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She placed the stack of clothes inside the suitcase and pretended it didn’t matter. Mat moved closer, filling up what was left of the floor space. She thought about Dennis and the truth she hadn’t quite revealed, but which Mat had, nonetheless, guessed. Before she left, she had to confront him about it.
“What do I have to do to keep you from telling my secrets?”
He regarded her with watchful eyes. “I guess you’re going to have to trust me.”
“Why? Never trust the press—one of the first rules I learned.”
“I’m not just the press,” he said tightly. “I’m your friend.”
Her friend. Not her lover. Not her beloved. It shouldn’t hurt so much.
She forced herself to remember that she had a legacy to protect and there were larger issues at stake than a broken heart. Maybe she’d mistaken his intention and judged him too harshly. “Does that mean you’re not going to write about any of this?”
“I have to,” he said quietly.
She shouldn’t have been so devastated, but she was.
“Listen to me, Nealy. The press is going to be in a feeding frenzy. I’m the best protection you’ve got.”
“Aren’t I lucky,” she shot back.
“I could give you a dozen reasons why I have to write this story, but you’re not going to listen to any of them, are you? I’ve been tried and convicted.”
She clenched her fists. “Don’t you dare try and take the moral high road! I’ve seen some slimy journalistic tactics over the years, but you get the prize. Do you always sleep with your big stories?”
“Stop it,” he said tightly.
She fumbled with the zipper on the suitcase. “Get out. I don’t have anything more to say to you.”
“Nealy, use your head. Somebody’s going to have to set the record straight about where you’ve been or you’ll never have any peace.”
“So you’re doing this as a favor?”
“I don’t want us to part as enemies.”
“You want us to part friends?” She yanked hard on the zipper. “You’d love that, wouldn’t you? As your friend, I’d feel obligated to toss some juicy insider stories your way.”
“Is that what you think of me?”
She was glad that she’d finally provoked his anger because it made everything easier. “You don’t want to know what I think of you.”
She grabbed the suitcase and tried to push past him, but he shoved it aside and crushed her to his chest. “Damn it, Nealy!”
His mouth descended on hers. The kiss was painful, a travesty of what they’d shared just that morning. He seemed to realize it, too, and he stopped, rested his forehead against hers. “Don’t do this, Nealy. Don’t let it end like this.”
She pulled away, needing to hurt him as badly as he’d hurt her. “You were a diversion, Mat. Now it’s over.”
The motor home burst open, and Lucy rushed in, too caught up in her own excitement to notice anything was wrong. “Ohmygod, Nell! There are two police cars out there now, and these television guys just showed up! And Toni said they’ve got a helicopter coming in to a field not too far away. Are we going to ride in it? Ohmygod, I’ve never been in a helicopter! Do you think Button will get scared? You’re going to have to hold her, Mat. Maybe she won’t be scared if —”
Right then, it hit her.
She stared at Mat, her mouth still partially open, and even as she asked the question, she seemed to know the answer because she was shaking her head. “You’re coming with us, aren’t you?”
“No. No, I’m not.”
All the light went out of her eyes. “You have to! Tell him, Nell. Tell him he has to!”
“Lucy, you know Mat can’t come with us. He has a job. Another life.”
