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“Yes, yes, I know,” she said. “He blew up my phone, and I was going to return his calls…” except that her life had been in danger.
“Sure, you were,” he said. West looked worn down.
Suddenly, she was afraid to know what her daddy wanted to talk to her about. “Did he see my TalkieTalk? I-I confessed that I’d kissed Cole, not you… so you’re off the hook.”
“I know,” West cut her off, even more impatiently. “Your daddy wants to meet my…” He shook his head before he finished his sentence.
“What?” Daddy wanted to meet Cole? Was he going to accept him into the family? Her heart lifted.
“Listen to me…” West rounded the island in the kitchen to take her hand. “I’m sorry,” he said, “for everything that I did. I never should’ve ignored you. Just tell me what I have to do to make up for it, and then we can just forget any of this ever happened. We don’t have to come back to the family ranch again. We can get on my jet and get married. Just name the island.”
She gasped at the intensity of his blue-eyed gaze—it was different than Cole’s, so much torment and passion boiled in that raging sea of secrets—she still wanted to know what was going on there.
It’s none of my business.
And now, Eva was so shocked at his proposal that she couldn’t answer.
She watched West’s jaw working. He had a habit of clenching his teeth, like he was trying to keep back the words that were trying to claw their way out. He’d kept that mouth shut more often than he talked to her nowadays.
The mystery of West had been what drew her to him and had eventually torn them apart.
“Youwantto get married, don’t you?” he growled out. “Let’s get out of here and have the most romantic time of our lives. I’m dying to escape this place with you.” His eyes shifted back to the barn.
The police had come. Cole was talking to a stern-faced deputy.
West’s fingers tightened on her hand. “It would’ve killed me if anything had happened to you.” She turned back to him. His eyes told her that he wanted her; his expression, the way that he leaned.
But he didn’t. He never had.
Why hadn’t she seen it from the beginning? He must’ve feared her daddy’s temper so much after that scandalous kiss andthat’swhy he’d asked her to marry him, but it was going to be okay now. She’d clear up everything.
“West, no,” she said. “I don’t want you to offer yourself up as some sort of sacrifice just to–to keep me happy. I promise, I’ll tell my daddy that this whole misunderstanding was my fault.”
He shook his head. “What misunderstanding? Honey, it should’ve been me you found in the barn that day. It might as well have been. Who else can kiss you until you’re breathless? I’ll make it up to you. Right now if you want.”
Her heart shot up to her throat and she stepped back, landing up against the fridge. She let out a surprised chirp. West had her cornered. Her hand pressed into his chest to put some distance between them. He was blazing hot like he always was. He had her arm somehow and eased her closer.
The blanket that Cole had wrapped around her shoulders slipped to the ground.
“Let me show you how good it can be.”
Cole already had.
She shook her head, not knowing what to say. West wasn’t in love with her, so what else was going on? He’d always been charming, but now he dripped with it like cheese.
“I can take care of you,” he said. “Cole can’t. Can you imagine him with your daddy? Your family would swallow him like an insect.”
“Hey!” Cole charged inside. “What’s going on?”
Eva sagged in relief, though West’s words about what would happen to Cole had her ears ringing. “I’m sorry, West,” she whispered for his ears alone. “What we have isn’t real. You’ve never loved me.”
“And you and my brother have nothing in common,” West snapped. “Don’t hang on him just because you didn’t get what you wanted from me.”
“Knock it off.” Cole was between them.
“No!” Eva cried out. They were going to fight again, but she could see that West had lost all taste for it. If anything, his glares were all for her.
She recoiled from him.
