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“Hey. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Where were you?”
“Where was I?”
“Did I stutter? Where the fuck were you?” So maybe I wasn’t keeping calm the way I’d planned, but this was the best I could do.
Her eyes widened. “What’s with the attitude, Chewy?”
“Why are you avoiding the motherfucking question? Where. The fuck. Were. You?”
The hurt on her face was impossible to miss. My gaze locked with her pretty green eyes, and I didn’t miss the bit of puffiness beneath them. But I already knew she’d been crying, didn’t I?
Because she’d been cozied up to her ex-boyfriend, crying in a coffee shop twenty minutes ago.
“I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I’m not going to be spoken to like that.” She turned on her heels and stormed in the opposite direction.
“Yeah, you don’t like answering questions that don’t suit you, do you?” I shouted at her.
She whipped around. “I don’t like answering questions when someone is demanding I tell them where I was. You’re not my boss, Finn. I don’t work for you.”
“I’m more than aware I’m not your boss. I’m just your best friend, right? And your fuckboy? But nothing more.”
Her shoulders sagged, and a tear streaked down her cheek. “You’re much more than that, and you know it.”
I stepped toward her, softening my tone. “Tell me where you were.”
“You’re making this a bigger deal than it is.” She used the back of her hand to swipe at the falling tears. “I met Carl at Cup of Cove. We just had some last-minute work things to talk about. For his office design.”
She couldn’t look at me, so I knew she was lying.
“So why keep that a secret? Why keep the fact that he stopped by the other day a secret? Since when do you lie to me, Reese?”
Her mouth fell open, and she shook her head. “It’s not what you think, Finn. You’ve got to trust me.”
“Like you trust me? Hell, you don’t believe that I’m all in. That I can be faithful to you. You won’t even discuss the idea of it until I come back. Yet, you want me to trust you?”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you.” She moved toward me, reaching for my hand and pressing my palm to her cheek. “I don’t want to make you promise something that you can’t deliver. I want you to be happy because I love you.”
“I don’t know about that, Miney. I think you’re the one who isn’t sure about this. You’ve got someone lined up, waiting for me to leave town, don’t you? You’re already packed and ready to go. You’ve got one foot out the door, and I haven’t even left town. I’m guessing you can’t wait for me to leave so you can jump back into the sack with that piece of shit.”
She dropped my hand and stepped back, tears streaming down her face. “If you think that, then you don’t know me at all.”
“Maybe I don’t.”
“Wow. Maybe this is just your way of getting out of this before you leave, huh? You can head to Tokyo guilt-free and fuck whoever you want.”
“Sure. It’s what you thought I’d do anyway, right? Just living up to your expectations.”
She placed her hand on her heart, and a sob escaped her lips. I wanted to rush her and wrap my arms around her, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. She didn’t want me, and that hurt like hell.
“I’m going to head to the rental house early. I think we could both use some space right now.”
“You sure you aren’t going to Carl’s? You may as well just tell me now. It’s a small town, remember? Word travels. I’ll hear about it.”
She let out a long breath. “Have a safe trip, Chewy. Whether you believe it or not, I love you.”
She turned around and made her way into the house. I walked out to the truck and climbed back in. I threw it in reverse and sped down the driveway. I needed to get out of here.
