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She froze at the mention of Marc’s name. It was hard to believe she’d just heard it coming out of Case’s mouth. He’d made it clear a long time ago that he hated Marc with a passion.
“N-No. Of course not. Why would I know that?” Just the mention of Marc’s name made her feel defensive. She was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Was Case going to accuse her of something new with Marc?
“I ran into him last night in town.” Case folded his arms around his chest. “He had a few things to say to me.”
“Oh no,” Fancy groaned. “Did the two of you get into it?”
“No, we didn’t. He told me a few things that surprised me.”
Fancy arched her brow. “Such as?”
Case’s penetrating gaze seemed to push past all of her defenses. “He admitted that back when everything came to a head in our relationship, he deliberately made me believe you were…interested in him. That he wanted me to think certain things that weren’t true.”
Fancy blew out a huff of air. “Why would he do that?”
“Because he wanted you.” Case’s words were blunt and to the point. “And he thought if we broke up, he might end up with you.”
“That’s crazy,” Fancy said in a raised voice. It made her uncomfortable to even reflect on her past friendship with Marc. What had started out as innocent had transitioned into something complicated and messy.
“Not really,” Case said with a shrug. “He knew that I was angry with you for meeting up with him all those times and that our relationship was on the rocks because of it. He figured if he gave it a little push, the whole foundation would crumble.”
“It seems to me he had a little help in the matter,” Fancy grumbled.
Case turned back toward her. “What does that mean?”
“It means that you were his partner in crime, for all intents and purposes. If you’d only trusted me, listened to me…he wouldn’t have gotten away with his manipulations. I know that I let you down, but you thought the very worst of me when I was actually pretty innocent.” Fancy felt her cheeks getting heated. It happened to her every time she got feisty or upset. “If there’d been a level of trust in our relationship, perhaps you would have believed me.”
“Oh that’s rich, coming from a woman who wasn’t necessarily acting in a trustworthy manner,” Case snapped. “And I don’t think you should try to make yourself the victim in all of this. You went behind my back how many times and went out with Marc. Dinners. Being entertained by him at his apartment. Going to the movies.” Case let out a snort. “Sounds like date nights.”
Fancy stomped her foot on the ground. “Oh, are we back to this again? As if we haven’t completely dissected all of my shortcomings. Well, Case, how about we pick yours apart?”
Case narrowed his gaze. He nodded at her, as if inviting her to speak on his shortcomings.
“You wanted to believe that I was unfaithful in every sense of the word. Admit it. You wanted to believe every low down and dirty thought that popped into your head about me, even though I came clean to you and told you everything.” She wagged a finger at him. “And there wasn’t anything salacious going on.”
“But there was emotional intimacy, Fancy. And that’s equally devastating.” Case shoved his hand through his hair, the gesture full of anger. “I can’t believe you still don’t get it.”
“Of course I get it. My point is that you took it even further. You made my crimes worse than they really were. And that’s not fair…not then and not now. You owe me an apology.”
Case sputtered. “What? An apology? Are you kidding me?”
Fancy moved toward Case, quickly swallowing up the existing space between them. She stretched her arm out and poked him in the chest with her long, graceful finger. “Do I look like I’m joking?”
“Ouch! What did you do that for?” Case asked, placing his palm over the spot on his chest.
“To emphasize the point,” Fancy said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “You seem to be a bit tone deaf on this issue.”
“You can emphasize it all you want. You can hire a pilot to fly a message around in the sky. You can take out a billboard in downtown Savannah. You could put a hundred messages in bottles and dump them into the ocean out there,” he said, pointing his finger toward the water in the distance. “But it still won’t get you what you want, Fancy. I don’t hand out apologies like candy. If I’m wrong I’m a big enough man to admit it, but I wasn’t wrong.”
Fancy let out a squeak of outrage. He’d just admitted that he had fallen for Marc’s manipulations, which meant he had been in the wrong. Why was it so hard for him to say he was sorry? Lord knows she’d said it a hundred times or more to him. His apology wouldn’t absolve her of all guilt for her mistakes, but it would go a long way in bridging the gap between them. At least they wouldn’t be at such odds over the past.
They stood facing one another, both breathing heavily, both dissatisfied with the other’s position. Fancy folded her arms across her chest and glared at Case. She couldn’t believe this man! He was way too proud for his own good! For the life of her, she wasn’t certain at this moment as to why she loved him so fiercely. And she feared that she always would.
**
“Should someone go outside and referee for them?” Hope asked, biting her lip as she looked out the window of the library inside Savannah House.
“I wish we could hear what they were saying,” Morgan said, pressing her ear against the glass window.
