Chapter Nine
Lucas stood at the window, watching the falling snow and sneaking glances at Amanda. After a quiet, awkward breakfast, she had settled near the lit fireplace, book in hand.
Looking at her, it reminded him of the night before. He had made love to her on that spot, and the image was still stuck in his mind.
When they went to sleep and he found himself loving how she fit in his arms way too much, he promised himself to leave first thing in the morning.
He was good at separating sex from emotions. He never got attached to his hookups. So, he had no problem getting them to leave in the morning, or him leaving. And, he definitely didn't spend hours into the night imagining a future where the woman he slept with was in his bed, over and over again.
Yet, holding Amanda in his arms, he felt that he never wanted to let her go. If he could get another million chances to hold her like that, he'd be grateful.
The only thing he could do was leave at the crack of dawn before she got another chance to trap his heart further, intentionally or not. Leaving before his partner woke up was the absolute sign that the previous night was nothing but sex. And that he didn't care whether they crossed paths ever again or not.
So, what was he doing, preparing breakfast instead of making his way to his own cabin?
No, the snow was not to blame.
After making his mind to leave before the gorgeous woman in his arms nestled deeper into his mind and heart, he decided to look up his new company on the internet. He hadn't planned on occupying himself with anything related to work during that week. But at that moment, it was the only thing that could distract him from thinking about Amanda.
There was a lot of information about Lemaiyan Group, the conglomerate under which Lemaiyan Fits, the company he'd be leading from the next week, belonged. However, he didn't get to check information about the company since top of the results were news articles and blogs about a recent incidence involving the former CEO of Lemaiyan Fits and the Chairman's daughter. Lucas was going to scroll right past the gossip when an image caught his eye.
Right below the first result were images of a couple. He brought the phone closer to his face, not believing what he saw at first.
Was that Amanda?
He clicked on the picture and ended up at an article.
"The Filthy Game Amanda Lemaiyan's Fiancé Played, Leaving Her Crushed."
His eyes scanned the article which revealed details of Amanda's two-year relationship, engagement, and the horrible breakup she went through a week before her wedding. Apparently, the guy, Samuel Ocen, got close to her with the intention of gaining favour with the Chairman, Mr. Lemaiyan. His intention was to make CEO of Lemaiyan Fits, a position he had finally been elevated to a year after he started dating Amanda. All the while, he had another girlfriend.
According to the article, Amanda hadn't made any comment after the news broke. She had also not been seen in public ever since.
Lucas now knew exactly what she was running from, and why she didn't want to divulge any details about herself.
Lying next to her, hearing her soft breathing and knowing that her heart was bleeding, a protective streak had coursed through him. He wanted to punch the douchebag who lied to her in the face until he was unrecognisable. What kind of monster had the heart to use and play such a woman, who was beautiful in and out?
It was then that he knew that no, when morning came, he wouldn't vanish before she woke up. He would stay and treat her the best he could because she deserved it. As for the part of him that told him that was a bad idea, he pushed it to the back of his mind.
It wasn't as if he was in love with her. He was simply hoping to make her feel better by caring for her, instead of leaving her to her likely depressing thoughts.
When he woke up and found heavy snow cover outside, he was glad to have an excuse to not leave.
Then she woke up and her attitude towards him seemed to have taken a u-turn.
Now, that's when things got tricky.
How could he make her feel better if she didn't want to see his face anymore?
Making breakfast had been his grand gesture that he thought would make way for an exciting morning full of smiles and kisses.
Instead, it had the opposite effect. Had he gotten ahead of himself?
Was he really going to leave her alone until he left?
If he left this way, he was afraid he'd never see her again until they met again at the company.
If her new feeling about him didn't change, she'd actively avoid him.
He couldn't have that.
He had to do something.
***
Amanda was hating her emotions at the moment. When she walked out of the bedroom, she had only one mission. To get Lucas to leave, and to never see him again.
Then the stupid snowstorm had to happen.
The weather forecast hadn't predicted anything like that. Despite her intention to stay away from the news, she brought out her phone to see what was going on.
Apparently, the snowfall was expected to stop by noon.
She had planned to spend the day exploring one of the mountain trails. Instead, she was stuck indoors.
While browsing about the weather, her eyes had fallen on an article headline with Sam’s name on it. She knew she shouldn't look, but she couldn't help it.
Curiosity took the best of her and she clicked on the headline,
"Former Lemaiyan Fits CEO, Sam Ocen, Enjoys Vacation With Girlfriend. Location of Former Fiancé Still Unknown"
Her chest tightened as the scanned the article and looked at the pictures. Pictures of Sam and his girlfriend, relaxing on the beach with no care in the world. She was clearly nowhere in his mind. He didn't care. It was why he lied and cheated.
Why, when he was busy going on with his life, was she busy putting barriers in hers because of him?
Was she so weak, that even when it was clear he no longer gave a damn about her, she couldn't shake him off and take control of her emotions?
He didn't deserve her tears, and he sure didn't deserve her pushing others away because he happened to be an asshole.
She had lost once to him when he got away with lying to her face for two long years. She would be damned if she was going to walk around feeling down and keeping from enjoying herself when he was busy having the time of his life.
And that began with changing her stance about Lucas leaving. She was convinced that this time, she wouldn't change her mind. That is, given he hadn't already labeled her as crazy and unstable.
She convinced herself that she wasn't doing this to hide her pain. No, she was doing it to enjoy herself because that's what people do on vacation.
Her mind made up, she was about to rise from her position in front of the fireplace when Lucas appeared, a bottle of wine in hand.
She watched as he took a seat in front of her on the rug, crossing his legs.
He opened the wine bottle and poured two glasses. He handed her one. She looked at him, down to the glass, then back at him.
"There's nothing better than a fire and wine in your veins to keep you warm, Amanda. I found this in the wine cooler."
What was wrong with him? Why was he still nice to her? In her experience, men didn't react nicely when their egos were bruised the way her words earlier must have done to his. Yep, men did that to women all the time, but she bet a guy like Lucas Erikson had never been asked to leave the next morning by a woman.
She took the glass and immediately took a large gulp.
"Hey, slow down, this is pretty strong."
Good.
She wanted something strong enough that would enable her to apologise without drowning in embarrassment.
"Thanks," she muttered before taking another gulp.
"Are you trying to get drunk?"
"You brought the wine, didn't you?"
His lips twitched in a hidden smile. "I wanted to break the ice. Looks like it worked."
She was glad he got that idea.
"I have a question, though, that I want a sober answer to."
Oh my god, he's going to ask why I behaved like a bitch earlier on, she thought.
"Go ahead."
"Do you regret what happened between us last night?"
She stared at her wine glass. "No."
"Then why… Why did you act like it was a mistake?"
"It reminded me of something," she confessed, "and it made me feel differently about it for a while. But I don't want that to get in the way any more."
"Wait. Are you saying-"
"I don't mind if you stay, Lucas. Even after the snow is gone." She raised her eyes to him, unsure. "If you're willing to."
He arched a brow. "Are you kidding? If I'm willing?"
Amanda felt her cheeks warm up. Yes, this is the kind of vibe she wanted to maintain between them until he left.
She placed her wine glass on the floor and crawled on her knees towards him.
"Let me make up for being rude this morning."
"You weren't rude, Amanda. I'm not any nicer to women who cling to me the morning after," he said, setting his glass aside too. "But, by all means, do make it up to me."
Amanda broke into a smile for the first time that morning as she straddled his laps.
This was going way better than she had anticipated.