“Trent?” I utter a little stunned when I slowly turn to face him. Damn, I forgot how good he looks in a suit—the beautiful bastard. “What are you doing here?”
Trent slowly strolls over to me, his eyes openly roaming down the length of my body and back up again, he licks his lips and my stomach clinches in response. “Fulfilling family obligations. What are you doing here?”
Family obligations? What?
I blink, my brows furrowing, “Family obligations?” I voice probingly and Trent’s blue eyes dart around the house and he shoves his hands into the pockets of his pants.
“Yeah, it’s my mom’s birthday and as much as I hate gatherings like these, she would disown me if I didn’t show up to her birthday dinner.” He explains coolly and smiles, inching a little closer, “Never would have imagined I would run into you here of all places. Now I’m glad I came.” He adds smiling eloquently. “Funnily enough I was thinking about you the other night.”
Goddamn it. Of all the places I could wind up working it’s at his mother’s birthday dinner, days after he dumped me for the fourth time. Of course, this would happen to me, it’s just my damn luck after all. Do you know what I hate though? The way my heart pinches whenever he smiles at me. I veer my eyes from his when they linger on mine a touch too long. “You were thinking about me? Why Trent? Shouldn’t you be ‘focusing on yourself’, after all that is why you broke up with me just three days ago, isn’t it?”
Trent’s handsome smile falls, and he sighs, his eyes narrowing as though he’s searching for the right words. “Sav, I hate the way we ended things.” He reaches out to touch my arm but when I back away from his touch a hurt look crosses his features fleetingly. “My intention wasn’t to hurt you, babe.”
I roll my eyes and scoff, “Well, it sure as shit didn’t tickle when you dumped me yet again with another one of your pathetic reasons Trent, and a day before my birthday, mind you. Who does that to someone they supposedly care about?” I fire back glaring up at him irately.
Trent reaches over and takes a hold of my hand and when I try to snatch it back, he tightens his grip. “Sav, I’m going through some shit babe, I have been for a long while now, things I really didn’t want to burden you with. My parents weren’t exactly the pilgrim of a happy marriage, until they got divorced all I heard night after night was them screaming at one another. I didn’t grow up in a loving home like you did, my parents only got married because my Dad knocked my Mom up.” Trent explains and for the first time since I met him, I see sincerity in his eyes. “I’m sure they were in love and happy once, but it's hard to believe in love when all you’ve witnessed growing up is what it ultimately turns into.” He admits and blows out a breath. “I’ve started seeing a therapist to get over my fear of commitment.”
My chest constricts and I force myself to swallow the lump that forms in my throat. The back of my eyelids starts to prickle when I fight the urge to cry. That’s the reason he kept breaking up with me, not because I’m not good enough to be with him or he finds me too boring, but because he’s afraid to commit. “Trent, why didn’t you just tell me that?”
Trent closes his eyes and heaves a sigh, he scratches his forehead wincing a little, “I should have, I mean, I wanted too, but I didn’t want to drag you into the mess that my head has been, Sav.” Trent declares, dropping his gaze to look down at his thumb brushing over my knuckles. “You’ve never been the problem babe, I have.” I don’t know why but I’m suddenly feeling more enraged than when he dumped me all those times. What the actual fuck? Why couldn’t he have been straight with me and told me this instead of dumping me and leaving me to stew in self-doubt for weeks at a time?
Jesus Christ.
My lungs burn hot, I couldn’t breathe and needed air urgently. I pull my hand out of his hold and shake my head. “I’m sorry but I can’t do this right now,” I say backing away when he takes a step toward me. “No, please, I uh, I have to work.” And with that I turn and walk toward the kitchen leaving him watching my retreating back and hurry to the backyard. It’s decorated with hundreds of twinkling lights, a long table set for thirty for the six-course meal, with larger centerpieces, to the ones on the tables indoors arrayed down the middle with candles.
I place my hand on my forehead, my mind reeling while I pace back and forth in the back yard. It’s always the same story with him, one step forward, three steps back. “Sav.” I close my eyes and place my hands on my hips, exhaling slowly to calm the annoyance simmering under my skin. “Can we please just talk?”
“Now you want to talk?” I snap irritably. “The time to talk has come and long gone, Trent. I don’t understand what it is you want from me? One second you want me, the next you’re distant and making excuses to break up with me. A whole damn year I waited for you to finally be ready to commit to me, but every time you made another excuse. I gave you my all Trent every time we got back together, but you couldn’t even give me half of you, so I don’t know what it is you’re expecting.” I fume and he just stares at me looking a little shell-shocked. “My friends told me you would never fully commit but every time I defended you because like an idiot I believed you genuinely cared about me and in time you’ll open up and give us a chance, but you never did, and now you’re suddenly ready to share your problems with me and I’m supposed to what… jump back into your arms like you didn’t dump me a couple of days ago?”
Trent takes a step toward me and I retreat shaking my head, “Baby doll—”
“Don’t baby doll me Trent. I’m sick as shit of you treating me like some dispensable toy you play with when you’re feeling bored or lonely and then toss aside when you’ve had your fun.”
Trent’s brows knit and he shakes his head, shoving a hand through his mousy brown hair and sweeping it back when the wind blows it into his face. “Sav, I shouldn’t have broken up with you. I couldn’t be the boyfriend you deserved with all this shit going on in my head, but watching you walk out of that restaurant I knew I screwed up and I’ve been wanting to call you because I’ve really missed you babe.” He claims slowly inching toward me, his greenish blue eyes gazing into my own, he reaches up and cups my left cheek. “Just give me another chance, please baby doll, I don’t want to lose you.”
I close my eyes and for the first time his touch didn’t set off any flutters in my stomach, instead I have the strongest urge to recoil like his touch singed my skin.
“Trent? There you are love. What are you doing out here?” My eyes flutter open when I hear a woman’s voice behind me. Trent’s eyes lift and he looks at someone over my head and smiles.
“Mom, wow look at you, you look beautiful as always.” Trent whistles and moves over to brush an affectionate kiss to his mother’s cheek.
“Thank you love, who is your friend?” I hear his mother question and I slowly turn and face them. Wow, I always knew Trent’s mother was pretty, all you had to do was look at her son to see he came from a stunner, and no exaggeration she really is a gorgeous woman. Emerald green eyes that sparkle like jewels, her hair is a lovely golden blonde swept up into a high ponytail. She’s swathed in a pearl white, low cut, mermaid style dress with sequins that hug her in all the right places. She’s the epitome of perfection, however, there is something about her that doesn’t quite sit right with me. The icy exterior and condescending look on her face perhaps?
Oh, good grief, please don’t introduce me, please don’t introduce— “This is Savannah, she’s—”
I quickly intercept holding out my hand to her, “The event coordinator, Suzan sends her sincerest apologies she couldn’t be here this evening, she’s had a bit of an accident.” I explain and she smiles a little and casts a look at her son before she looks at me again and takes my hand.
“Ah yes, Jenna mentioned that Suzan suffered an unfortunate incident with her Pilates instructor this morning.” I nod and lace my fingers together in front of me. “I assume you have everything under control here?” She utters narrowing her eyes at me. There’s a knowing tinge to her tone and I sneak a wary look at Trent.
“Mom, Savannah and I were dating till a few days ago. You remember the girl I was telling you about the other night?” I fix Trent with a glare when his mother looks up at him and nods before casting me a disparaging look, she drops my hand. “This is her, my Sav.”
My Sav?Is he kidding me? He’s never called me that, not once.
I have the strongest urge to tell his mother what a schmuck her son is, but I bite my tongue and plaster the fakest smile I could muster on my face. I need to remain professional not only is she the client, she’s also good friends with Suzan. If I’m not careful one bad word from her could wreck everything I worked for and I’m not about to let that happen.
“I assure you Miss Lang; everything is under control. Your guests should be arriving shortly. I should go and do one last check to ensure everything is ready for their arrival. It was lovely meeting you and happy birthday.” I say and excuse myself. Trent holds my gaze when I walk past him toward the kitchen.
Damn it, running into Trent tonight has completely thrown me through a loop and I’m struggling to push my woes over him to one side and focus on my job. If I screw this up on account of him, I’ll never forgive myself.