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His brows rose. “Do you?”
For a split second, the coldness in her blood faded to warmth. Rory had once been such a good guy. She knew that man still existed in him, but it was shadowed by his pain. Though knowing that didn’t make what he’d done acceptable. Far from it. “Yes, I know.”
He looked to his boots, then asked through half-lidded eyes, “Do you forgive me?”
Have I?
She didn’t know, exactly—not truly. Could one ever forgive violence? “I have accepted it. I know you were drunk and that you acted differently because of it.”
“If you know that”—he squared his shoulders, firming his voice—“then why are you shutting me out?”
“Because we can’t ever go back.” She mirrored his posture. She would not look rattled. “I can’t ever trust you again. What kind of relationship would that be?”
“But we could try,” he implored. “We could get help from a therapist.” He dropped his hands, thrusting out his chest. “We have history—and not all bad history, either.” Ella stepped back at his aggressive stance, and Rory’s eyes widened before he sighed. “Fuck, I don’t know how to fix this.”
“There is nothing to fix,” she said with a tremble in her voice, not liking that fire in his eyes. “I’ve moved on.”
“Moved on how?” His lips pressed into a grim line. “Are you dating? Does he know that you’re married?”
“I’d be divorced if either you’d sign the uncontested divorce papers or your lawyer stopped dragging his feet,” she replied, cautious of his every move. Her heart raced, pounding in her ears with each passing second. She forced her voice to sound firm. “And I don’t see how my dating anyone is any of your business.”
“You are not my business?” he asked with a growl.
He had taken a step forward and Ella sideswiped him, her discomfort slowly growing. “Last warning, Rory, go home. If you come near me again, I’ll call the police to arrest you.”
“You need to forgive me, Ella.” His eyes narrowed. “I’m staying at the MGM Grand. I’ll be there until Wednesday night. We need to fix this.”
She held his
gaze, but stepped backward to the front entrance of the office building. “Stay away from me.” Then she booked it into the office, passing by the security guard.
Whatever Thomas saw in her expression had him rising from his seat. The bulky man with the stern dark eyes asked, “Are you all right, Ms. Ella?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” She glanced over her shoulder. Rory stood at the entrance, but he didn’t enter the building. Good. Turning to Thomas, she forced a smile. “Thank you for asking.”
Thomas lowered to his seat, glancing to Rory. “Shall I walk you to your car after work?”
She considered, then nodded. “Yes, I’d appreciate that. Thank you.”
Thomas gave a warm smile. “Consider it done.”
Ella refused to give Rory a second look. She made it to the elevators and exhaled when one waited open for her. She got in, hit the button for the fifteenth floor, and the elevator jumped, whizzing up the office building. When the door chimed and opened, Ella hurried through the waiting room and waved to the receptionist.
She made it to her desk in 2.2 seconds and took out her cell phone, scrolling through her contacts. When she found the phone number of Rory’s best friend, Sean Collins, she clicked call, holding her breath as the phone started ringing.
Sean answered on the third ring. “Collins.”
“Hi, Sean. It’s Ella.”
A pause. “Hello, Ella.”
Oh, the contempt in his voice was cold and stiffened her back. Not a surprise. He was the first cop that showed up that night. And he was the reason Ella never pressed charges.
She was a different woman then—wrapped up in the shock and pain of what happened. Sean had talked her out of sending Rory to jail, and at the time, she’d listened. Now was another story entirely. “Did you know Rory’s in Vegas?”
Another pause. “No, I didn’t. Has he been around to see you?”
“Yes, so I’m telling you to get him to go home. Now. He has broken the restraining order. If he approaches me again, even to call me, I’ll notify the Vegas police.” She knew she should call them now, but then all of this would explode in her face. Kyler would learn about her embarrassing past, and seeing Kyler at the police station and having to explain all this was the last thing she wanted to do.
