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He doesn’t say anything but just stares at me. The look in his eyes reminds me of when he came to my apartment wanting to talk about his ex-wife and daughter.
“What’s wrong?” I can’t help asking.
“Nothing,” he responds and turns away.
I know I should mind my business and go home, but I don’t want to, not when I can sense something is wrong. I shut the door and walk to the middle of the room.
“Is it Amber? Is everything okay with her?”
He turns away from the window to stare at me with an unreadable expression.
“What do you care? Wasn’t she just a means to an end for you?”
Hurt fills me at his words. Does he think I was trying to use Amber to get to him? The realization that he doesn’t know anything about the kind of person I am, despite the weeks we spent together, cuts me deeply.
“Sorry for intruding,” I answer in a barely audible voice and make to leave.
“Hailey.”
I force my legs to stop and slowly whirl around.
“I’m sorry. Amber was supposed to spend the weekend with me, but Linda happened. She can’t get over the fact that I don’t want to mend fences with her, and so she has again resorted to her evil ways of keeping my daughter from me.”
“Oh. I’m so sorry.”
It’s at the tip of my tongue to invite him over to my place, but I’m afraid of what he will tell me. He evidently still thinks I have something going on with Brad because we’ve become friends over the past week.
I made a terrible mistake giving him up when he doesn’t want to patch things up with his ex-wife, even for the sake of his daughter. What should I do? Apologize to him? Tell him I made a mistake? Confess how I feel about him?
In my confusion, I stand there with my shoulders slumped. I feel it’s already too late. He acts as if he hates me now, and maybe he’s justified in feeling that way. I broke up with him out of the blue, and it appears to him as if I instantly moved on with someone else.
“Why did you end things between us?”
My head shoots up. “What?”
His intense gaze sends sizzles up my body. Slowly, he moves away from the window and walks around his desk before perching on the edge and folding his arms across his muscular chest.
“I want the truth.”
I chew on my bottom lip. Will there be any point in telling him the truth? It doesn’t matter anymore.
“Was it a ploy to get me to commit?” he probes when I don’t say anything.
I frown. “What? I don’t understand.”
He straightens. “Don’t be coy with me.”
Feeling insulted, my nose flares. “What do you think?”
“I think you want a declaration of our relationship. A ring on your finger after walking down the aisle with me. A family!” he snaps. “Been there, done that, Hailey. I don’t intend to head down that path again.”
My fingers itch to slap him for his derogatory words. Dear lord, is that what he thinks of me?
“I understand you married a conniving bitch, but not all women are the same as your ex-wife. I find it very insulting that after the time we spent together, you think of me as some gold digger. I’m such a fool!”
Tears stream down my face as I whirl around and head for the door. Before I reach there, Gareth catches up with me and spins me around.
“What am I supposed to think? After having a spectacular weekend with you, you tell me you’re tired of sneaking around with me and then you throw another man in my face. Shouldn’t I think you want something more from me?”
