Adonis in Athens - Page 53

“I feel like I’ve spent the last week answering that question!” he grunted. “Yes, I love her! What did we say? Anything she heard was out of context! I have a lot of different things going on and I’m trying to figure out which one will allow me to make the most money, eventually wind up in Greece and have her too!” He looked completely bewildered.

“You’re a dumbass!” Melina rolled her eyes. “You better be on the first flight to the U.S. tomorrow. I don’t know exactly what you said or what she heard, but instead of telling you her plans, she hauled ass out of here—which can only mean you’ve done something that hurt her!” She turned on her heel and went back up front, shaking her head. Her brother could be so stupid sometimes, and he was spectacularly stupid when he was with Mick; the two of them were terrible influences on each other when it came to women. It wasn’t that Mick was a bad guy, but when he and Apollo were together, they were a train wreck. They’d broken hearts all over Yale and then—she stopped, shaking her head. No way was she going down that road. Her history with Mick was nothing she wanted to think about ever again. She’d let him break her heart once; she would never let him get that close to her now that she’d already experienced it. He’d ruined her for all men anyway; she was damned if she’d let him hurt her again too.

Paige went straight to the hospital when she got off the flight, grateful she’d left her car parked at the airport. It was just after 8:00 in the evening and she was exhausted, but all she could think about was Raegan. She’d texted Raegan’s mother, Nora, when she’d landed and found out the room number, so she was headed there now. Nora had said she would wait for her in the lobby outside the elevator on the fourth floor since visiting hours were ending soon, but instead of Nora, Tom was there. Paige frowned when she saw him, awkwardly patting his shoulder and turning her face when he tried to kiss her.

“Welcome home,” he said quietly.

“Where’s Nora?” she asked abruptly.

“I offered to wait.”

“Tom, I don’t have time for this right now—I just want to see Raegan.”

“I thought maybe you’d missed me,” he said after a moment.

“Honestly, I didn’t.” She bit her lip as she looked at him. “I’m sorry, but you’re the one who said you didn’t know if we would see each other again, and the truth is that I am married. I’m sorry—I can’t do anything until I sort that out.”

“But you’re going to divorce him, right?”

Paige felt a wave of discomfort as Mick and Apollo’s conversation flashed through her mind: So you never planned to live in the States? Not really.

What kind of game had he been playing? Had he really been leading her on? She couldn’t think about it, though, and she met Tom’s worried gaze. “I don’t know yet. We’re working on things.”

“You’re working on things?” His eyes widened and he looked truly baffled. “Are you kidding me? I didn’t waste the last two years with you so you could run off to Greece!”

“You didn’t waste the last two years!” she shot back angrily. “We had a relationship that was lovely most of the time. It just happens that it’s not meant to be—I’m sorry you find that a waste of your time! I learned a lot from our time together, and I don’t regret it at all.”

“Probably because you needed someone to keep you warm while you waited for your husband to decide whether or not he wanted you!” he snapped, his eyes blazing with anger.

Paige had never hit anyone in her life, but her hand seemed to move of its own volition when she reached out and slapped him. “You need to leave!” she hissed. “This is why I couldn’t marry you. You’re all pretty and polished on the outside but petty and mean on the inside. Please don’t ever contact me again.” She turned on her heel and hurried down the hall, so angry she was shaking. But then she saw Nora and waved.

“Paige! Oh, thank goodness you’re here!” Nora hugged her tightly. Paige and Raegan had been friends since they were 17 and knew each other’s families well.

“Is she okay?” Paige’s eyes filled with tears.

“She’s not out of the woods, but she’s resting and stable.” Nora sighed, rubbing her eyes. “She fell asleep at the wheel. She’s been working two jobs—did you know that?”

“Two jobs?” Paige frowned. “No! She was taking extra shifts at the casino but I didn’t know about anything else.”

Nora nodded sadly. “She took a job…stripping.”

“Stripping?” Paige couldn’t stop her mouth from falling open. “Are you sure? I mean, really?”

“Yes.” She looked away. “I know she’s never been great with money, but she’s been doing so well since you two graduated… I told her she should wait on her MBA, but she didn’t want to.”

“But how…” Paige tried to wrap her mind around it. “I don’t understand!”

“The only reason we know is because she was driving another one of the girls home and she wasn’t hurt very badly…just Raegan.”

“How bad?” Paige met her eyes.

“Her leg is broken—they put her in a cast for that, but they had to operate to remove her spleen and repair a punctured lung. She broke several ribs and one of them punctured the lung, which collapsed, so she was in surgery for hours. She was asleep when I came down to meet you but she’s slept on and off all day, so she’ll probably be awake again soon.”

“Damn.” Paige sighed, trying to imagine how Raegan would get up the stairs to their apartment.

“The car was totaled, but I haven’t told her yet. She’s asked several times—I know she’s thinking about work—but I told her we didn’t know.”

“She’s going to be upset,” Paige said quietly. “What can I do?”