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“Ifyou don’t want to tell me, that’s okay, butI’minterested in who was stupid enough to walk away from you.”Likeshe would be doing soon.
Runninga hand over the smooth skin of her hip, he let out a sigh. “You’llprobably think it’s silly, but it was in high school.”WhenAllieunexpectedly froze,Westchuckled, not knowing what she was thinking. “Yup, you heard me—high school.Inmy sophomore year, there was a girlIreally liked.Shewasn’t like most of the girls in our class—you know, the ones who were popular and stuck up and only wanted to date the guys who were popular too.Mostlyjocks, likeIwas.Asa quarterback on the junior varsity and varsity teams,Ihad girls hanging all over me and asking me out on dates—not thatIminded, of course.Afterall,Iwas a horny teenager.Butthis one girl was really shy but super smart, and smart women have always turned me on—that’s whyIfound you so attractive the first night we met.Imean, you’re gorgeous, too, but it was your intelligence and wit thatIcouldn’t get enough of.Stillcan’t.”
Heshifted until she was tucked into the crook of his shoulder and then slowly stroked her bare back. “Anyway, something about this girl drew me in like a moth to a flame, soIpretendedIdidn’t understand chemistry and asked her to tutor me.Shetutored a few of us for months, butInever got the courage to ask her out when everyone else was around, and she would be the first one out of the library after our sessions.Whenit was almost the end of the school year,Ihad to give it a shot.Otherwise,I’dregret it all summer.”
Oh, no, no, no, no.There’sno way he’s talking about you!Thishas to be a dream!Pleasedon’t let it be real!
Herprayer wasn’t answered as he continued. “So,Allondrawas at her locker . . .”Shewinced when he said her given name. “. . . andIwalked right up and asked her to theSophomoreSocial—that’s an annual dance.”Regretfilled his voice. “Ican still remember her response—no, thanks.Plainand simple, as ifI’dasked if she needed a pen or something.Then, she practically ran away.Iwas crushed, completely heartbroken, and never went to the dance.Ibarely saw her for the rest of the school year—she stopped tutoring.ThenIfound out a few weeks after school ended that she moved outWestsomewhere, andInever saw her again.”
Alliewas stunned, her mind racing in every direction at once.Shecouldn’t believe it.Thiscouldn’t be happening.She’dgotten it wrong for twenty years, carrying the misplaced hurt and anger in her heart.Allthat time, she thought he’d asked her to humiliate her in front of the rest of the class. “Thatwas real?Ithought it was a cruel joke.”
Shedidn’t realize she’d said the words aloud, just a little more than a whisper, untilWeststiffened against her.Alliewas afraid to move.Afraidto face him or say anything more.Oh,God.Ifhe figured out who she was...
Butit was too late to take back the last fifteen seconds.
“Whatdo you mean you—you thoughtit was a cruel joke?Howdid you know about…”
Fearshot through every cell in her body as she could almost hear his brain putting the puzzle pieces together.
“Holyshit!”Rippingoff the covers,Westleaped from the bed faster than a jackrabbit.Wide-eyed, she watched as he stood with his back to her, yanking on his discarded sweatpants.Hestalked across the room, running his hands through his hair, making it stick up more than it had already been.Whenhe finally turned around, the rage in his gaze was like needle pricks piercing her skin.
Settinghis hands on his hips, he glared at her. “Y-you’re notAllieMcKenna,are you?You’reAllondraDawson, right?That’swhyIcouldn’t shake the feeling we’d met before,right?Butyou knew whoIwas, didn’t you?Didn’tyou?”Hisvoice grew harder and louder with every word he spoke. “You’vebeen lying to me since day one!Haven’tyou?”
Shecouldn’t respond as her eyes filled with tears, a lump took up residence in her throat, and her heart pounded with shock and horror.Althoughshe always knew there was a chance he would find out who she really was sooner or later, nothing could’ve prepared her for his response—not that she blamed him one bit.Especiallyafter discovering it was a huge misunderstanding in high school.Shecouldn’t comprehend why those girls had said it was a joke, but it didn’t matter now.
“Whatthe hell is this,Allondra?”Hemoved closer and gestured between them. “YouthoughtIwas playing a joke on you in high school by asking you to the dance?So, what thehell is this?” he repeated. “Arevengefuckfor somethingIdidn’t do?Tellme!”
Pushingup into a sitting position, she reached for him and cringed when he stepped further away again. “I-I’msorry,West.Ididn’t know.I-Ididn’t mean for it to go this far.You’reright.I...Irecognized you that first night and...and everythingIfelt that day in high school came rushing back.I-Iheard some girls talking in—in the bathroom a few days earlier about how you were going to embarrass me by inviting me to the dance and then standing me up!I-Ididn’t think you really meant it when you asked me out,Iswear!”
Thetears rolled down her cheeks like a floodgate had opened, and she couldn’t wipe them away fast enough.Asshe tried to explain, he’d found his shirt and pulled it on before shoving his feet into his sneakers without bothering to put on his socks.
“Idon’t fucking believe this!”Heran his hands down his face, which was red with fury.Theveins in his temples throbbed to the pointAlliecould see them. “So, the whole time we were together, you what?Youwere getting your kicks, thinking you were getting even for something that wasn’t true?Andon top of everything,Ijust confessed thatIwas in love with you back then and you broke my heart.Goingthrough that the first time was hard enough, but nowIhave to deal with it again.That’sgot to be the icing on your cake, right?”Westdidn’t wait for a response as he grabbed his keys, phone, and wallet from the nightstand.Histone grew deathly low. “Youknow what?Nevermind.Youdid it.Yougot your retribution,Allondra.Ihope you’re happy.”
“W-West,I’ms-sorry!Ididn’t mean?—”
Herapology was cut off as he stormed out of the bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him.Anguishbloomed in her chest, so painful she might’ve thought it was a heart attack if she didn’t know it was splitting in two from grief.Amoment later, the front door also closed with a bang.Alliecried harder whenWest’struck engine roared to life and its tires screeched as he peeled out onto the street.
ChapterThirteen
Ahorn blared behindAllie’scar, jolting her from her woolgathering.Focusingon the road, she accelerated and drove through the light that’d turned green at some point.Fourweeks had passed sinceWestfigured out who she was and three since she returned toDenver.Todaywas another day of zoning out at the most inappropriate moments, recalling her time with him from when she’d walked into his pub until he’d walked out of her life and everything in between.Shecould replay every second of their lovemaking as if they were episodes of a favoriteTVshow.Butthen the memories all ended the same—with the fury in his eyes, the confusion then anger and agony in his voice, and finally, the slamming of the door.
She’dwanted to go to him and apologize again and again until he forgave her, but it wouldn’t do any good.Thedamage was done, and there was no going back.She’ddriven past the pub several times but never stopped, not wanting to cause a scene at his place of business or the apartment house he owned.Thatwould’ve pushed in the hypothetical knife she’d stabbed him with even further.She’dalready hurt him enough—the best thing forWestwas for her to leave him alone.
Unfortunately,Alliecouldn’t figure out what was best for her.Sheneeded to move forward—to forget the last seven weeks ever happened—but it was easier said than done.Herco-workers had noticed her misery.Apparently, she’d been moping around the office, distracted to the point some people had needed to snap their fingers in front of her face or touch her to get her attention.Today, she’d been called into her boss’s office for a “chat.”Thewoman had asked if she wanted to speak to one of the counselors on staff to work through whatever was bothering her.Everyonethought she was still grieving her aunt’s death, andAlliecontinued to let them believe that.Announcingwhat had really happened to cause her sorrow would be far too embarrassing.
Whathad started as sweet revenge had ended with her falling in love with the man who now hated her.
Asusual,Sadiehad been her sounding board over the last few weeks, but it was time to let the subject die.Hercousin had to be tired of talking aboutWestand listening toAlliecry over him.Somehow, she’d been able to put on a convincing smile and a happy tone in her voice whenever she saw her mom because the older woman hadn’t suspected anything was wrong.Theyplanned to have dinner the next night, andAlliewould tell her mother that she wanted to stay inDenver.Ifthings had ended differently withWest, she would’ve already put in for a transfer and been packing up her condo.Butthere was no way she could ever face him again.Itwas painful enough to think of him.
Tryingto putWestout of her mind, at least until she was parked and unable to cause an accident, she focused on the traffic and what to have for dinner.Forsome stupid reason, she was craving a grilled cheese sandwich, and that brought back the memory of the first time she was at theCat&Fiddle.Thenight she’d eaten the best damn grilled cheese of her life, realized the man behind the bar wasWestLockhart, and slept with him.
Great, now her head was filled with thoughts of him again.Damnit.
Pullinginto her complex’s lot, she parked in her assigned space and turned off the engine.Beforeshe opened the door, though, something by the building’s side entrance caught her attention.No, not something, but someone.Andnot just anyone, butWest!Shehad to be hallucinating.
Hewas exactly how she remembered, as handsome as ever and sculpted to perfection.Sherecognized him even with sunglasses shielding his eyes and what appeared to be a two-day beard and mustache, which brought to mind how those coarse whiskers rasped over her nipples and inner thighs.Shesqueezed her legs together to tamp down the instant arousal those thoughts conjured up.
Ina blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up—fuck, she loved his arm porn—he leaned against the brick wall with his hands in the front pockets of his black dress pants, staring in her direction.Itwas as if he knew her car and that she was sitting in it.Hisexpression was blank—what she could see of it—as he bided his time.
