“Did you and Margot talk? Do you guys have any theories? Like, anything you know about your mom and grandfather that might explain it?”
Ethan’s fingers tighten around his knife before they relax.
“No, Hattie. It’s not like Mom ever came clean with either of us about her history. With Gramps, she kept her comments brief. Sometimes she’d get irritated or leave the room if she ever mentioned him at all. Honestly, Margot wouldn’t know where to begin any more than I do. And even if we did, this is family bullshit. You don’t need to get too deep in the weeds.”
Hurt hits me like a blow to the chest.
“You wouldn’t tell me if you knew?” I say flatly. “Because I’m not family?”
“Because it isn’t worth your time and grief. Also, yes. We need to keep it in the family.”
Ouch.
It shouldn’t feel like a bruising kick, but it does.
“So, what? You’re saying I can’t keep a secret? I can’t handle the big scary inner secrets of the Blackthorns?”
That cold blue gaze intensifies.
There’s no sign of the Ethan I know in this stranger, who’s so deep inside his own head he’s iced over.
“Did I say that?” he snaps.
“It’s what you implied,” I whisper, putting down my knife and fork. My hands are on the verge of shaking. “But you can tell me personal stuff, Ethan. I’d never tell anyone.”
“Does Margot count as anyone?” The acid bite in his voice flays my already raw nerves.
“Margot—what? I never told her anything.” I’m so confused. “I mean, I might’ve asked her a few indirect questions about your dating history. But that has absolutely nothing to do with—you know.”
“Yes, I do know,” he snarls back. “She told me.”
Crap.
Classic Margot, never able to keep her nose out of things. Then again, she probably had no clue this was such a sensitive subject for Ethan.
Ihad no idea.
Taylor, yes, but everything else…
“I’m sorry if it bothered you.” I try to keep the words steady. “I just wanted to know you better, to understand—”
“Understand what? I told you fucking everything,” he clips. In his anger, Ethan’s voice sharpens. People from nearby tables watch us, though I don’t think they can hear the discussion. But I don’t dare tell him to keep quiet.
I swallow around the rock in my throat.
“I know, but—”
The way he leans forward stops me in my tracks.
“I told you I got a womankilled. Isn’t that enough, Hattie? What else do you need?”
Silence.
And that’s right when our annoyingly attentive waiter pops up from behind me and asks if everything’s lovely, the dessert menu in his hands.
“Give us a minute.” Ethan waves him off, still glaring at me.
All the tension that’s been simmering under the surface braises the air between us now, and my throat goes so tight.
