Collide (Collide, #1)(78)

With his touch heady and intoxicating and her heart still slamming in her chest, she didn’t turn around. She couldn’t. On shaky legs, she made her way back into the party, the sudden need for absolute numbness overriding her thoughts. She gave the room a once over to make sure Dillon wasn’t in her line of sight. As soon as she knew it was clear, she weaved through the guests, her mind racing a mile a minute with the fear that Dillon could’ve caught them. Her body jerked with a surge of adrenaline when she felt a hand grab for her elbow, but the tension in her shoulders deflated when she turned to find it was Olivia.

“Come with me,” Olivia quickly said, leading her to the front of the restaurant.

They stepped outside, and Olivia handed her a bottle of aspirin. “Tell Dillon you had a headache, and you sent the valet to bring the car around because you needed to get these from the glove compartment.”

“Dillon has the valet ticket,” Emily hastily whispered.

Olivia flashed a smile. “Don’t worry about it. I use to f*ck around with him,” she motioned over to a lanky valet attendant that was watching them.

With a half smirk, Emily flicked her eyes in his direction and then back to Olivia.

“What?” Olivia chirped. “It was my pre-women days, and he owed me a favor. I already talked to him, and he said he would back up the story if need be.”

Emily nodded. “Okay. This will work, right?”

“Oh, your fiancé,” she replied, crinkling her nose, “is definitely pissed, but yeah, the excuse should work.”

With that, they walked back into the party, and as soon as they did, Emily’s gaze locked onto Gavin’s. He was coming back in from the terrace, watching her as intently as she was watching him. He strolled over to Stephanie, reached for her hand, and spoke to her for a few minutes. With Stephanie on his arm, he started making his way through the crowd, heading straight in Emily’s direction.

Olivia laughed, and Emily shot her a look. “Well, you have to find the humor in all of this, chick.” Olivia smiled.

It was far from humorous for Emily. It was painful, confusing, and drained her emotions dry, but before she could tell Olivia any of those things, Gavin and Stephanie approached them.

He wore a smile on face, but a glimpse of pain was evident in his eyes. “It’s getting late, so we’re gonna get going,” he said as he looked at Emily. “Just tell Dillon I’ll talk to him during the week.”

Emily nodded, wanting to somehow comfort him. After tonight, she felt they both might be going to bed, licking their wounds—at least she knew she would. “I’ll tell him,” she answered, her voice just above a whisper.

“It was nice to meet you,” Stephanie smiled. “Again, congratulations to you and your fiancé.”

“Thank you,” Emily replied.

Olivia leaned in to give Gavin a hug. When she released him, he cast one last weary look toward Emily, and without another word spoken, he and Stephanie walked out of the restaurant.

Although it came without alcohol, Emily felt numb after he left. Pain and confusion continued to crush in around her for the remainder of the evening. Olivia was correct. Dillon bought into her story of needing a dose of aspirin for a headache, but that didn’t make Emily feel any better. As she carried on conversations with guests, Gavin’s words echoed through her head, burning a hole in her heart and taking the last piece of something away from her. Just a few months before, Emily had believed she was able to see through and peel away some of his many layers.

However, tonight, Gavin peeled away hers.





Chapter Fourteen


Broken





Another barking cough tore past Emily’s throat, her eyes following Dillon as he rounded the taxi after closing her door. Forget the fact that Gavin was going to be there tonight, she felt like shit, and her body ached from head to toe. Gavin would only bring on a different kind of pain for her at this point. She couldn’t believe she had allowed Dillon to talk her into going, but something in his unrelenting persistence and intolerant tone brooked no argument.

Already intoxicated, he haphazardly slid into the backseat and let the driver know their destination.

After digging in his pants for his wallet, he looked to Emily. “Oh, come on, babe. You’ve got to be feeling better by now.”

Between the smell of alcohol lingering on his breath and the nausea from medication steadily pumping through her system, she was sure she was going to throw up right there and then.

“No, Dillon, I don’t feel better,” she sighed, leaning her head against the window. A crowded bar was the last place she wanted to be right now. “I don’t see what the big deal is if I didn’t come.”

Shaking his head, he scooted over and draped his arm around her shoulder. “It’s Trevor’s birthday—that’s the big deal.”

“I already spoke with him earlier. I told him that I’m sick and wouldn’t be able to go.” After another coughing fit, she added, “He was perfectly fine with it.”

“Well, don’t forget, I leave for Florida tomorrow morning for a few days.” He pulled her closer, positioning her legs across his lap. “You don’t want to hang out with me before I go, do you?”

“You know that has nothing to do with it,” she replied, coughing. “We could’ve stayed home and hung out. Plus, why the hell you want to go out tonight when your flight leaves so early is beyond me.”