He stops in front of me, his arms caging me in. “Yes, you do. You love me.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I whisper as tears spill down my cheeks and he jerks back like I slapped him as he stares at me. Pain fills his eyes and I hate the way it makes my heart squeeze in my chest.
“Of course, it matters,” he spits out, leaning into me, cupping my cheek in his palm. I grab his hand, pulling it away from my face as I look away. Pain radiates from my chest, stealing my breath, and it feels like it just might kill me this time. “Look at me, Carly.”
I shake my head and he pulls his hand out of my grip before forcing my gaze back to his. The hurt I’ve been feeling since Friday night shines in his eyes.
“It matters.”
“It can’t,” I croak and he growls, pulling away from me. He runs a hand through his hair again before turning back to me.
“Why?” he grits out through clenched teeth and I place my hand over my chest like I can somehow stamp out this piercing pain he’s inflicting on me. Why is he doing this? Why can’t he just go home to his wife and forget about me?
“I only had two rules when we started sleeping together and I was ready to throw one right out the window for you so why are you making me say it?” I ask, a plea for mercy in my voice and he shakes his head.
“Because I have no idea what it is that’s holding you back. Why won’t you give us a chance?”
“You’re married!” I scream. “There never was a chance. We never had a chance.”
He takes a step back, blinking in surprise. “What?”
“Oh, God, please don’t make me say it again.”
His gaze softens and he closes the gap between us, cradling my face in his hand again but this time, I can’t pull away from him. The truth is out now, floating between us like an invisible barrier and this is the last time I’ll ever get to be this close to him. With each beat of my heart, the pain intensifies and I wonder how I’ll ever survive falling in love with Chance Turner.
“I’m not married, Princess,” he whispers and I rip myself out of his grip before shoving him away from me.
“I’m not so gullible anymore, Chance.”
He places his hand over his heart and I notice it’s his left hand. No ring. Not even a tan line where a ring once sat. “I swear to you, Carly. I’m not married. You have to believe me when I say I would never do that to you.”
“No. I met your wife.”
His brow furrows and he reaches out, pulling me into his arms. I can’t even fight him.
“I think it’s time you tell me the whole story.”
“Why?” I sneer. “Are you particularly interested in hearing how you broke my heart? Are you some kind of sadist?”
“Carly,” he whispers and the urgency in his tone pulls my gaze to his. “I’m not married and I need you to tell me what happened.”
With a sigh, I slam my eyes shut and take a deep breath. Fine, if he needs me to tell him the story, I will and then we can finally be done with this.
“After we had sex, I went to the bathroom…”
He nods. “Yeah, I remember that part.”
“I was kind of freaking out, but I decided to give our relationship a go. When I walked out of the bathroom, a woman was sitting in the corner of the room. She asked who I was and told me she was your wife. And then she told me to stay away from you.”
“What did she look like?”
“Blonde hair, huge tits, and giraffe legs.”
He sighs, running his hand through his hair. “You didn’t meet my wife, baby. That was my ex-wife, Trixie, and had I known she was going to be at the party, I would have warned you.”
His words hit me in the chest, but I can’t decide if I should believe him or not. Is this just another lie? Another game?
“Please believe me, Princess. Trixie and I have been divorced for a while now and we were never good together to begin with. It was a huge mistake on my part because I got impatient and lonely.”
I don’t know what to believe. Sure, I want to trust what he’s telling me but if he is still lying to me, the heartbreak would kill me, for sure. As I study him, he sighs. Pulling his phone out, he dials a number and puts it on speakerphone.
“Sup?” someone answers and I glance down at the screen. Kodiak.
“Am I married?” Chance asks, meeting my eyes and the sincerity in his gaze is starting to win me over.
“Did you run off to Vegas and marry a stripper again?” Kodiak asks and Chance shakes his head as I arch a brow in his direction.
“Dude, this is serious. Trixie tried telling Carly that we’re still married and now she wants nothing to do with me. Oh, and you’re on speakerphone.”
Kodiak starts laughing and Chance looks a little annoyed. “Hey, Carly.”
“Hi, Kodiak. Is he telling the truth?”
“I’m afraid so, Darlin’. He married her on a whim and quickly realized his mistake. They’ve been divorced for about six months and separated for over a year.”
Chance gives me an expectant look and I nod my head, letting him know I’m satisfied with that answer.
“Thanks, man,” Chance says into the phone.
“Yeah, you got it, brother. Talk to you later.”
He hangs up and turns back to me, wrapping both his arms around my waist. “If you need more proof, we can go to my house and I’ll show you the divorce papers.”
“No,” I whisper, shaking my head. “I believe you.”
He smiles. “Good. Now, can we get back to the other part?”
“Uh… which part would that be?”
His grin grows and he walks us back until I hit the wall. “The part about how you fell in love with me.”
As I stare up at him, I’m not sure what to say. I know he’s not married but it’s taking my heart a little bit longer to catch up and the fear that’s plagued me for so long is back – not as strong but still there. He didn’t betray me, but it still feels like a betrayal. My heart is still tender and terrified of letting him back in.
“I’m not sure what else there is to say.”
“Knowing I’m not married doesn’t change anything for you, does it?” he asks, studying my face. I blow out a breath.
“Yes… and no. I know none of this is your fault, but it still hurt like hell and I’m not as eager to jump into something as I was Friday night.”
He smiles again. “But you were ready to give us a shot?”
“Yes,” I whisper. “I was.”
He nods. “I’ll admit I have no idea why you’re so scared, Carly, but I’m hoping you’ll take a leap with me.”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, I do, Princess. You remember when I told you about spending time with Logan and his grandparents?”
I nod. “Yes.”
“That’s only part of the story. Logan’s grandparents were two of the most incredible people I’ve ever met in my life and their love… it was the kind of love books and songs are written about. Being with them made me feel like I had a real family until I went back home to my mom and whatever asshole was smacking her around that week. As I got older, I wanted to find what they had and the day I met you, I did. I’ve been searching for you my entire life and I don’t think I can walk away.”