Until the End (Sea Breeze #9)(48)

“And when things like that happen, you have to trust the people you love. Not assume the worst of them. If you loved me the way I loved you, then you would have trusted me. You didn’t trust me. So you didn’t love me enough. I need more than that, Jax. I can’t let you destroy me. I have another life to take care of now. This isn’t about me anymore. It’s about the child inside me.”

“I love you more than life. I lost my mind because I love you so damn much. You’re wrong about that, baby. So wrong.”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. We are over. Except for the child we share, that is all that will be between us. Now please leave.”

If it weren’t for the unshed tears in her eyes and the heartbreak all over her face, I would believe she really had closed me out. But I knew her too well. This wasn’t over. We would never be over. I just had to figure out a way to prove it to her. Words weren’t going to be enough. Actions had ruined us, and actions would have to save us.

Sadie

The next morning I woke up to my mother sitting beside my bed again with another cup of coffee and another newspaper. “Good morning, sunshine. Today I am the bearer of good news. The media is no longer stalking us and Jax Stone has made a statement.”

I sat up and took the paper she was holding out to me. “You really should google it and watch the video of it, or just turn on the news. He does a fantastic job. But here is the print version.”

There was a photo of Jax with a microphone in his face, looking directly at the camera. “Jax Stone explains the rumors surrounding Sadie White’s betrayal. It’s false.”

I dropped the paper onto the bed, slung the covers off me, and headed for my MacBook. Opening it up, I googled “Jax Stone,” and it was the first thing that came up.

I clicked the YouTube link and watched.

“The rumors that came along with a photo of my drummer, Nave Anikin, kissing my fiancée, Sadie White, are false. Nave wasn’t in his right mind two years ago. You all already know that he’s gone through rehab since then and is in a better place now. But at that time he did things he wouldn’t normally do.

“Kissing my Sadie was one of them. She pushed him off her, and they never spoke of it again. What you see here is a surprised Sadie White being accosted by an out-of-his-mind Nave Anikin. Not a lover’s thing. Nothing romantic. Sadie is innocent of all the incriminations surrounding her, and I would appreciate it if my fans would stand behind her and support her through this cruel media stunt. Thank you.” Jax stepped away from the microphone, and reporters were yelling questions at him as the bodyguards surrounded him and they walked off. Toward his jet.

“Looks like he’s gone and so are the vultures,” Jessica said, standing behind me.

“Yeah, it does.” I had told him to leave and he had left. This was his apology to me, and I knew I forgave him. Even without this, I had forgiven him yesterday when he apologized. But I was so scared of being hurt by him that my fear hadn’t allowed me to give him a chance to fix this. Instead I had pushed him away and he had let me.

“Are you going to be okay? Maybe since the road and driveway are clear you can go visit Amanda. She’s called several times the past two days.”

I needed to visit Amanda. I had to get out of this house and clear my head. I nodded, then reached for the cup of coffee in Jessica’s hands and took a long drink.

“FYI, this is decaf. You can’t have the real thing now that you’re pregnant.”

I hadn’t thought about that. “Thanks.”

“Hey, you took care of me when I was pregnant with Sam, so it’s my turn to return the favor,” she teased.

If I could still smile, I would have.

***

Two hours later Amanda Hardy opened her apartment door and threw herself at me. “Ohmygod, I’ve been so worried about you,” she said as her arms wrapped around me.

“I’m sorry. I should have called. I just needed some time once I got here,” I said, and she pulled back from me, holding on to my shoulders.

“He was in town yesterday, wasn’t he? That speech he made that’s gone viral was outside the Sea Breeze airport.”

I nodded.

“Did y’all talk?” she asked almost cautiously.

“Yes,” I replied.

A sadness touched her face. “So it’s really over, then?”

I nodded again.

She grabbed my hands and pulled me into her apartment, then closed the door. “We need ice cream. I have cookies and cream and birthday cake. Which one?” she asked, walking toward her kitchen.

I followed her. “I’m not hungry,” I said.

“You don’t have to be hungry to eat ice cream,” she informed me. She stopped at the window and froze. Then she turned back slowly to me. “Are you sure he’s gone?”

“What?” I asked, confused.

She pointed out the window. “That’s an expensive SUV parked out front, with one of the large men who follow him around standing outside of it. I don’t know anyone other than Jax Stone who gets around Sea Breeze that way.”

The doorbell rang and we stared at each other. It was Jax. I knew it without going to the door. What was he doing here?

“You want me to get it?” Amanda asked with a look of hopefulness.