Three notifications waited on her phone. Two of which were from Steven. She punched in her pass code, and began playing the messages.
“Hey babe, I need to talk to you. Call me as soon as you can?”
“Samantha, I really have to talk to you. Call me when you get this, okay?”
Her brows furrowed, and she frowned. What did he need to talk to her about?
The last message was from Renee.
“Hey Sam! Are you and Tris killing each other, yet? This is taking forever, and I’m not even in the car! Call me when you can. Love you! Bye!”
Samantha closed her eyes, leaning back on the pavement to let the sun warm her face. “This is almost over. You’ll see Steven in a couple of days, and everything will go back to normal.”
She sat up again, straightening her back as she dialed Steven’s number. It went straight to voice mail, and she began to leave a message.
“Hey babe,” she began. “You’re probably working, but I wanted to call while I had reception.” She blew out a breath and looked back over her shoulder to the garage. “We ran into some car trouble, unfortunately. It seems we’ll be delayed about a day.” She paused for a moment, her eyes focused on nothingness. “Call me when you can.” She hung up the phone without even saying goodbye.
When she looked up, Tristan was standing above her. His sunglasses were covering his eyes, but the tension couldn’t be hidden from his face. “I guess we should go get some rooms?”
She pushed herself from the pavement, but Tristan grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her up the rest of the way. His grip was firm and strong, yet sent goose bumps to cover the length of her body in a second. “Everything okay?” she asked, searching his face for answers.
He nodded, but immediately looked away. “Yeah. You?” he asked, meeting her eyes once again.
“Yeah,” she whispered. He still looked upset, and all she wanted to do was yank the glasses off his nose and demand that he tell her what was wrong. Why he’d suddenly changed from the easy-going Tristan she’d always known him to be, to this. But in these few short days she’d become closer to him than she was comfortable with. Closer to him than was healthy. She needed to keep her distance, to keep her walls up and not let them fall. “I guess you’re right. We should go get some rooms.”
They both stepped off the curb separately, keeping distance between them as they walked toward the bed and breakfast.
True to the mechanic’s word, the bed and breakfast was stunning. Samantha was sure it had once been an old Victorian home. Brick walls, a castle-like roofline, and shutters on every window. But there was a large pool in the center of the courtyard that was modern and sleek, and looked exhilarating. Lush foliage surrounded the property, offering privacy, yet the building sat in the center of town, not even a half block away from the public.
They followed the intricate stone path past the magnolia tree scattered with huge white blossoms, then to the gold sign that took them to the front office.
A pretty blond woman waited at the counter and looked up as soon as they entered the building. “Welcome to the Gumtree Mansion. How can I help you today?”
Tristan took his wallet from his back pocket and braced his forearm on the counter. “Two rooms please,” he said, but his voice betrayed his exhaustion.
“Oh…” The woman’s brows furrowed and she began clicking at her computer. “Let me see…” She clicked a few more times, her frown growing deeper and more intense. “That’s what I thought.” She looked up, glancing from Tristan to Samantha. “I’m afraid I only have one room for tonight.”
Tristan looked over his shoulder to Samantha, where she violently shook her head. She couldn’t stay the night with him. Not after their too close moment the night before. Not alone.
He turned back to the woman and put his wallet back in his pocket “That’s okay, we’ll go somewhere else.”
He pushed off the counter to leave, but before they could exit the building, a high-pitched squeak caused him to turn around.
“Sir!” the young woman yelped. “We’re the only hotel in town. Anything else is over a hundred miles away. ”
Tristan closed his eyes, ran his hands through his hair and dropped to a squat. Like the whole world had become too heavy for him to bear.
Samantha’s heart lurched in her throat and she stepped forward. “You know, one room will be fine.” She turned toward Tristan, nodding. “It will be fine.” She walked closer, wanting nothing more than to pull him to his feet. “I was being silly. It will be fine.”
He rose to his feet, the crease in his forehead softening a bit, but he pulled out his wallet again and placed his card on the counter. Samantha shook her head, opening her purse to pay. “I’ll get it,” she muttered. But he ignored her and shoved the card farther on the counter toward the receptionist. “It’s one room, Samantha.”
She swallowed hard, because as silly as this was, she could see he needed this. To feel like he was in control. Like he was taking care of the situation. Like he was somehow fixing things. She nodded once, then turned around and allowed him to pay. When her cell began vibrating in her pocket, she walked toward the door to the courtyard. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”
She pushed through the glass doors and walked a good distance over to the magnolia tree by the pool “Hello?” she answered softly.
“Hey!” Steven said. “Finally. God, it’s been hard to get ahold of you. I got your message. Are you okay? You need anything?”
Samantha let her back rest on the smooth bark, lolling her head back and taking in the peaceful yard around her. “We’re fine. It’s only the radiator cap. Can you believe it? I had no idea such a thing was so important.”
Steven laughed in response. “Me either, honestly.”
She nodded, set her bag on the ground, and turned to face the pool. It was completely empty, so peaceful.
“Other than that, are things going okay?”
She took a step forward, a tightness in her belly growing with each second. “Yeah. How are things with you? How’s the new gig?”
There was a smile in his voice. “Busy…” He went on to tell her about his boss, about working until eight at night, and how he’d already lost five pounds. But then he cleared his throat, and she realized there was something he needed to say.
“I’ve actually been trying to get hold of you for a while now,” he said. His voice lowering before he spoke again. “They’re sending me to San Francisco this weekend. I won’t be able to make it to the wedding.”
Samantha’s knees went weak, and she grabbed hold of the bench in front of her to hold herself steady. “What do you mean? Can’t you get out of it?”
“Sam, I’m not going to tell them I can’t go. It’s a huge opportunity.”
“But the wedding has been planned for months!”
“I know, but when your boss needs you for a favor, you do it. The fact he wanted me there is a big deal.
She closed her eyes, thinking about all the times Renee had warned her about this. About him always putting work and his dreams before her. “What about me? What about what I want, what I need?”
“Samantha, don’t blow this out of proportion—”
“What? You’re acting like I’m being ridiculous, but I told you about this six months ago.”
“I know, but plans change. This is a really important step in my career, Sam. I’m sorry it means I’m going to have to let you down, but I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
Before she could open her mouth to respond, he muffled the phone. “My boss is coming. We’ll talk when you get home.”
He was gone. Leaving her with tears rolling down her cheeks. Tears of rejection and anger. Of confusion, frustration, and embarrassment. She looked down to her phone and opened up a text:
Samantha: No need to talk. We’re over. I’m done.
She closed her eyes, her body trembling. She meant every word of it. With every fiber of her being. Every drop of blood, sweat, and tears she’d put into their relationship. She was done. She put her phone in her back pocket, then turned around to see Tristan watching. Standing in the path that led straight to her. His legs were braced apart, his hands stuffed deep in the pockets of his jeans. “You okay?”