“I meant that I want you happy.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “And if that’s not with you?”
His eyes darken, and he looks almost dangerous. “Don’t.”
“You said it.”
“I know what I said.”
“Then what am I supposed to think?” I ask. “Because it feels like you’re trying to push me toward a life without you.”
His hands curl into fists on the table. “That is the last thing I want.”
I shake my head. “Is it? Because it sure doesn’t feel like it.”
“Yes.”
I point at him. “Then why does everything you say sound like you’re letting me go?”
He swallows hard. “Because maybe I’m trying to do the right thing.”
I stare at him as if doing it hard enough will help me understand what he’s trying to say. “The right thing? What does that even mean?”
He gestures to me. “For you.”
Anger rises fast. “You don’t get to decide what’s right for me.”
He sighs. “I know.”
“No, I don’t think you do.” My voice shakes, but I keep going. “I had planned on coming home, Penn. I really did. But then I read that text, and all I could think was that maybe you want me to find someone else.”
His chair scrapes back, and for a second, I think he’s going to stand. He doesn’t. He just leans closer, his face hard and his eyes full of possession. “I don’t want you to find someone else.”
I open my mouth to argue with him, but he continues on, his voice sounding even more lethal. “I don’t want another man looking at you. I don’t want another man touching you. I don’twant another man making you laugh or holding your hand or knowing what you look like first thing in the morning.”
“Penn—”
“No.” His voice is low, but there’s no missing the edge in it. “If I saw you with someone else, I’d probably end up in jail.”
My eyes widen.
He lets out a rough breath and looks away for a second, like he’s trying to pull himself back together. “I’m not proud of that,” he says. “But it’s the truth.”
I stare at him, completely confused. “Then why are you acting like you want me gone?”
CHAPTER 13
PENN
I look back at her, and there’s so much hurt in her eyes that it hits me right in the chest. I did that to her.
I shake my head, and the words are out before I can stop them. “Because loving you and being good for you don’t feel like the same thing anymore.”
Aria sits back in her chair, confusion all over her face. “What does that mean?”
I shake my head. I can’t answer that here. Not in the middle of the hospital cafeteria with people walking by and half the staff pretending not to notice us.
“No,” she says, her voice sharp. “Don’t do that. Don’t say something like that and then shut down.”
