“You need to ask?” Gavin shook his head. “How about she’s excellent at her job, she’s a looker and a nice person to boot, and as much as I hate to say it, she’s damn good for you, that’s why. You’ll never find an assistant who anticipates your needs the way she does.”#p#分页标题#e#
Blake dropped his gaze to the mug of coffee in his hands. What Gavin said was true, except the bit about Samantha being good for him. He didn’t need any woman to make him feel good.
And he didn’t like his brother getting too close and figuring out something that didn’t need figuring out. Certainly he didn’t want his brother figuring out that Samantha was in love with him, and that he couldn’t return her love. He had to protect her. He didn’t want anyone talking about her even after she left here. He owed her that much.
“Yeah, she’s more than competent at her job and she’s beautiful, too, but so are many other women. As for being good for me…yeah, we’ve had some fun while it lasted but it’s coming to an end now and I’m more than happy with that.”
Gavin sent him a challenging look. “So you feel nothing more for her?”
“No,” he lied, feeling like Judas.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Gavin said slowly.
Suddenly a figure stepped into the doorway. “Don’t be, Gavin,” Samantha said quietly, hurt in her lovely eyes but dignity in her face. “I’m not.”
Blake’s heart cramped. “Samantha, I—”
“No need to explain, Blake. I shouldn’t have eavesdropped but I’m glad I did. I would never have guessed you felt so little for me,” she said, a catch to her voice.
He took a step toward her. “Samantha—”
She put up her hand. “No, Blake. You’ve said more than enough.” She turned and hurried away so fast all he saw was her shadow.
Shit!
Gavin lifted a brow. “Seems to me she might mean more to you than you think.”
Blake tried to focus. “No, you’re wrong.”
Gavin stared hard, then put his mug down on the bench. “I’ll leave you two to sort things out.”
Blake gave a jerky nod as his brother headed for the back door and left him to it. He stood there in the kitchen for a minute as regret washed over him before he took the steps to follow her. He’d do his best to mend this damage as much as possible, but if he were to be honest, things between him and Samantha really couldn’t be fixed. It was probably best this had come to a head.
Samantha could barely see as she fled up the staircase for the sanctuary of her room. After waking up, she’d gone downstairs in her nightshirt looking for Blake, surprised to hear Gavin’s voice and never dreaming they were discussing her.
Oh, God. She couldn’t stay in Aspen any longer. Not now. This was it. She was leaving as soon as possible, come hell or high water.
She grabbed her suitcases out of the wardrobe and threw them on the bed. She’d always been neat and tidy and fast at packing, but who cared anyway, she decided, swallowing a sob. All she wanted was to throw everything in her bags and get to the airport. She was going home to Pasadena where she would lick her wounds. Beyond that she couldn’t think.
“Samantha?” Blake’s voice came gently from the doorway.
Refusing to let him see her cry, she blinked back her tears as she carried her sweaters over to one of the suitcases.
“Samantha, stop. We need to talk.”
She looked at him but continued what she was doing. “No. I’m leaving. It’s time for me to get out of your hair.”
And out of your life.
He swore low. “I’m sorry.”
She dumped her clothes into the case. “You’re only sorry that I overheard you,” she said tightly, then took a shuddering breath as humiliation and hurt swelled inside her. “You made it sound so…cheap. You made me sound cheap. As if I don’t matter.”#p#分页标题#e#
“You do matter,” he said, looking pained, but she knew better.
“Just not to you, right?” she derided, despair wrapping around her heart and not letting go.
“I didn’t mean to speak like that about you. I just didn’t want Gavin to know what was going on between us.”
She snorted. “Of course. How silly of me? We can’t have the great Blake Jarrod show any feelings now, can we? Not to his family and not to me.” It was never about his feelings anyway, and that was the hardest part to take. She’d dared hope he might at least have a high opinion of her. “Your words show me that you never even respected me as a person, Blake. And certainly not as your lover.”