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The air knocks from my lungs. There’s only one reason I can think of why Finn has an engagement ring. “While you were kissing me, you have a girlfriend you’re going to propose to?”
He clenches his jaw as his gaze flicks away. I take that as a yes.
Nausea rises to my throat. “How could you do that?” The Finn I used to know had respect for women. He’d never act like such a dirty dog. Have the years changed him so much? “How can you do that to someone you love?”
My heart aches. Once upon a time, I was the woman he loved. The woman he said he couldn’t live without. What did I expect? That he’d stay single for the rest of his life? Live a miserable life like I had? No, he’d moved on.
Finn digs his hands into his pockets. “You’re one to talk about love. All your sweet words and promises meant nothing. You were waiting until you got a better offer. You have no right to judge.”
I throw my hands in the air. “I never cheated on you.”
Tossing his head back, Finn gives a mocking laugh. “You don’t expect me to believe that, do you? So, Derek was love at first sight and you couldn’t wait to marry him?”
“No,” I say, my voice trembling.
His mouth twists. “You’re such a liar.”
Again, I want to tell him the truth. But with the way he’s looking at me, accusing me of being a liar, I know he’ll never believe me.
“Next time you have the urge to cheat on your girlfriend,do notuse me to do it! I have had enough of men using me for their benefit.” My chest heaves with each word I speak.
He leans down and stares at me with a fierce expression, our noses almost touching. “I don’t have a girlfriend. The engagement ring was for you.”
Chapter Eleven
FINN
Whatthefuck!The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. Wanting to propose to Harper was something I’d buried in a deep hole, pouring concrete over the top. Chain me to a chair, rip my fingernails out, pull my teeth, and I was still sure I’d never tell a soul. I was embarrassed to let anyone know that I’d fallen in love with a woman I thought would one day be my wife, who, with a snap of her fingers, easily chose another man.
Harper stands as still as stone. “The ring was for me?” she whispers. “You were going to propose?”
“Yes.” I scrub the back of my neck. The day I bought the ring was one of the happiest days of my life. I had the proposal planned out in my mind. A trip to Positano, Italy—a place Harper always wanted to visit—with a fancy dinner on a private yacht. I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her. Yes, we were young, but I knew she was it for me. Nothing or no one could change that. But things did change. She tore my fucking heart out of my chest. Since then, a black, cold stone sits behind my ribs, never to beat with love again.
The color in Harper’s face turns white. Unshed tears shine in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I want to explain why…” She bites her bottom lip to stop it from trembling.
I take two steps toward her. My hands clasping her shoulders. We stand so close she has to tilt her head back to look at me. Something sweet, like the scent of strawberries, floats around me. I have to stop myself from burying my nose in her neck and breathing her in.
Frustrated with myself for again not being able to keep my distance, I push away and step back. “There’s nothing you can say that will justify what you did.”
“Finn, please.”
The heartfelt way she says the wordpleasestabs me in the chest. Softening me against her a little. She’s come back into my life. With a word, a look, a touch, she’s chipping at my walls. I steel my spine. I won’t let that happen.
“I don’t want to hear it,” I say through gritted teeth.
Her shoulders sag with a sigh. “Fine. Then tell me why you kept the ring.”
My hand slides into my pocket, and I clench the band in my palm. The stone digs into my skin. “I keep it as a reminder.”
“A reminder of what?” She frowns.
I look her straight in the eye. “A reminder to never fall in love again. To never let another woman close enough to wreck me the way you did.”
Harper covers her face and sobs. Instinct has me wanting to pull her into my arms to comfort her. Instead, I stay rooted where I stand, remembering to lock down any emotion that might resurface.
I refocus the conversation on Harper, because I don’t want to talk about the ring anymore. “Tell me why you’re working here. Yourhusband—” The word tastes like acid in my mouth. “—gave you a life of luxury and wealth. Why are you working as an assistant at Alessi’s?”
Harper wipes her eyes. “Things aren’t always what they seem.”
