He waited, holding his breath for her next words. But they never came.
So this was why she’d avoided him. She’d been hurt when she’d… “Wait,” he blurted, “what woman?”
Wendy’s face flushed red. “I don’t know. Some girl who was tall and had dark hair. She looked like she could be a model. Nothing like me…” Her blush deepened and she let out a strangled laugh. “Like I said, it doesn’t matter.”
He hung his head, shaking it as he fought a smile. “Wendy,” he breathed out the word, hearing the relief in his own voice. “You got it all wrong.” When he lifted his eyes back to her, she was back to being guarded. He framed her face with both of his hands and this time she didn’t pull away.
Thank heavens she wasn’t pulling away.
“That woman. Her name is Vallerie.”
Wendy stiffened but he continued before she could take flight again.
“She’s an ex and I wasn’t on a date with her. We bumped into each other at the coffee shop and she asked me to join her because her friend bailed and she had an extra latte.” He made a face. Lattes were the worst. “She’s engaged now. Practically made me eat the ring when she put it in my face.”
Wendy looked like a stunned bird who had flown straight into a pane of glass. Even her left eye seemed to twitch.
Tripp let loose a laugh. It felt like he’d been holding it in for ages and the release did wonders to his tight muscles. “I can’t remember if I ever told you this, but…” He shook his head. “I don’t date seriously because some part of me knows that when I finally get attached, they’ll find someone else who can love them like they deserve. They’ll find someone who wants to settledown. They find someone… better.” The last word came out cracked and he fought the instinct to pull away from Wendy to hide his insecurities.
Now was not the time to hide away from her. She needed to see this side of him—to understand him—if he wanted to make this work. His heart felt like it was going to jump off the deep end. The ache probably should have alarmed him more than it did, but he was here on a mission.
“The first time it happened was with Olivia,” he whispered.
Wendy didn’t break eye-contact. This was a hard story to tell, and it unnerved him to be put on the spot—that he’d put himself in this position.
“I could tell she still held a torch for someone else. It was torture to stay in that relationship and I guess it hurt a lot more than I realized when I walked away only to hear that they got back together shortly after. That guy wasted no time in swooping in and claiming what was already his. They were…” He sighed, closed his eyes, and fought the emotion threatening to overflow. “…soin love. I’d wanted what they had. But I knew I wouldn’t have it with Liv. I was standing in her way. She couldn’t see it like I could. You have no idea how hard it is to walk away from someone who thinks they have feelings for you. Someone who pleads for you to stay.”
When he opened his eyes, Wendy appeared completely dumbstruck.
“I don’t want anyone else but you, Wendy. There is no one else.”
Her lashes fluttered as she drank in his words. She still hadn’t pulled away. But then she turned her face and kissed the inside of his palm before she reached up and took one hand into herown. “I didn’t realize. Honestly, I don’t know if Olivia realized either.”
“Realized what?” he asked, now staring at the way she held both of his hands in her own. He couldn’t help but think about how well they fit together.
“The sacrifice you’d made.”
His head snapped up and he stared at her.
“I can’t think of anything as selfless as letting someone go when you clearly cared for her.”
Tripp allowed himself to relax somewhat.
Wendy chewed on her lip as she turned her attention to their hands. “Are you sure?”
“About what?” he rasped.
“That you want to cross that line? You said yourself that when you date someone, they end up with someone el?—”
He tugged his hand free and grasped her chin with his fingers in order to force her to look at him. When she did, he whispered, “I’m not letting you go, Wendy.”
“Why?” she whispered, her eyes shining with emotion.
Tripp’s lips quirked upward. “Because I still need to figure out how many kids you want.”
She let out a strangled laugh.
“How else am I supposed to get answers? I have to keep you close, right?”
