A few seconds later, Ryder climbed the steps, cast me a short, disappointed look, and strode past me into the house.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
RYDER
I heardhis footsteps in the hall as I stared into the garden beyond the glass slider.
I heard him come into the kitchen.
I heard him stop.
I heard Ziggy bouncing around his legs like he always did.
But I couldn’t bring myself to turn around.
I couldn’t bring myself to face the man I’d begun to imagine I could have a future with.
I couldn’t believe what Phillip had said could be true.
That Thaddeus was capable of doing what Phillip so gleefully accused him of.
I wanted to believe that Phillip was simply trying to stir up shit between us.
But one look at the devastation written on Thaddeus’s face and I knew it was true.
How had I been so fucking gullible?
Iknewhe’d been hiding something. I knew it.
Naomi had seen it. She’d warned me to be careful. If Thaddeus hadn’t been upfront about himself regarding the apartment, what else might he be hiding?
Clearly, the fact that he actually owned the damn company I’d assumed he worked for. That and the fact the said company was bidding on a fucking Elosand contract.
That’s the part that was really screwing with my head. The company thing was a minor issue compared to the damn contract. Thaddeus had sat in front of a bulldozer for fuck’s sake.
An uncharitable thought sprang to mind, and the question was out before I could stop it. “Was it all part of a plan?” I spun to face him, fury ripping in my voice.
Thaddeus’s face drained of all colour and his eyes shot wide. “Wh-what do you mean?”
I steeled my nerves, determined not to allow his obvious distress to distract me from the truth. I spoke slowly and deliberately. “Did you crash your car and land in my property as some kind of ruse to gather information for your little project? Were you worried the proposal might not get approved? Did you want to find out how determined I was to fight it and whether I could be enticed to back down?” And,oh shit.Another thought made my blood run cold, and I advanced on him. “Did the council pay you to come here and root around in my life? Were they looking for something they could use against me?Did they?” I ended on a shout.
“No! Jesus Christ, Ryder!” Thaddeus backed away, eyes brimming, head shaking. “No. Of course they fucking didn’t. What the hell? How could you even think that?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I snapped. “Maybe because you’re bidding on a contract for a development that will destroy my fucking home. A home I shared with you for almost three weeks.” I drilled him with a glare. “Was the break-up part true, at least?”
Thaddeus jolted as if I’d slapped him, and I tried not to care. “Yes!” he declared, arms opening wide. “Of course it was true. It wasalltrue.EverythingI told you was true.”
I huffed disappointedly. “Except for the fact that you didn’t tell meeverything, did you? You conveniently omitted some key information, which you know damn well would’ve changed things between us.” I swallowed around the growing lump in my throat as the conversation slid closer to what really mattered.
“Ryder, I?—”
“You were staying in myhome, Thaddeus,” I cut him off. “You were sleeping in mybed. I trusted you. I cared about you. I let you in. And now I learn that every night we sat together on that damn sofa, you were writing code for something that was going to destroy the cottage? How could you do that? I thought we—” I stopped and dragged a hand over my face. “You know what, it doesn’t matter. Whatever I thought, I was clearly wrong. Maybe I have no right to feel this way. I didn’t ask the questions I should have, and we made no promises or talked about anything continuing beyond your time here. But I suppose I was hoping...” I couldn’t finish, tears filling my eyes, the emotion finally getting to me.
“Ryder, please.” Thaddeus took a tentative step but I held up my hand.
“Don’t.”
He nodded, wiped the tears from his face, and said, “Can I say something now?”
