Page 155 of Contentious

“Give them a break. You nearly got yourself killed today. Again.” She grimaced. “I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry about all of it.”

“If you’re blaming yourself for any of this, you’re going to piss me off.”

“It’s hard to not feel responsible for you being badly injured, kidnapped, re-injured…”

“You’re not responsible, and it’ll be a great story to tell at parties.”

Cresley frowned as she moved both their trays to the coffee table. “I’ll never want to tell this story to anyone.”

“We’ll have to tell it over and over to the cops and in court and everywhere else until he’s locked away for good.”

“That’s the only place I’ll ever tell it.” She shuddered. “As long as I live, I’ll never forget the sight of him walking away with Ty and me not being able to stop him.”

“Keep thinking about how you ambushed him, grabbed Ty and ran. You did that.”

“I only had the nerve to do it because I knew you had a gun and the police were on the way.”

“You would’ve done it either way. I’m sure of it. And Ty saw you come running for him without a thought for yourself or your own safety. That’s what he’ll remember.”

“I hope he’s not permanently changed.”

“We’ll be there for him and make sure he’s got all the tools he needs to process this.”

“I understand if it’s way too much for you.”

“Are you trying to get rid of me right after I bought us yet another second chance?”

“No, but…”

“No buts. If you’re not done with me after hearing the stuff he said about my past, then I’m not done with you either.”

“Why would I be done with you over that?”

“He aired out all the ugly. I can’t even think about it without wanting to die that both of you had to hear that shit.”

“It doesn’t change anything for us. I already knew you were a recovering addict. I didn’t need that jackass to tell me it probably got ugly at times.”

“Still… I wouldn’t blame you if it was too much, especially after what you went through with your mom.”

“It’s not. Your story is nothing like hers. She never once tried to get help or even acknowledge she had a problem.”

“Those are the toughest cases.”

“I was close enough to it to know what it took to go from that to making such an extraordinary success of your life.”

“I had a lot of help, mostly from my family, which had the resources to get me the best of everything. I know how lucky that makes me.”

“It does make you lucky, and I’m glad you can see that, but all the support and luck in the world wouldn’t have made any difference if you hadn’t been determined to get better. The greatest effort of all came from within you, and I love that you pay it forward to others who need help.”

“That feels like the least I can do.”

“It’s more than a lot of people would do.”

“Sometimes I think one of the reasons I’ve stayed so stubbornly single is because the thought of explaining that mess was unimaginable.”

“I’ve seen it up close, unfortunately, and I have tremendous respect for people who manage to pull themselves out of the grip of addiction and go on to have productive lives.”

“That’s a very generous point of view, and I appreciate it.”