, and as good as my intentions have been in the past, they’re not anymore. I’m glad you didn’t go through with the wedding, and I’m even more relieved you’re here.”

Shock courses through me, and my chest tightens.

“You didn’t seem all that happy earlier.”

“That’s because you could’ve been killed out there.” He pulls his fingers from his hair and takes a deep breath. The back of his hand gently glides across my cheek. “I don’t know what I’d do if something ever happened to you,” he admits, his tone barely above a whisper. “You looked absolutely beautiful in your wedding dress. I don’t think I told you that earlier.”

He didn’t say much of anything at the church, but he never does. We’ve been silently communicating for years, and when I caught sight of his back as he walked away from me, I knew I couldn’t go on like that anymore. All the unspoken truths we’ve both been too afraid to speak aloud, need to be said. Life is too short to live with regrets and wonder what if.

“I couldn’t go through with the wedding. I couldn’t pledge my love and life to another man when you’re the man I’ve been in love with for nearly half my life.” I lift my hand, my fingers circling his wrist. “You can reject me. Tell me you don’t feel the same way, and I’ll deal with it, but I can’t keep pretending. I can’t avoid my feelings because they make you feel uncomfortable. I broke another man’s heart. An innocent man who only wanted to give me a future. He didn’t deserve that.”

He pulls his hand away from my face, and I set my glass next to the bottle he placed on the coffee table before I move closer to him on the couch. Taking his face in my hands, I turn his head to force him to look me in the eye.

“I should’ve never accepted Gary’s proposal when deep down, I knew the only man I ever wanted to ask me to be his was you. I love you, Rhett, and I think you love me too.”

“I’m not any good at it.”

My brows pinch together, as I search his face.

“You’re not good at what?”

“Loving people. Anyone I’ve ever loved has run.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re not good at it. Maybe you’re just loving the wrong people or they’re not deserving of your love.”

My heart hammers inside my chest. For as many times as I’ve dreamed of this moment, I never took account of how nervous I’d be taking my shot.

“It’s not that black and white, Paisleigh. I’m not sure I can be what you need.”

“The only thing I need is for you to stop fighting this pull between us, the rest we can leave up to fate.”

“Fate, huh?” he rasps.

I close the distance between us, and bravely straddle his lap. His hands immediately fall to my hips as my arms circle his neck.

“Yes, I’m a firm believer when two people are meant to be together, fate finds a way of clearing the path.”

He raises his hand, circling my left wrist and pulls it away from his neck. His thumb grazes the engagement ring on my finger as he stares directly into my eyes.

“I don’t know that I will be any good at this, but I don’t want to run anymore. Not from you. Seeing you in the back of the church, about to marry someone else, it changed me. I felt like I was suffocating.”

“Then don’t. Not more running. We can figure it out together.”

“Together,” he repeats, his eyes boring into mine as he lifts my hand. His lips sweep across my palm, before they wrap around my left ring finger. His teeth graze my finger as they work the ring off me. Then he releases my finger with a pop and drops my hand. Tearing his eyes away from mine, he stares at the fireplace, working the ring inside his mouth before he spits it across the room and into the fireplace.

Turning back to me, he closes the distance between us, and pushes his fingers into my damp hair. “We’ll leave it up to fate.”

Before I can agree, his mouth slams against mine. His lips firm and demanding, pry mine open and his tongue delves in, sweeping my mouth in the most feral way.

Fate.

It work’s in mysterious ways.

Want more of Paisleigh and Rhett? Coming March 2025 you will be able to follow their story on my website as a serial.

www.janineinfantebosco.com