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Why would she think he would turn away from her to a woman Anna knew he didn’t love? Even she told him not to marry Cynthia. He probably scared the hell out of her. Especially after Cynthia opened her big mouth.
Cynthia leaned forward, bringing him out of his musings, and brushed her lips against his cheek. “Thanks for everything, Max.” She slipped through the door and closed it behind her.
Max wandered back to the kitchen, thinking about what Cynthia had said. He was shell-shocked by Anna’s careless actions and what it could have done to the both of them. If Anna had thought the wedding was still on…
Damn Anna and her preconceived notions on men. Why hadn’t she confronted him tonight? She should have ripped him a new asshole if she thought he’d been lying to her. She’d just sat there looking…sad. Oh, God, shehadlooked so sad. He hadn’t realized until this moment what that flash in her eyes had been. It had been bone-deep sadness. His heart ached to think she’d been in so much pain. How could he have missed it?
Max stopped in his tracks and drew in a deep breath. He’d missed it because he’d been so angry at her, at himself for loving a cold woman.
A new kind of anger swept through him. He knew she loved him. It was the only explanation for her behavior. Because she was afraid of losing her heart, she’d almost ruined everything. He drew in a deep breath as he realized that by not telling her how he felt about her, he’d played a part in her misconception. If he had been truthful, instead of planning the whole scenario, she might not have believed Cynthia. Still, she’d allowed him to walk out of her house, out of her life. He grabbed his keys off the counter and hurried out the door to his garage.
If Anna thought she was getting rid of him that easily, she had another thing coming.
* * *
Anna slipped deeperbeneath the bubbles and sighed. Even with Barry White crooning in the background, her favorite bubble bath wasn’t making her feel any better. The scent of vanilla and musk, the candlelight, nothing would ebb the pain. She’d drink, but in the mood she was in, she wasn’t too sure she wouldn’t call Max up, drunk. She would not allow herself that embarrassment. Begging him in the fit of drunkenness would be the last indignity she could stand.
She applied the two slices of cucumbers she’d brought up with her. Her eyes were swollen and gritty. After Max had left, she’d sat on the couch for over an hour and cried. There was no one to call, no one to talk to. Usually when she felt like that, she called Max and they talked, but that was gone now. She would never have him to soothe the pain again.
Anna pulled off the cucumbers and lowered her head as a fresh round of tears spilled from her eyes. Oh, God, it hurt so much. She wanted him here now, to make it go away, to tell her that everything would be all right. She knew it had been for the best. But she knew she’d pushed him too far tonight. Max never lashed out with words like that—not with her. And the cuts he’d left were deep and still bleeding. Well-deserved for what she’d said to him, how she’d acted. She’d done it to protect herself, but she wasn’t so sure what she’d accomplished with it.
“Now, why don’t you look like a woman who’s happy to be rid of me?”
Her head shot up, and she lost her balance and splashed around in the bath water like a fish.
There, leaning against the doorjamb, was Max, his dark-blond hair mussed from the night wind, his chocolate eyes narrowed in suspicion. She reached up to wipe away the tears but ended up spreading bubbles and water across her face.
“What are you doing here, Max?” Her voice trembled and she cleared her throat, hoping he didn’t notice. The sight of him sent a fresh wave of icy pain to her heart.
He ignored her question. His voice was distant, almost cold. “I had a visitor when I got home tonight.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, seems Cynthia told you some lies this afternoon, and you chose to believe them.”
“Lies?” Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach.
“Yeah, you know, where she said we were still engaged. Which I know you understand isn’t true. I’d never have gotten involved with you if that were true. What I want to know is why you believed her?” The anger and pain in his voice were unmistakable. “Why didn’t you trust me enough to ask me about it?”
The stress of the day, the pain from his betrayal, spurred her anger. “Trust you? Okay, why didn’t you tell me she showed up at your office the day after you broke up? And that you sent her on the trip the two of you were supposed to take together?”
A flash of guilt darkened his eyes, and she felt the pain of his betrayal as a fresh wound. But he didn’t let it last long.
“I’m through answering the questions, Anna. It’s your turn in the hot seat. What we’re talking about is you trusting me. Besides, if I’d told you, you would have lost your temper.”
She stood, her rage dripping off her like her bathwater and bubbles. “Trust you? Trust you? Dammit, you didn’t tell me she wanted you back.”
Max pushed away from the doorjamb and stalked toward her. The determined look in his eyes sent a wave of heat to her belly. Even as her heart was breaking, she wanted him. She was sick. How could having the man mad at her turn her on?
He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her out of the tub. He placed her on the bath rug but didn’t let go of her. Her breasts brushed against his chest when she drew in a deep breath. The heat of his body warmed her.
“Admit it, Anna.”
“What?”
“Admit that you love me.”
Panic rose again, threatening to choke her as fresh tears gathered. Did he enjoy causing her pain? Why the helldidshe love him? Demented. There was no other word that would describe her mental state.
