He backed up, shutters falling over his eyes. “Then I guess I have a job to get ready for.”
Angry at his lack of understanding, angry at myself, angry at Sonia, angry at Aspen…angry at everyone who put us here, I pulled myself off the wall and stood to my full five-foot-eight height. Hardening my jaw like his, I leaned in and met him glare for glare.
“Fine,” I snapped.
And with that, I tipped us back.
I stormed out to my own room, barely getting the door closed before sinking to the floor, letting the tears fall.
Twenty-Three
Parker
I climbed out of the car, thankful for the mostly empty lobby and the security who kept a clear path to the elevator. The concierge pressed all the buttons, asking me about my night. I didn’t really want to do small talk for all of the twelve floors we had to travel. I’d done nothing but small talk all night.
All I wanted to do was get upstairs and talk to Nova. I wanted to tell her about my night and crawl into bed behind her and hold her to me like we’d done the past couple of weeks. Like I’d dreamed of doing every night away from her for over five years.
I imagined her face when I let her know how the night played out. I imagined how she would react.
Then I imagined her not even opening the door to me—refusing to talk to me just like she had after New York.
An idea hit me, and I pulled out my phone to check on any online gossip sites that might have reported already on the event. Finding what I was looking for, I interrupted the concierge talking about his interaction with Brogan and Oren earlier and asked him a favor. He blinked a few times but happily agreed.
When I got off the elevator, I had an extra pep in my step, and instead of turning left toward the suites, I went right for Nova.
I knocked on the door and stood off to the side so she couldn’t see me through the peephole. I figured I’d have a better chance of her opening the door to a random knock than to me. At least, that’s what I hoped for because if she turned me away now, I needed her to open it for the concierge later.
No answer.
Checking my watch, I saw that it was just about eleven and knocked again, knowing damn well she’d be awake.
Unless she left.
I hated the panic that squeezed my chest with that thought. I hated that the thought came at all. She’d run so many times before, and standing there waiting for her to open the door, I replayed through the argument we had before I left and tried to pick out if it would have led her into running or not.
I knocked a little harder.
The door jerked open.
“What?” Nova snapped when she flung the door open.
She looked side to side for who knocked so incessantly and looked so stunning in her black leggings and shirt that claimed I hike because fuck people that I couldn’t do anything but smile, even though she rolled her eyes when she finally saw me and turned away.
“Go away, Parker,” she grumbled, attempting to close the door.
I slapped my hand out before it could close and prowled inside. She met me chest to chest but was forced to back up with my every step forward. The door clicked shut, and she jutted her chin, but the green of her eyes swirled with indecision, hurt, and want. Even if she didn’t want to want me, I saw it burning there. It reflected mine, a fire that ebbed and flowed but never died out.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Once we made it past the hallway and into the room, she shoved me back but only managed to put a few inches of distance between us.
“Coming to see you.”
“No. I don’t want you here.”
“Nova,” I said softly.
Only the lamp glowed from the end table. It perfectly illuminated the soft dusting of freckles on the bridge of her nose, the fiery highlights in her hair I couldn’t help but imagine gripped tight in my fist. She stood before me, so stubborn, doing her best to make up for the six-inch difference between us. But while she glared, I took in every soft edge and elegant arch of her face, letting it etch itself on my soul and shine on the warmth that somehow grew each time I was with her. How did something so big keep growing inside me? She’d planted the seeds when we first met, and it twined with my veins, becoming a part of me, filling me to overflowing.
I saw it in her too, but she tried to hide it, and when she couldn’t, she jerked away, pacing to the other side of the room, just to turn back with her arms crossed.