Tristina’s dark eyes were wide. “Okay, I lied. I’ve never heard that one before. You said you’re falling for this girl?”
The truth was he’d passed that bridge yesterday when he held her while she cried and watched her pull herself together. Or maybe it was back on the top of Pulpit Rock when she faced down her fears to prove to herself she could. Or, hell, if he was going to be honest, the whole damn thing had started the moment she took out his bum leg in a back alley in Cork. “Head over heels.”
“Then why the hell are you sitting in my bar? Go get her.”
“It’s not that simple.” Even thinking about the look of betrayal on her face made him sick to his stomach. She was entitled to it, too. “She hates me.”
“If she let you hike around Europe with her, she doesn’t hate you. She’s probably wicked pissed, but you totally deserve that for lying to her.”
He drained half his beer. “Not really helping.”
“Nah, hear me out. Pissed isn’t forever—pissed is all surface-level hurt. You just have to man up and prove to her that what’s between you isn’t a lie. Simple.” Tristina grimaced and tucked her long hair behind her ears. “Okay, maybe not exactly simple, but it’s doable.”
It was easier said than done. He didn’t get the feeling that Alexis would stand still and talk with him. It was far more likely that she’d take out his knee and walk away while he was still trying to fight through the pain. “How the hell am I supposed to do that?”
“Hell if I know.” She laughed. “I just work here. But I can tell you that sitting at this bar, drinking a beer by yourself, isn’t the way to go.”
Which meant he needed to find her. That, at least, he had a head start on. Luke finished his beer and pushed to his feet. “What do I owe you?”
“It’s on the house.” She grinned. “Can’t put a price on entertainment.”
He snorted. “Thanks.”
“No problem. Now go get your girl.”
Chapter Nineteen
Alexis walked for hours, blind to the sights around her. All she could focus on was the betrayal soaking through her body, poisoning every memory of her time with Luke. He’d lied to her from the start. He’d been playing a part perfectly designed to make her feel like she was actually accomplishing what she set out to do here. Would she have done half of it if he weren’t there, prodding her along?
She didn’t know, and that was going to haunt her for the rest of her life.
When she finally started to notice her surroundings, the sun was sinking into the horizon. Shit. She needed to find a place to stay, and quickly. Walking around a strange city at night was asking for something bad to happen. She paused and dug through her bag, coming up with the lodging book she’d been using to pick out places to stay. Flipping to Venice, she picked the first hotel that looked familiar, not having the patience to deal with a hostel and the risk of sharing her room with other people. All she wanted right now was to be alone and mourn the loss of something she’d apparently never had to begin with.
Finding the hotel took longer than she would have liked, and by the time she walked into the lobby, it was fully dark. At least the clerk made checking in relatively painless, and ten minutes later, she was finally alone. Alexis locked the door and dropped her pack on the floor.
Then she tore off her jacket and stripped out of the dress. She’d never wear the damn thing again. Hell, she should cut it into a thousand tiny pieces and flush it down the toilet. Even feeling the flimsy fabric against her skin was a reminder of Luke’s hands on her body and the feeling of completion that only seemed to come with his mouth on hers and his cock sheathed deep within her. And the things he’d said to her, the beautiful things that made her feel like being whole and strong wasn’t just a possibility, but inevitable. All gone. All lies.
The only thing she’d done in Europe without him was visit the Blarney Stone. Not exactly the actions of the strong and fearless woman she’d started to feel like. Without Luke by her side, she never would have made it to the edge of that cliff. After a spectacular failure like that, would she have even bothered to try her next destination? Or would just have booked a flight and gone home with her tail between her legs?
She didn’t know.
Loss nearly made her double over. The lie was bad enough, but he’d taken away every single thing she’d accomplished in the process, stripping away New Alexis and leaving broken and battered Old Alexis in her place.
Moving on autopilot, she picked up the single phone in her room and went through the steps for an international call. She had no idea what time it was back home, and she didn’t care. Avery was going to hear what she had to say, one way or another.
Her sister answered on the third ring. “Hello?”
All the anger and frustration that had been brewing inside her since she realized Luke had been sent by Ryan bubbled up her throat, making it hard to breathe. “How could you?”
“Alexis?”
“Who else would it be?” Her laugh tore from her throat. “Why, Avery? Do you really think I’m so goddamn helpless that I can’t take care of myself? You knew how much I needed this!”
Her sister sighed. “He told you.”
“No. He was plenty happy to go along with the lie until kingdom come. But he slipped up.” She gripped the phone tighter, the storm of emotions inside her making her voice ugly. “You should pay him extra, though. He really went above and beyond the call of duty.”
“God, Alexis, you took off without a word to anyone. For all I knew, you were heading to that giant-ass cliff to throw yourself off. If our positions were reversed, you would have done the same damn thing.”
“You should have trusted me. I needed time and space to get my head on straight.”
“Then you should have planned your trip like a normal person instead of running away.”
Having Luke’s words thrown back in her face made her knees give out. She slumped onto the bed. “So you sent a babysitter.”
“It was Ryan’s idea, but I supported it. I’m not going to apologize for worrying about you, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you’re out of luck. I did what I thought was best.”
“And whose idea was it to have Luke fuck me into submission and say all the right things? Because that was a cold goddamn decision.”
A beat of silence passed, and then another. “I think you’re going to need to repeat that.”
“Which part—you all back home being assholes, or the part where Luke followed orders and blew my mind seven ways to Sunday?” A sob worked its way up her throat, escaping before she could hold it back. “I cared about him, Avery. I thought it was real.”
“Hold, please.”
Like she was going anywhere. All she wanted to do was crawl under the covers and cry until she didn’t feel anything anymore. She pushed back to her feet, but there wasn’t enough phone line to pace. “Sure. Whatever.”
“Thanks.” The sound was muffled, but she still heard a thump and a curse. Avery sounded so damn vicious, even Alexis winced. “Drew Flannery, I’m going to kill your brother, and I’m not even going to bother to make it look like an accident. What made Ryan think it was a good goddamn idea for Jacks to seduce my sister?”
Drew’s voice was a little farther away, but still clear. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“They’ve been knocking boots, bumping uglies… Do we really have to go through this again?”
“I’m going to kill that slimy little fuck.”