Page 76 of The Other Half

“Apparently I do need to lock my doors even in Door County. Get out, Cassie.”

“Jake, please. I’m not leaving until you let me talk.”

The hurt and pain in his eyes tore me apart. I’d been the cause of it. This time, I’d put it there and not some random faceless woman who’d fled the scene of the crime. The last thing I’d wanted to do was hurt him, yet it was exactly what I’d done. He was the first man in my life who set my soul on fire, who cared about me for me, and I’d destroyed him.

“I don’t have to let you explain anything. You lied. Period. You know how I feel about lies. Now get out.”

“I do know how you feel about lying, Jake. I swear I do. But I had to lie. I was trying to save my company. It was a requirement for me redeeming myself that I not tell anyone my real name. I was planning on telling you as soon as my grandpa said I could.”

Shaking his head, he scoffed. “What are you even talking about?”

“If you’ll let me explain, it will all make sense!”

“No. It doesn’t matter. I don’t care about whatever stupid excuse you have for lying to me about who you were. There isn’t an excuse in the world to make what you did okay. I trusted you. I cared about you. Hell, I was falling for you! And I didn’t even know your fucking real name!”

Tears burned behind my eyes while I braced against his anger like the hurricane I knew it would be.

“My parents died.”

“So that’s your excuse? Your parents died, so you come up here and lie to us?”

Shaking my head, I reached for him, but he pulled away. “No. Two years ago, my parents died. And I went off the deep-end, Jake. I went from a good girl, grad school high honors, and the heir to my family’s company to a complete disaster. Drugs. Parties. You name it, I did it. Before they died, taking over that company was all I had ever planned on doing, but I thought it would be years away. When my father retired. But after he died, my future fell into my lap while I was stunned by tragedy.”

He’d let me get this far without stopping me, so I kept on, hoping he would finally let me explain.

“I wasn’t ready. Not only was I too young, I was overwhelmed with my grief. I handled it poorly. Poorly is an understatement. I was a shit show, Jake.”

“I’ve seen the photos online now.” He glared across the dim lights of the dashboard.

“I’m not proud. And neither was my grandpa. He toughened up and cut me off. Taking away my chance to step into my father’s shoes and run the company. So, I begged for any way to show him I was capable of taking the reins. And his solution was to send me away, on my own. No money, no help, and no using my identity as a crutch. No favors based on my name. If I told anyone who I was, my family company was gone, and he’d consider me a failure. But I swear I was planning on telling him I couldn’t lie to you anymore. I’d even called him that day to ask him if I could reveal myself to you, but he was in meetings. I promise Jake; I never intended to hurt you. I didn’t know what to do. If I told you, I betrayed him. If I didn’t tell you, I betrayed you. I was so stuck.”

Silence settled over us and I inhaled, glad he’d stopped screaming at me to get out of the truck.

“You need to know that I want this life. I don’t want to go back to who I was. Parties, drugs, and a life filled with empty people who would sell their soul for money. This is where I want to be. Here.”

He scoffed. “Sure, Cassie. The second you win your way back into his good graces you’re out of here.”

“No. That’s not true,” I reached for him again, but he wrested himself away. “I already did win my way back into his good graces. That’s where I went. Home to New York. Even though I was too late to claim my place in the company, I earned his forgiveness. And I chose to come back here. To you.”

“I don’t even know what to think right now, Cassie.”

“I know it’s a lot to take in. And I did not want you finding out that way. I thought I’d cut them all out of my life, but they found me anyway. I swear I was going to tell you the next day.”

“So, what exactly was your plan. With us?” He glared. “You said you were just here to earn your way back into the company. So what, you were going to have a fling with me and then just haul ass out of here the minute you proved your worth? Leave me here while you fled back to the city?”

“No.” I shook my head and sighed. “I don’t know. I wanted both. And I was trying to figure out a way to have both. You, Door County and the company. I wanted to fulfill my dream, my father’s dream, and step into his shoes. But I wanted to live here. With you.”

“Bullshit.” He rolled his eyes. “It’s such bullshit, Cassie. You would have taken off in a second.”

“That’s not true! I would have figured something out! But it doesn’t matter now. The company is gone. Sold.”

“So that’s why you’re back.” He snorted. “Your plan failed, so you came running back here hoping I’d forgive you. Your second choice.”

“Jake. I swear to you I wasn’t going to bolt once I inherited the company. This is where I want to be. With you. Right here in Door County.”

Those blue eyes burned through mine. Searching. I could only hope he could see the truth inside me. My feelings for him were real. My desire to be with him was real. It was the most real thing I’d ever had in my life.

“Please, Jake. I know I fucked up. Again. It seems to be all I’ve been able to do since my parents died. Hell, I’m even the reason they’re dead. It was my fault. They died, and it was my fault.” The tears broke free and saying those words out loud ripped back open the wound I knew would never fully heal.