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Brant jolts then, as if he’s retching a bit in the back of his throat. But then he regains his calm, and shakes his head.
“It was that day,” he says in a low, trembling voice. “I broke up with Monica, and then we had a good-bye fuck, that’s all. That’s what you witnessed, but I swear, we were no longer a couple by then. It was only later that I met you.” Then he shoots a sharp look my way before narrowing his eyes once more. “Wait a minute … you planned all this didn’t you? You followed me to the Red Rooster, and chatted me up at the bar, knowing exactly who I was. It wasn’t a coincidence that we just happened to meet that night.”
I nod furiously, spitting nails from my fury.
“Yeah, I did, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. I came home from the big city because my dad’s been a mess ever since you started seeing my mom. Rudy loves Monica, despite her cheating, and he’s had his heart broken over and over again because of your actions! So yeah, I set out a honey trap and you fell right into it, asshole!”
Brant jerks again, his face pale white.
“But I didn’t know your mom was married, Peyton. I swear it. She had a diamond ring, but she always wore it on her right hand. I assumed that it was a gift from her ex-husband.”
I stare at him.
“Right, because people wear diamonds from their ex-husbands all the time.”
Brant shakes his head slowly.
“Listen, I don’t know what divorced ladies do and don’t do because Monica was an aberration for me. I don’t usually date women in their forties, but yeah, your mom and I hooked up for a couple months, and it was fine. I didn’t probe into her business, and she didn’t probe into mine either. It was a physical relationship based on convenience more than anything, so I really didn’t know very much about her.”
I stare at him.
“Yes, but my dad was living at the house while you had sex with my mom. He could hear you fucking Monica through the walls!”
Brant looks sick as he shakes his head.
“I swear, I had no idea. Yes, I had sex with Monica in her bed. I had sex with her in the shower, in the kitchen, and probably in every room of your childhood home. But I had no idea that there was another person living there because there were no signs, Peyton. There were no male clothes in the closet, no toothbrush on the sink ledge, no nothing. I assumed that Monica was living in the house alone.”
I’m about to scream again, but then I realize that Brant could be telling the truth. After all, my dad’s become a recluse. Rudy lives in his home office now, only coming out late at night to grab food and to shower. Even so, my dad’s a very tidy man and might take his toothbrush back with him to his room. Plus, I wouldn’t put it past my mom to scrub every inch of Rudy from the house. She probably put away all of our family photos, and hid all of my dad’s things. After all, Rudy hasn’t come out in a long time now, so Monica likely just figured it was easiest to erase him from her life.
My heart curdles in my chest, and I literally feel sick. Vomit rises in my throat and I wonder if I’m going to faint because what if Brant is telling the truth? It’s possible that he never even suspected that Monica was married, if they really were only connecting physically. Plus, my dad was in hiding, so maybe there really was no trace of Rudy in the house. Maybe my plan was screwed from Day One, and now, everything’s fucked up because of it.
I stare at Brant, unable to think. The handsome man looks straight back at me, his gaze direct.
“I swear on my life, Peyton,” he rasps. “I did not know your mother was married. I would not have fucked Monica if I knew she was. She never said anything, and I never saw a trace of your dad around the house either. I didn’t know.”
It’s then that tears begin to course down my cheeks. It seems I’ve made a mess of things, and even worse, that all of my assumptions about this man, and about our particular situation, were wrong. Oh shit. What do I do now?
But Brant’s getting out of bed without another word. His bronzed back is turned, and within seconds, he’s dressed and striding to the door.
“I still don’t understand why you set out to seduce me,” he rasps in a harsh voice. “If anyone’s fucked up, it’s you, Peyton. You’re the one who’s got some serious thinking to do.”
