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“No, you let him put his fucking hands on me. Because you’re the asshole who let me go.”
I wasn’t about to explain it had only been innocent fun. This was an argument I was sure I could win, but I’d sorely underestimated Leo. He fought by his own rules. Before I knew what was happening, he’d hauled me up over his shoulder and out the front door.
“Are you kidding? Put me down.”
He didn’t do so until we were in the parking lot next to a black SUV. Once I was steady on my feet, he said, “Get in.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do. I signed the damn papers.”
“I ripped them up.”
I threw my hands in the air and let my pent-up emotion fly out of my mouth. “You fucking left me. Left me when I needed you the most. And now what? Because I’m not following your plan for me, you come back? It doesn’t work that way.”
“Addy—”
I swiped at the tears on my face, hating every one of them. “Don’t ‘Addy’ me. You know the worst part? The worst part is I blamed myself for asking you to stay with me that night. If I hadn’t, then none of this would’ve happened. But then I realized if you’d just been truthful about your nightmares, I never would’ve asked.”
“I was ashamed. You needed me, and I let you down.”
I shook my head. “But don’t you see? You would’ve been there the next morning making me breakfast. Helping me cope and get through the next few days. But instead you compounded the worst day of my life by leaving. I would’ve gladly agreed to separate bedrooms if it meant we’d still be together.”
He swallowed hard. “I know. And I’m sorry. Can you get in the car so we can talk this out somewhere other than the parking lot?”
ChapterFifty-Three
LEO
Addison was drunk, and I was coming down from the adrenaline of seeing another man’s hands on her. What followed was not a conversation I wanted to have in a parking lot. I needed to get her somewhere better, alone, in order to share the deeply personal confession she deserved from me.
She crossed her stubborn arms in front of her. “Maybe I’d rather keep dancing inside.”
“If you go back in the club, I’m liable to go to jail tonight. There’s no guarantee what I’ll do the next time a guy puts his hands on you or even looks your way.”
She suddenly swayed toward the car, allowing me the opportunity to steady her.
“You might wish you’d chosen jail.”
“Wh—?” Before I could finish the thought, she was puking by the tire of the rental vehicle. Moving out of the line of fire, I held her hair back and let her put her weight on me.
“Better now?” I asked softly.
“Yeah. I think so.”
“Come on. Get in the vehicle.” I opened the passenger door and reached inside to grab the bottle of water I’d taken from the plane. Glad now that I had it, I handed it over so she could wash out her mouth.
She took the water. “I’ll wait for Mal to take me home.” She took two unsteady steps toward the club before rolling her ankle in her ridiculous heels. “Son of a biscuit,” she howled.
I was quickly at her side. Her bad luck was my fortunate turn if she could no longer dance tonight. “Let me drive you, Addy. Please.”
It must’ve been the please which did it, for she finally muttered a “fine” and limped over to the passenger side of one of the two SUVs we’d rented. The other was for my brothers to use once I hopefully got Addy to come away with me. “But we’re not going to your house,” she stated.
After closing her door, I walked around to get into the driver’s side. She was staring straight forward, her jaw set.
“We’re married, so it’s our house.”
“I signed the papers, Leo. We’re divorced.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat, the one taking residence ever since I’d seen her signature on the dotted line on the papers. But rather than argue with a half-drunk woman whose eyes were having trouble staying open, I stayed silent.
