My Despicable Ex (Book 1) (11 page)

Jake glanced
over his shoulder and grinned. He looked so happy, and I knew it
was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for both of us. “This place is
incredible,” he said.

“
Amazing,” I said, gawking at the surreal landscape around me,
like something out of a dream. I was absolutely wowed by the
splendor and all the natural beauty. It was the most stunning,
breathtaking vista I’d ever seen.

We stopped at
a creek and refilled our canteens, then sat at the picnic area,
where our tour guide passed out bagged lunches. The sandwiches were
pretty good, and I mowed through the chips.

I walked over
to Earl. “Hey, fella. You hungry?”

The animal
snorted and actually wagged his tail as he ate the juicy apple from
my hand.

“
Whoa! That was the ride of a lifetime,” Jake said,
approaching from behind.

“
It
was awesome. Really got the adrenaline pumping.”

His blue eyes
locked on me, and I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him. Just for a
second, it felt like he was looking into me rather than at
me.

“
The way the sun shines on your hair and in your eyes is
just…magical,” he said.

My heart
pounded in my chest. “Thanks for the compliment,” I said, almost in
a whisper. I bit my lip hard in annoyance. I couldn’t believe I’d
allowed myself to get caught up in those pretty blue eyes of his.
When I finally forced myself to pull away, he shot me that
movie-star gleaming smile. I couldn’t snap any coherent thoughts
together in the glint of his pearly whites. Being there with him on
a dream vacation in such a magical place was wreaking havoc on my
resolve to hate him, driving me crazy, inside and out. I inhaled
sharply. Part of me found myself attracted to him, but the other
part still detested the despicable jerk who’d caused me so much
pain. When a smile curved up on his irresistible lips, I took a
deep, steadying breath as I tried to clear my head. “I need some
time to be alone and think and reflect on all this beauty,” I
said.

“
Take all the time you need. I’m not going
anywhere.”

I almost
noticed a subtle hint in his words, but in the end, my fury won,
and I stormed off to explore the creek bank. I stared at the
time-eroded walls and thought about my life, my past, and my
future, whatever that would be.

Chapter 8

After a nice rest, we remounted and headed back to the bottom.
When we finally arrived at our destination,
I saw stone cabins, four dormitory buildings, and a central
dining area. Everything was so scenic, with all the cottonwoods,
the fantastic Bright Angel Creek, and the vivid rock
formations.

We walked into
our rustic cabin, and Jake smiled, motioning to two sets of bunk
beds. “Wow. I actually won’t have to sleep on the
floor.”

I
set my stuff on the bottom bunk. The mattress wasn’t the softest,
but it would get the job done. The place was
cozy, with minimal amenities and furnishings, limited to a
nightstand, alarm clock, a small table, a toilet, and cold running
water.
I was dying
for my laptop, but I hadn’t brought it with me because I was told
there’d be no service.

“
I
don’t know about you, but I’m starving,” Jake said.

I playfully
slugged him. “Then let’s go get some chow.”

Dinner was served family style:
delicious steak, baked potatoes, salad, bread, peas, corn, and
moist chocolate cake. It was so nice after the long ride down to
the bottom.

Jake took his
last bite of cake and wiped his mouth. “You know what I was hoping
to see?”

I cocked my
brow. “What?”

“
Bighorn sheep.”

“
Hmm. They didn’t even make a cameo appearance, did
they?”

“
Nope,” he said. “It’s really too
baaaaad
, don’t
ewe
think?”
he said, then laughed at his own jokes.

“
Not punny,” I retorted. “Maybe
wool
see some when we head back up to the rim,” I
said.

He laughed. “I
sure hope so.”

“
The food’s really good here.”

“
Delicious,” Jake said.

“
This is definitely one of the most memorable travel
experiences I’ve ever had. It isn’t exactly the Hilton, but it’s
warm and down to earth. Reminds me of something out of a cowboy
movie.”

“
Want a beer?” he casually asked. “Unless you’re a wine gal
now.”

“
Trying to loosen me up with liquor, Jake?” I
joked.

“
Nah. I just thought we could enjoy a cold brewskie, sit on
the porch, and talk about old times.”

“
You always got a little frisky after a few beers. You used to
be all over me after your third.”

“
So
I’ll only drink two.”

We both
laughed.

* *
*

A few minutes
later, we were sitting on the porch, listening to the babbling
creek in front of us.

“
I
never woulda thought I’d be staying the night at the bottom of the
Grand Canyon—least of all with you,” I said, laughing.

He grinned at
me. “Yeah, if somebody woulda told me a month ago that I’d be here,
doing this, I woulda had them committed.”

“
Cheers to that,” I said, and we clinked beer bottles. “So…tell
me, have you been dating anyone special?” I asked after taking a
swig.

“
Not really. Nothing ever lasted because no woman I’ve met
could ever compare to you. You were the love of my life,
Ashly.”

Ignoring the
compliment and the disappointed look on his face, I asked, “Which
relationship lasted the longest? The curious side of me is dying to
know.”

“
Hmm. I dated this blonde nurse, Sherry, for about two years.
She didn’t trust me and didn’t give me one inch of freedom. After a
while, I got tired of her paranoia and accusations, so I called it
quits.”

“
My
mother never liked my boyfriends,” I said.

“
So
it wasn’t just me?”

“
No. She found something wrong with any boy who gave me the
time of day. Whenever things got serious,
it only exacerbated my mother’s behavior. I sure remember
what a nutcase she could be about my love life.”

He nodded.

I continued, “I haven’t dated much
over the last couple of years. I guess I was too busy being
heartbroken and working and taking care of my dying mom.”
 

“
How’d you ever convince
her to let you do something as frivolous as going to fashion
school?” he asked, having known my mother well.

“
I told her if she didn’t
let me live my life dream, I was moving out. Then my dad threatened
to move out too. He was really fed up with her. She was so upset
about the possibility of losing both of us that she consented and
paid for me to go. I swear, that was the only time she ever let me
do what I wanted. She knew I was going to go, with or without her
consent, and then she would’ve lost total control of
me.”

“
Well, whatever the reason,
I’m glad she let you pursue your dream.”

“
I haven’t dated much at
all. My love life has been pretty much nonexistent. But
I did date this guy named
Robert Matary once. He owned a successful chain of stores. We
lasted about two years. His company suddenly went bankrupt, and I
stood by him faithfully when they took the unexpected hit. Then one
day, out of the blue, he just dumped me without even giving me an
explanation.” I glanced down as tears glimmered in my eyes. “It
hurt like hell. All the other men in my life were sporadic, nothing
serious.”

Dumped
. I’d
always hated that word, and I didn’t know how I’d ever overcome all
the rejection I’d been through. Because of it, my love life had
reached the point where it was virtually nonexistent. My
relationships never worked, no matter how hard I tried, so I’d just
been throwing myself into my work, trying to keep myself too busy
to feel the pain. I was pretty happy being a workaholic, and my
career flourished. I’d won awards and titles, and with the money
I’d earn by traveling with Jake, I would be able to keep my
boutique and eventually start my own fashion line. Nadia was always
trying to set me up with men, but I wanted to take a break from
relationships and pour all my time, energy, and focus into my
business. That was the only reason I was sitting at the bottom of
the Grand Canyon with Jake, because I needed the money for my
passion.

“
Isn’t it funny that after all these years, neither one of us
have ever found our soulmate?” Jake asked.

I took a long
drink of my beer. “I doubt I’ll ever find mine. When it comes to
the game of love, I’m not exactly an MVP. Heck, I’m lucky if I get
to sit on the bench.”

“
Hmm. Well, I’m not gonna give up on love that easily,” he
said.

“
Wow, Jake. A true romantic, aren’t ya?”

He shrugged,
blushed a little, then took another sip from his second
bottle,

“
I
hope you find the girl who’ll make all your dreams come
true.”

“
Maybe I’m sitting right next to her.”

I chuckled.
“How many beers have you had?”

“
I
miss this, our long talks. You’ve always been so easy to talk
to.”

“
Yeah,” I said, recalling those times when he was so
willing to listen to me ramble on and on for
hours and hours about everything under the sun. Even when I bored
him with talk of fabric and color schemes, he never told me to be
quiet. Jake had always hung on every word that came out of my
mouth, as if truly intrigued

“
I
really miss that, Ashly. I miss…us.”

“
It
was a long time ago,” I said, my words almost as cold as the beer I
was finishing. “You shouldn’t dwell on the past.” With that, I
stood and started to walk away.

Jake suddenly
pulled me into his arms. “Ashly…” he said.

My heart
pounded. “What?”

He
softly touched my face.
“I don’t want to
dwell on the past. I want to focus on the future.”

There was something about
him that I found captivating. It wasn’t just his looks; he had a
magnetic personality, and he always made me smile, whether I wanted
to or not. No one had ever knocked me so off balance before, and I
was completely discombobulated. I wanted to blame it on the beer,
but I hadn’t had enough for that to be the case. I touched his
face, cupping it ever so softly with my hand.
“I care about you deeply, Jake, but
nothing will ever happen between us again. You need to accept
that.”

“
If
you’d just let down those thick gates you’ve built up around your
heart, Ashly, there could be hope for us.”

“
I
met my best friend and soulmate once, but then he deserted me. It
took a long time to get over him because I’ve never loved someone
so deeply. But I moved on, and I vowed to never look back. I’m
finally happy, as happy as I can be. I wouldn’t be able to handle
my world being torn apart a second time, and I’m not willing to
risk that for you or anyone else.”

“
I’m a grown man now, Ashly, and I know what I want. I swear I
would never abandon you again. This time, forever would be for
real.”

Dwelling on
the subject was daunting and overwhelming all at once, and I had to
get away from him. “I’m gonna take a walk and check out the
scenery.”

“
Can I go with you?”

“
If
you don’t mind, I’d just like to be alone with my
thoughts.”

He stared at
me for a minute. Finally he said, “I understand,” and then he
gently brushed my arm as he walked past me.

I
opened my mouth to tell him not to leave, but the words would not
come out. I felt hundreds of butterflies dancing around in my
stomach. Part of me wanted to be held in his big, strong arms, to
feel his hot breath on my skin, his lips brushing across my
earlobe. I wanted him to pull me to his open, waiting mouth, but I
cursed myself under my breath for feeling that way.
How could Jake have this
effect on me? I’m not some silly, naïve schoolgirl. I’m a grown
woman, with an impressive résumé and prestigious job—much too grown
for the likes of a despicable runaway groom.
For a minute, I was frozen, held
captive by the words he’d spoken and by the look of sincerity and
hopefulness in his eyes when he’d spoken them. But in spite of the
beer and his undeniable charm, I soon came back to my senses and
knew I was doing the right thing by walking away.

I
took my shoes off and waded in the creek for a while, then made my
way to
Boat Beach, which wasn’t far at
all, located right along the banks of the Colorado River. Shrubs,
small, brushy trees, grass, and several types of cactus dotted the
shore. The little crooks in the red walls of the canyon were
filled with young cottonwoods. Truly, it was a breathtaking
experience to set foot in such a place, and I couldn’t stop staring
at the spectacular rusty, crimson, and marigold hues splashed
across the canyon walls, all that color blending into a perfect
mix, and the towering sandstone rock formations. The view was
incredible, and the sound and power of the water mesmerized me.
There’s no feeling on Earth like standing beside the Colorado River
with the dark, rough walls towering above you.