“I don’t think the going snowboarding part did, but ironically, spraining my knee closed the deal.”
“No shit?”
His smile turned to a chuckle, and he glanced at me before refocusing on the road. “He felt really guilty about me getting hurt. The next day, he came over and… Well, he made up for it, that’s for sure.”
The collage of Eric porn flying through my mind right then was seriously hot. I had no idea what the other guy looked like or what he’d done to make up for Eric’s injury, but I could sure imagine being a fly on the wall.
Heat rushed into my face—and elsewhere—and I hoped like hell he didn’t notice. “You ended up dating him after all. Nice.”
“Well…” Eric wobbled his hand in the air. “’Dating’ is being generous.”
“How so?”
“Turned out the only things we really had in common were mutual crushes and a love of giving head.” He half-shrugged, cutting his eyes toward me for a second. “Fun for a while, but not really much to build a relationship from, you know?”
I almost lost my breath as I remembered exactly how enthusiastic he’d been while sliding his lips up and down my shaft. And I didn’t believe for a second that had been entirely a performance for his fiancée.
His fiancée, who’d later become my girlfriend, who’d cheated on both of us. Which was why we were here—to catch our breath and get over her, not to get naked and hot together.
I shifted in my seat. “Itwasfun for a while, though, right?”
“For a while. And I don’t regret it—it just wasn’t meant to be.”
“I’ve had a few of those. My last boyfriend was a great guy, but it’s pretty obvious in hindsight we weren’t playing for keeps.”
Eric glanced at me. “Yeah?”
“Yep. We both wanted different things out of life. He didn’t want kids—I do. I want to stay in Pittsburgh. He wants to retire in Colorado or Wyoming where he can have a bunch of land. The relationship was great, and we’re still really good friends now, but it wasn’t going to work out in the long run.”
Eric was nodding as I spoke. “I can see that. Especially with things like kids—you can’t really compromise on that.”
“Exactly.” I almost—almost—asked if he wanted them. But then I remembered he’d been marrying Selena, who was quite open about wanting a big family. In fact, she’d mentioned the night I met them that the threesome was one of those things they were doing before they got married and started a family.
I didn’t want to open the Selena vein, so I let that drop.
“Anyway, so we broke up… three years ago, I think? He’s actually married now. Found a guy who’s perfect for him.”
“That’s great,” Eric said, and he sounded like he meant it. “I’ve been to a couple of my exes’ weddings, and it’s always good to see them with someone who makes them happy.” His expression darkened. “Well, most of the time.”
Shit. So much for leaving that vein alone.
I shifted in the passenger seat. “To be fair, it helps if they’re finding that person who makes them happyafteryou break up.”
Eric laughed bitterly. “Right?”
I chewed the inside of my cheek. The moment threatened to get painfully awkward, and I had no idea how to salvage it.
Right then, though, Eric put on his turn signal. “And… here we are.”
I craned my neck. How he’d even seen the driveway was a mystery to me. It was paved, but the blacktop seemed to vanish in the shadows of the towering evergreens. There was a single reflector and a barely visible mailbox with a number painted on the side. Even if I’d been looking for it, I was pretty sure I’d have driven right past it.
Eric drove down the long driveway, which curved at the end to reveal a gorgeous cabin right on the lake. It was a sharply angled A-frame that was two, maybe three stories high, the logs stained to a warm brown that probably blended into the scenery from a distance. The cabin had a huge deck, and from there, a small staircase led to a boardwalk, which in turn led to an additional deck on the water. On either side of the deck was a rocky beach, and the whole property was framed around three sides by trees.
Eric parked in front of the garage, and we got out. We both paused to stretch, then gathered our things and headed inside. The cabin’s interior was as rustic as the exterior, with moose-themed artwork on the living room walls above the couch andthe huge TV. There was a fireplace that looked like it had actually seen some use rather than being decorative, and the kitchen was almost as big as the one in my condo.
And the giant picture windows overlooking the decks and the lake beyond—holy shit. This place had to be worth a fortune for that view alone. Which made me wonder how much more Selena had lied about; she’d indicated that her folks weren’t overly wealthy, which was why they couldn’t visit her often. But they’d paid for the wedding, the three-week honeymoon cruise she was supposed to be on with Eric right now, and… this place.
I didn’t care one way or the other about how much money a partner’s parents had. They could be broke, they could be loaded—I genuinely didn’t give a shit. But the lies stung. Every time I turned over another rock and realized she’d lied about something else, it cut deep.
