He winces. “It was more than that, and you know it, Camellia.”
I wave for him to get on with it.
“You high-tailed it into the women’s locker room to get your shower. Then, you hit the rack for some sleep before we were officially off-duty,” Aaron begins. “I was in the men’s locker room when Owen came back with the second crew. They were loud and talking smack about how they attacked the fire from their side. And everyone made plans to go out later that night.”
I raise my eyebrows. I don’t remember being asked to go out with the gang, but then again, I was so tired, I felt like a walking corpse.
“Owen said they were going to celebrate,” Aaron continued. “I asked what they were celebrating, and he said - Cam’s going to marry me!”
I suck in a breath. “What the fuck?”
He shakes his head. “I was so stunned. I didn’t even know you were dating.”
“We weren’t!” I scream. It echoes around the scorched trees.
Aaron puts his hand on my knee. “I know that now, but I didn’t at the time. At the time, I felt like Owen kicked me in the gut, junk, and teeth. It knocked the wind out of my sails.”
“And you didn’t think to ask me?”
He shrugs. “It felt like I was a dirty little secret. Some sort of final fling before you said yes to the dress.”
I’m fuming mad right now. Not only at Owen, who’s been dead for years, but also at Aaron for believing this bullshit. I’m so angry I can’t even speak.
Aaron could always read me like a map. He resumes the story to calm me down, but I’m not even sure that’s possible at this point.
“We had plans to meet here that night,” Aaron points to the former fairy circle.
“And you didn’t show.”
“I didn’t think you’d show either.”
Fuck. Here come the angry tears. “You didn’t think to make sure?”
He shrugs. “I thought you’d be celebrating your engagement with your fiancé. He was so public about it. Like everyone knew. It never occurred to me to double-check the accuracy of the news.”
I jump off the tailgate and begin stalking around the truck in an attempt to keep the tears at bay. “So, a complete fucking jackass tells you he’s engaged to me, the woman you fucked in a supply closet moments before, and you didn’t think to double-check that shit? Youbelievedit was true? Why? Why would you do that?”
Aaron shakes his head.
“Fuck! I’m so pissed at you right now. I don’t even know what to do!”
“You’re pissed at me? I thought you used me! I thought you threw away years of our partnership for one last hurrah before marriage!”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Bullshit. You knew me better than anyone else in my life. Not even my sisters knew me that well. You had to know I treated marriage with more reverence than that!”
Aaron looks at the ground. His submission doesn’t feel as great as it should.
“There’s nothing more sacred than marriage to me, Aaron. I would rather gouge my eyes out than get in the middle of someone’s relationship, much less their marriage. You knew this about me, but yet, you thought the worst,” I point at him.
“I was scared,” he whispers.
I stop pacing and look at him. It’s like he’s aged ten years during the span of this conversation. “Scared of what?”
“Loving you.”
I still. “What?”
“I loved you, and that scared the shit out of me,” Aaron reaches for me.
