Page 29 of Awake in Cheshire Bay
She threw a glance to Mitch before focusing on me. “Amber, I’m so confused. Who’s crew?”
“Antonio.”
“I don’t know who that is?” She shook her head.
My breath was catching in my chest and the words were getting harder to speak. I pleaded to her and Mitch. “You’re. Wasting. Time. Please.”
Cedar slapped me across the cheek and stepped back, her jaw dropping from her own actions. “Oh god, I’m so sorry. You were getting hysterical.”
Mitch’s eyes widened, but he didn’t do a thing aside from flip his gaze between her fiancée and me.
I held my hand against the angry mark, and after taking a much-needed deep breath, let my silent tears fall.
“What’s going on? Tell me what happened. C’mon.” She wrapped her fingers through mine and gently pulled me in the hallway, leading the way up the stairs to their floor and over to their apartment.
“Now sit. Mitch, get her some ice.” My best friend sat beside me, her voice heavy with concern. “Who’s Antonio?”
“The guy you sent over to see me yesterday.”
“And he left?”
She was so calm, and her voice was so soothing, it took me a second to collect my bearings. “With his crew. The ones who flew in here. They said he had a meeting.”
“Oh, okay. Things are becoming clearer. Now, just breathe.”
I inhaled and took the small bag of ice Mitch offered me.
“Again, I’m really sorry for slapping you.”
“No, it’s okay. Forget about it.” Inhaling another deep breath, I then exhaled in a slow steady count of three. “I probably would’ve done the same to you.”
She nodded. “Fill me in on this guy because you said you loved him?”
I wrapped my arms around my chest, the impossibility of having fallen for someone who was a complete stranger less than 24 hours ago. “We hit it off, Mr. Welsh and me. I mean, not at first, but after I drove him to the motel, we just sort of clicked. We had a nice dinner, went for a walk to watch the sunset and splashed in the bay.” I skipped over our first sexual encounter. “After that, we walked around town and danced under the stars. We talked, he understood me. The first guy ever to just get me. This morning we watched the sunrise, having not slept all night.”
It had all been so perfect. Too perfect, maybe. Like those too good to be true kind of moments.
My tone soured, as an image of Sorcha popped into my head. “Suddenly, his crew have his luggage and are pushing him to go, how he has a meeting. And the pilot, she said I was just another notch in his belt and that I should get tested.” My shoulders rolled in and my focus went blurry. “Somehow, over the night, I fell for him, and I don’t believe Sorcha, but I can ask him if you can get me his number.”
I wasn’t ready to let the best night of my life end so abruptly. I wanted more. I wanted Antonio.
“Oh, Am.” She wrapped me in a hug, a sympathetic smile blossoming on her face. “You had the night.”
“The night?”
“Everyone gets that one special night where they stay up all night long. It only happens with your soulmate.”
I burst into tears. “And he’s gone, see what I mean?”
“I’m so sorry. You were supposed to have a good time, not fall for the guy.”
“Can I get you anything to drink?” Mitch asked from the safety of his kitchen.
Wild women weren’t his forte, and I still hadn’t forgiven him for the temporary wedge he put between him and Cedar, even if they did work through it. Mitch had cheated on her, albeit shortly after they started going out, years ago.
I blinked and stared at them both, and at the clock hanging in their living room. “Oh, damn. You’re supposed to be going to work.” Cedar was dressed in her work uniform. “I’m so sorry.” I rose and headed to the door. “Can you do me a favour, though? When you get to work, can you see where the plane left from? I went to the airport and there was no plane or limo for that matter. He just vanished. There must be a log of it somewhere, right? He left for Victoria.”
“I’ll see what I can do, and I can check with the tower.” Cedar nodded and looked over at Mitch. “Why don’t we drive you home and let you get some rest?”