“I thought you said you weren’t married? You didn’t tell me you had a wife. You said she was yourex-wife. One of you is lying.”
The redhead pulls her lips in a line. “It isn’t me, honey.”
My eyes hook to his. Abel has that deer-in-the-headlights look and every damn alarm in my body goes off.
My stomach bottoms out. “You’ve been lying to me this entire time.”
“I can explain.” He tries to snatch my arm once again, but I stagger backward, tripping over an uplifted root in the process before flailing as I right myself. The redhead has a good laugh over that one and my cheeks burn with anger, but it’s all for him. “Zoey.” He comes in close, and the back of my hand connects with his cheek without hesitating.
“Don’t talk to me. Don’t you look at me. And don’t you dare come after me!”
I take off for the boathouse, my feet thumping over the sand like a heartbeat. I throw my things into my car and speed off the mountain. It will be the last time Loveless will see me if I have anything to say about it.
I drive for hours until it occurs to me where I should be going, and I turn the car in that direction. I know the perfect place to get lost and forget all about my troubles, but before I get there, I’m going to have a good old-fashioned cry.
I pull over and do just that. I weep for hours at the mess my life’s become.
Some people charge through their time on earth like a boss. I’m not one of them. I don’t think I’ll ever be.
Abel McCarthy broke my heart far more than Holder ever could have. The greatest tragedy being, Abel had just about healed it.
I wish I never met him, but I can’t change that.
The only thing I can do is ensure our paths never cross again. And they won’t.
I fall asleep and dream of dancing in his strong and sure arms, the scent of his cologne, those blue flame eyes haunting me long after I wake up in a pool of tears.
I left my heart and sanity in Loveless.
I don’t care to have either of them back.
