Condoned (Beauty And The Billionaire Geek Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

me, I actually did. Since the fiasco with Andy, I’d barely been hanging on. If it hadn’t been for the love I felt for my dance troop, I might have lost it again.
    I was terrified of going back down that road with Billy again. The last time I almost didn’t make it. I spent days wrapped up in my bed, not talking to anyone. It was the worst I’d ever been, and I couldn’t even tell anyone about it. I couldn’t let it happen to me again.
    I stayed in my room for the rest of the night and slept late the next morning. When I finally emerged at eleven, I found William sitting on the deck eating brunch, dressed for a hike. I sat down at the table and squinted into the gray and blue distance. The sky hung hazy and low and the water thrashed with white caps on the horizon. I picked up a piece of bacon and idly munched on it.
    “I’m glad you’re up,” he said. “I was about to go for a hike. Now you can join me.”
    I’d already dressed in hiking appropriate clothing, having had the same idea myself. I’d thought maybe I would go alone. Every moment I spent with William felt like an invitation to heartache.
    After we finished brunch, he packed a backpack with water and power bars and we took a four wheeler up the gravel road to the trailhead. He told me the trail wound up to an amazing view where we could see the entire island.
    We set out on the trail. His pace was faster than mine. I tried to keep up as he charged up the hillside. William never did anything half way. It was always full bore with him. I preferred to walk more slowly and take in the sights. I slowed my pace and let him walk off without me. The cynical part of my brain wondered how long it would take him to notice he’d walked away from me, but it only took him a minute to realize I’d dropped behind.
    It was a small comfort in the scheme of things, but it made me immensely happy. I felt like he was finally noticing me. That was a huge step forward. We stopped near a spring that flowed down into a waterfall and fed the stream that wound down the hill. He handed me the water bottle, and I took a long chug under the shade of an ancient Douglas fir tree. The smell of the forest filled my lungs and gave me a sense of peace. I’d really needed this time away from the city.
    We continued onward, up the slope, until we crested the hill and came to a clearing that looked down on the ocean below. The view was spectacular. The breeze swept up the hill and stole the breath from my lungs, literally taking my breath away. William put his hand around my waist. I was sweaty from the exertion, but the air at the top of the hill was cool. It made me shiver.
    He drew me into his hot body. I could feel the dampness of his skin through the thin hiking shirt he wore.
    “I’m really glad I came,” I said, looking out at the ocean and the island below. The sky hung low with dark storm clouds. A raindrop fell on my cheek.
    “Good. I was afraid you didn’t really want to be here.”
    “It’s not that. It’s just hard for me to be around you.”
    “Why?”
    “You screwed up my life you know.”
    “I did what?” he said, letting me go and stepping away to look down at me. “How?”
    “You got me pregnant.”
    “And?”
    “And then you dumped me.”
    “You pushed me. You wouldn’t stop or listen. You didn’t give me a chance. On the most important day of my life, you called me from an abortion clinic! If I’d let you, you would have ruined my life.”
    “Is that how you see it, Billy?”
    “I-I think you could have at least allowed me time to talk to you. It wasn’t like we were a casual, one-night-stand. I loved you. You loved me. It was a massive betrayal. Your continued refusal to see that is exactly the reason I never called you or reached out to you.”
    “But you put a naked picture of me in your bedroom!” I turned and started walking back down the hill.
    “Zoe, wait.”
    I started to run as the sky broke open. Rain poured in buckets, dumping down