Page 43 of Spurred On

Chapter Eight

There’s nothing between me and Cody Silver.

God, those words burned a hole in his soul. How could she say that? How could she lie like that?

Or worse, what if it was true? What if he was all alone in this crazy obsession? What if she’d just used him and tossed him aside?

The thought made his ire rise.

The hell.The hell any woman—especially Sidney Stevens—would use him.

The irony was shattering.

Sure, he’d dated a lot of women. And he’d been the one to break it off every time. But why had he broken it off? One reason and one reason only.

Shewasn’t Sidney.

Somewhere deep in his heart and soul, he’d felt an emptiness only Sidney could fill.

And now, now that he’d found the courage to admit as much to himself, now that she was here within reach again . . . this.

There’s nothing between me and Cody Silver.

Shit.

Blindly, he made his way to the kitchen, dropped into a chair at the table, and buried his face in his hands.

He couldn’t bear to watch her leave again. Couldn’t bear to face the future without her. He railed at himself for being such an idiot. For doing whatever it was that had turned her off. What a shame he had no idea what it was.

He had no experience in wooing or winning women. Absolutely none.

It had always come easy to him, too easy.

Now that he desperately needed to turn this around, he didn’t have a clue how to proceed.

“What’s wrong with you?”

His head shot up at the sound of his brother’s voice. He quickly wiped at his cheeks and then forced a smile. “Nothing.”

“Really?” Cade eyed him warily. “You look tired.”

“Yeah.” As good an excuse as any, he supposed.

Cade pulled two coffee mugs from the cupboard and filled them both. He sat opposite Cody at the table and slid one of the mugs over.

“Thanks.”

“Hmm.” There was a long silence as Cade sipped at his coffee, and then he said, “Party’s going well.”

“Yup.”

“Guess we don’t need Claire after all.” They shared a chuckle. “Looks like Hanna and Logan are spending some time together.”

“Yup.” Though the thought of Hanna reminded him of Sidney, and he winced.

“I, ah, noticed you skipped out of the party early last night.”

Shit.“Everything was finished.”