Page 110 of Silver Player

“I was in the neighborhood,” he lies, and I eyeball Sadie again. My hand curls harder on the ax handle.

“Here, let me finish it off.” Billy reaches out for the ax, but I hold it back from him.

“This is a girls’ night only,” I mutter.

“I like girls,” he teases, and I glare at him. “That’s not what I meant,” he states, his face growing serious.

“Isn’t this fun? We’re chopping down a tree. It’s like a new family tradition.”Sadie interjects, finding the tension between Billy and me thicker than the stubborn tree we were chopping.

Uh-oh.

“Why don’t you put that thing down before you hurt someone?” Billy says, sidling up to me as I’m still holding the ax, primed like I might toss it at him. His hand grips my forearm. His other hand reaches for the ax handle. He’s too close to me. The smell of him invades my senses—clove and spice and a hint of cinnamon.

“Roxanne.” The whisper of my name makes me shudder, my body vibrating harder than the thump of the ax against wood. His eyes search mine, but I look away.

I hate you, I lie to myself. How could you hurt me like this? His cold fingers lift for my cheek, but I won’t allow him to be tender, false, and sweet. I pull back just as Sadie bellows, “Timber.”

The barely five-foot tree falls to the side. Sadie reaches for the lowest branches and begins to drag the tree down the lane. Billy steps back, and I gasp for air, not realizing I was holding my breath.

“I got it,” Billy calls out, chasing Sadie.

“I have it, sir.” A rugged young man in a construction jacket takes the tree from Sadie and begins walking forward with it. Sadie trots next to him, and the two head toward the check-out area. Billy stalks back to me.

“We need to talk.”

“We have nothing to say. Everything is very clear to me now. You played me to get Sadie.”

“Do you really think that, Roxie?”

“The only thing I think is you’re a player. You’ve always been a player, and you played me. First with the custody and then with…with… my heart.”

“You think I played your heart?” he snarks, sarcasm deep.

“Yes. The date.” I wave my arms. “And making love.” I twirl both hands as I blow out a breath, so I don’t cry in my frustration at seeing him. I exhale and lower my hands, slapping them on my coat, which covers my thighs. “Excellent acting, William. The academy called and wants to know where to send the trophy.”

“I wasn’t acting,” he states, stepping up to me. His voice is venomously low as he stands straighter, curling his hands to fists at his sides. We both breathe hard, puffs of air releasing from our noses in the cold air, mixing with each other’s. “Everything I said, everything I did, I meant it.”

“Oh, really? You proved a wall and me work well together.” I repeat his words with my own venom.

“Okay, fine, not everything.” We glare at one another, and I’d laugh if I could find humor.

“Is there a checklist somewhere? I can’t keep up. This statement means something. This statement doesn’t.” I snort. He loves me. He loves me not.

Billy’s features turn angular, and his jaw tightens. “Roxanne, can we just call a truce, and you let me explain myself?” His eyes glow in the limited light like an angered animal.

“I don’t trust you.” The air swooshes out of me, along with the words. I hate how they leave an aftertaste on my tongue because I had wanted to trust him.

“Roxie,” he says, his voice falling.

“It was just sex anyway, right, William? That’s what you’re good at,” I add only as the traitorous tears start to fall because I couldn’t keep it casual. I couldn’t blow it off as cavalier and inconsequential. I’d given him my trust and my heart along with my body.

Billy’s hand move so fast I don’t have time to dodge him. He cups the back of my neck, not threatening me but holding me in place so I can only see him, focus on him.

“It was not just sex to me, Roxanne. I told you. I made love to you. And you’re making it difficult to love you.”

“Me?” I snap.

“You were pulling away from me.” He swallows as his forehead comes to mine. “And I couldn’t let you go. I couldn’t let you be the first to leave.”