“Just spit it out,” I say.
“What about Natalie? Isn’t she waiting for you?”
Natalie who?
“She can wait another couple of minutes.”
“Kimberley is back in town,” Matt says.
The playful tone is gone from his voice and I know he’s serious. The news hits me like a brick wall and I am momentarily mute. I find my voice eventually and I croak out a what, but it’s too late. Matt has hung up and I am left with the buzzing noise of a dead line in my ear.
I freeze on the spot, the phone still glued to my ear although there’s no one on the other end. Kimberley is back in town. How? Why? When? I have so many questions. I can’t believe Matt dropped that bombshell on me and then hung up. I finally peel the phone away from my ear, and call Matt, but the call goes straight to his voicemail. He’s turned his phone off, just like I knew he would.
I curse and throw my cell phone to the ground. Kimberley is back in town. It plays on a loop in my head as I picture the girl I once knew. She was stunning with flaming red hair and piercing green eyes. She had this laugh, a gentle musical sound that was so infectious that anyone around her would automatically laugh with her.
I haven’t seen her in like four years, but the vision of her is still as fresh in my mind as it was the day she … Never mind. I’m not going to let myself go there. So Kimberley is back in town? So what?
I hear a door open behind me and I jump. I turn around and see Natalie standing in the doorway to my bedroom. Fuck. I had forgotten she was even here. I can’t do this with her. Not now. My erection is long gone, and Natalie won’t be the one to bring my cock back to life tonight. I just want her gone.
“Is everything ok?” she purrs.
“Something came up,” I say, pleased that my voice comes out even. “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to leave.”
“Leave?” she repeats, frowning at me.
She sounds pissed off and I don’t blame her, but I can’t do anything about it now. I can’t bring myself to even look at her, let alone fuck her. Kimberley is back in town.
“Yeah,” I say.
She smiles. That seductive smile that a few hours ago, hell a few minutes ago, was driving me wild. Now it only irritates me. Is she deaf or what? Why won’t she just go away?
“Or I could wait in your bedroom until you’ve fixed whatever crisis has come up. I’ll keep the bed warm and give you something to look forward to,” she says.
She runs her tongue over her lips and I feel nothing.
“For fuck sake Natalie. Take a hint. We’re done here. Just get out,” I snap.
Her face changes from seductive to shocked and then angry.
“You absolute asshole,” she snaps.
She storms back into my bedroom and for a moment, I think she’s still not planning to leave, but then I remember her stripping off her trousers. I’m not going to insist she leaves half naked.
I stand in the hallway, still rooted to the spot. I hear Natalie huffing as she grabs her trousers. She comes back into the hallway with them pressed against her front, her shoes dangling from her hand by her side.
I can see tears shining in her eyes. I don’t think she’s that upset. I think she’s angry and humiliated, and I wish I could make it better, I really do, but I can’t. Anything I say now is only going to make this worse. I keep my mouth shut as she stalks closer to me.
“You really are a first class fuck boy,” she snarls.
I shrug. What is there to say to that? It’s not like she’s wrong, and it’s not like she didn’t know that when she came back here with me. She just didn’t care when she thought she was going to get her way with me.
I don’t say any of that to her. I don’t want to argue with her. I just want her gone. I can smell her perfume and now it doesn’t smell sweet like I thought it did earlier. It’s over powering. Nauseating.
She’s still making no move to leave.
“Well? Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?” she demands.
“Close the door on your way out,” I say.
Her mouth drops open and she shakes her head.
“Wow. Just fucking wow,” she says in a low voice that bristles with anger.
She finally starts to walk away from me. She reaches the top of the stairs and turns back to me. I can see the venom in her expression, the embarrassment in her flushed cheeks.
“You should know I don’t do business with people who are unreliable. The deal is off Sebastian. Don’t bother calling me.”
Dammit. That’s what Matt said would happen. But then again, he was the one who dropped that bombshell on me. What did he think would happen after that? I have no idea, but I know I have to fix this. I’ll give her some sob story, make her feel sorry for me. Maybe I’ll even promise to make it up to her at the weekend when my head isn’t reeling.
“Kimberley wait,” I say, taking a step forwards.
“Did you just call me Kimberley?” Natalie demands.
Fuck. I did. I know I did. There goes any chance I had of rectifying this.
“Natalie,” I say, still not quite ready to give up without at least trying to turn the situation around.
“Fuck you,” she says.
She starts down the stairs. I hear her running down the hallway at the bottom and then I hear the front door open and slam closed. I don’t bother going after her. What’s the point? The deal is off. I screwed up big time. And Kimberley is back in town.
I take a step backwards and my back hits the wall.
