“I did anyway,” I confess. “And I felt awful afterward because I knew that there could be some backlash. Those women are terrible. You remember the horrible girl from your bridal shower, the one who kept claiming that she’d been sleeping with Sebastian? Her name is Gretchen, by the way.”
“I hate her,” Nina says. “She’s just an unhappy, jealous person. That’s not your—or my—fault. Or Liam’s fault, for that matter.”
“And she won’t be invited in the future,” Mum adds, her voice stern. “We don’t tolerate that. Never have, never will.”
“Are you all saying that Liam was right?” The lead ball in my stomach is growing. I start to sweat.
God, I feel awful.
“Stop torturing yourself,” Nina says. “We all make mistakes. And Liam should have talked it out with you more, rather than simply running back to Montana. He’s not a victim here.”
“Agreed,” Anne says. “Of course, you’re more relaxed in private,” she adds. “That’s perfectly normal for anyone. And perhaps if he’d explained how he felt in a calmer manner, you could have in turn explained to him that this is simply normal life for you. But now that you’re aware of it, you can pay better attention.”
I stare at my wonderful sister-in-law as if she’s crazy.
“Don’t look at her like that,” Mum says. “Relationships, all relationships, require compromise. Communication. The beginnings of love are the easiest days. It’s simple to look past something we don’t like because infatuation overshadows anything negative. It sounds like Liam was mature enough to see the red flags, he just didn’t communicate them to you correctly.”
“I’m a selfish woman,” I whisper and hang my head in my hands. “Things had just been so good. For weeks and weeks, we were on the same page, enjoying each other. Laughing. Talking. And, suddenly, he tells me he doesn’t know if he can live with a side of me that’s so intrinsically who I am. It threw me for a loop.”
“Threw him for one, too,” Nina adds. “Because he left.”
“Maybe he doesn’t love me.”
“He’s frightened,” Anne says, shaking her head. “We’ve all seen how he looks at you, Ellie. How sweet he is around you. Love is scary.”
“It still scares the wits out of me,” Mum says, surprising all of us. “And I’ve been married to your father for close to forty years.”
“How are you all such experts in this?” I ask. “I feel lost without a map or a lifeline.”
“Experience,” Anne says.
“You’re still learning each other,” Nina adds. “It’ll take a little while, but in the end, it’ll be completely worth it.”
“I have to go and find him.” I stand and turn in a circle, unsure of where to start. “I’ll call the plane and go to Montana straight away.”
“No,” Nina says, shaking her head and waving her hand in front of her face as if there’s a bad smell. “First thing you’ll do is take a shower. And wash your hair.”
“And eat something,” Anne adds.
“You really must shower, darling,” Mum implores.
“Right. Shower, eat, and then get on the plane.”
I hurry toward the bathroom and hear Anne yell out, “Don’t forget to brush your teeth!”
By the time I took a shower, dried my hair, and ate, I was so exhausted from days without sleep that I fell onto the bed and slept for nine hours straight.
I was angry about losing that time, but it wouldn’t have been wise to show up in Montana without my wits about me. He’d been gone for days, I figured a few more hours wouldn’t hurt anything. But we left first thing this morning before the sun was even up.
Phillip is with me but hasn’t said much during the flight. He’s wonderful at his job, but he’s never been much of a conversationalist. I had to beg him not to call ahead and tell Liam we were on our way.
The flight felt longer than ever, despite taking another nap for several hours. I ate more and stared out the window, excited to land near Cunningham Falls and rush to the lake house.
Will he be happy to see me? Will he tell me to turn around and go back to London?
Perhaps I should have called first.
But I was just too excited to get there. And, frankly, I want to see the look on his face when he sees me for the first time, without having the chance to prepare himself.
That first look will tell me everything I need to know.
I can only pray that he’s happy to see me, and I don’t leave Montana with a broken heart.
“We’re landing in twenty minutes, Your Highness,” the pilot says through the speaker. I reach over and push a button to reply. “Thank you.”
Come on and land!
The mountains and lakes beneath the plane are absolutely gorgeous. I’ve been to Switzerland and Germany several times, and in my opinion, Montana is just as beautiful.
Finally, we descend lower and lower, and the wheels touch the runway.
Once we’re on the ground, a car meets us, and it only takes about fifteen minutes to make it to the lake house.
I don’t wait for someone to let me out. I jump out of the car and rush down to the headquarters building, pounding on the door with my fist.
It’s very un-princess-like.
It only takes a moment for the door to swing open, and I’m ready with a big smile.
But it’s not Liam.
“Princess Eleanor?”
“Oh, hello, Baxter. I’d like to see Liam, please.”
“He’s not here.” Baxter frowns and looks back and forth between Phillip and me. “He left last night.”
Chapter 19
~Liam~
I’m putting my whole weight into it, and the fucker won’t budge.
So, I shift my stance, tighten the wrench again, and push. This time, the camera doesn’t only budge, the base cracks in two.
“Motherfucker.” I growl and toss the wrench onto the ground, then wipe my sweaty forehead on my arm.
I’m out at the Lazy K Ranch, repairing some cameras that got damaged in a recent windstorm. These particular units are made to withstand winds of up to fifty miles per hour and extreme cold, but Mother Nature laid a doozy on us the other night.
I didn’t mind it. The angry wind howling through the trees matched my mood. I’ve been an asshole since I returned from London. Even Baxter told me to fuck off yesterday, and he’s the most level-headed man I know.
In hindsight, I know I deserved it. I was riding his ass after Zack King called to tell me that some of the cameras were down and asked if we could fix them. It wasn’t Baxter’s fault that Mother Nature was a bitch the other night.
It is my fault that this unit’s base is broken in two. I’ll have to order a new one and replace it later this week.
I yank my phone out of my pocket, shoot off an apologetic text to Zack, and take the camera with me. This was the last one that was down, so I get into my car and drive over the field to a nearby dirt road that will lead me past the ranch houses to the highway beyond.