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There’d be time for that later with wine and ice cream and bad movies.
But for now …
Riley clawed at the door handle and shoved the door open.
“Mission accomplished, Sam. I’m leaving. Not because you want me to, but because you’re not even worth fighting for. You’re a coward.”
“Now hold on—”
But Riley wasn’t done. She jabbed her finger at his chest. “You want to get real? Let’s talk about those ROON whisky labels that I know are sitting on your worktable right now. The ones that I watched you painstakingly cut to get just right, so that they’re deserving of the bottles you carefully selected and the whisky that’s pretty damn close to perfect? Who’s going to even see that, Sam?”
He shook his head. “What the hell does that have to do with anything?”
Riley grabbed her purse and slid out of the truck before turning to face him. “Hey, how’s that fantastic new blend coming along? The one that you said was the best you’ve ever made? Still locked in that cabinet?”
His expression was stormy. “We are not talking about it.”
“Of course not. Bolt that shit up like you have your heart so that nothing ever hurts.”
His eyes remained shadowy as he watched her.
“Putting yourself out there doesn’t have to end badly,” she said, her tone softening slightly.
“Says the woman who didn’t have sex for eight years because she was too afraid of being judged.”
“That’s not why!” Riley exploded. “I didn’t have sex for eight years because of you, you ass! I never let anyone touch me because they weren’t you. Hell, the only reason I ever let Dan touch me was because my heart was broken after you got married.”
His eyes flashed before he turned his head sharply and stared out the windshield.
“Yup!” she muttered, digging her keys out of her bag. “That’s right. Retreat even further into your shell, because this shit’s about to get scary. See, I’ve been halfway in love with you since the day I met you, and I know you looked at me the same way. Felt what I felt. And that day you kissed me at my parents’ house? Then I went and fell all the way in love with you, and I think you fell in love with me too.”
He said nothing.
“But you won’t admit it,” she said more softly. “Because somehow you got it in your head that you’re not worthy of love and you’re too afraid of messing it up.”
“I mess everything up.”
“Oh wah wah,” she said, pretending to rub her eye like a fussy baby. “So you got divorced. It happens. And so you don’t have a good relationship with your mom. She’s bitter, Sam, and she doesn’t want your help. That’s not on you, that’s on her.”
“Hey—”
“And so you quit your cushy job to pursue your dream. That’s a damn admirable thing. You could sell ROON and go be an ostrich farmer, and the only person who would think less of you for it is you.”
“It’s easier for you—”
“It’s not.” She jabbed a finger into his shoulder. “Life’s not easier for any of us. The best we can do is choose to get through it with the right people.”
Breathing hard, Riley took a step back. “I thought you were the right person, but I see I’ve made a mistake.”
For the first time that evening, his eyes lost their defiant, defensive look, and something raw and vulnerable passed across his face.
“Riley, wait. I just …”
She gave a sad smile. “I waited ten tears, Sam. You get one more week.”
He frowned. “One week until what?”
“To figure your shit out.”
