“Here’s how we're going to solve thismiscommunication," I informed her, my tone all business. "I'll return to my office and put in a call to my lawyer. He’ll draw up an addendum to our contract, one guaranteeing you won’t talk to Max or be seen with him.”
My mouth broke into a menacing snarl, but my voice remained an icy monotone as I told her,“And then I’m going to come back up here after work, and I’m going to reclaim you, Sunny. Again and again, until I forget about you having lunch with him. Until I can unsee you holding his hand like he was someone you care about. Until you remember exactly whose bed you're supposed to be occupying.”
Sunny stared at me.
Then she stared at me some more.
Then she said,"No."
No.
Justone word. But it went off like a bomb between us.
I crooked my head at her.“What did you just say?”
“You heard me,”she answered. "I mean, do you really think a contract is the only way to end this argument?"
My jaw clenched.“After what you did?—”
“I didn’t do anything!”she shouted at me.“But you did.You, Cole. Not me. All I did was have a perfectly innocent lunch with your brother. You’re the one who punched him out over it?—"
“You’re mad at me for punching Max? Max is exactly like his mother. He’s lucky I didn’t do worse.”
She shook her head.“What doesMaxhave to do withmesigning yet another contract?”
"You weretouchinghim."The new frost melted away with a fresh blast of anger.
"Because he was upset."
"He was playing you. He wasn't upset. Max doesn't have feelings."
"Everyone has feelings, Cole."Sunny spread her arms to the sides."I know that's not something you want to acknowledge, but everyone has them. Even your brother. And he wasn't lying—not about that."
"How do you know?"Something mean inside of me wouldn't just let her have her delusion.
"Because I could tell he was genuinely upset about his mother,"she insisted.
"Oh, you mean like you were able to tell Rich Harrison was married?"
She jerked her head back. Like I slapped her."What?"
Some cruel part of me reveled in shocking her—of upsetting her the way she'd upset me when I found her having lunch with my brother."I know. I know Rich Harrison is the guy who you dated for two years without realizing he already had a wife. I figured it out."
Sunny stared at me, her expression a mix of shock and horror.
And that new voice in the back of my head warned me I'd gone too far.
"Look, Sunny. I get that you're not as experienced as me in the ways of men," I said, trying out a more conciliatory tone. "Let's get this addendum done, and then we'll?—"
"Rich Harrison is my father."
I stopped. Tipped my head to side.Then it was my turn to say,"What?"
"He's my father," she repeated. "He's the man who paid for schooling but never claimed my mother. Or me. The man who stood there stunned when I showed up in his world for the very first time in the thirty-two years he's been pretending I didn't exist. So you think I don't know when someone's lying to me?"
Sunny's expression tightened into an icy look that put all of mine to shame."Trust me, I figured it out. And that's why I resisted entering into thisarrangementwith you so hard. I didn't want to end up like my mother—some wealthy guy's mistress."
Silence. Terrible silence filled up the space between us.
