“And when it wasn’t?”
She shakes her head slowly. “I’m not going into detail about it because it’s done. But let’s just say he had his moment, he was slapped with a good dose of reality, and he didn’t choose me.”
I don’t like the way that sounds. It’s sad. “Is that when you started dancing… after?”
She hums, nodding a couple of times before she lets out a long sigh. “It’s when I started dancing.”
We stare at one another for a moment in silence, then she throws the covers off, shifts her legs over the side of the bed, and stands. I stay frozen, my cup in my hand. She moves toward me, though, stopping when she’s directly in front of me.
I feel her fingers grip my forearm, squeezing gently, her gaze never leaving mine. “The past is the past, honey. Except when it comes back. Then maybe you ought to give it a second glance.”
“The past can be a bitch, too.”
She snorts. “That’s the fucking truth of it, but I think maybe this is worth seeing if it’s legit.”
Heidi releases her grasp, then turns and heads toward the bathroom without another word. I’m glad, because I have no idea what I would say. I want to ask her a million questions about the person she once loved, but it’s clear she doesn’t want to talk about that with me, or more than likely, not at all.
It’s painful.
I can understand that, even if I want to know everything… everysinglething.
Once the bathroom door is closed, I look at my bedroom door and decide that I need to face that man. Ignoring him isn’tgoing to work because he won’t let me do that. He’s going to be annoying until I break.
I’m not sure I want to give him the satisfaction of breaking me down anyway.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
MILLIE
Axton’sback is to me when I walk into the living room. I’m carrying my now-empty coffee cup and head straight for the kitchen. I’m not sure how I’m going to play this. He thinks he’s the one in control here, just like he always does, but he’s not.
I’m going to shift this around to me. I just don’t know how I’m going to do that yet. Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I worry the skin there as I make another cup. I watch the water drip while my brain works overtime.
“Is it that much more interesting than me?” Axton asks.
Turning my head, I look over at him, and I wish I hadn’t. He’s beautiful. Sliding my tongue along my bottom lip, I let out a heavy sigh.
“I was thinking,” I say.
“Yeah?”
“I was thinking that you’re an asshole,” I state.
My words make him smile. Which only pisses me off more. But I don’t say that. Being mad doesn’t save my ass. It doesn’thelp any part of my situation. “Why do you want to claim me?” I ask.
Axton’s brows snap together as his focus stays directly on me. He doesn’t speak immediately, but when he does, I’m not sure I like what he has to say. He doesn’t answer me. Instead, he asks me another question.
“Why does it matter now?” he asks. “Are we really going to rehash this?”
I don’t respond to him. Instead, I arch my brow as I stare at him. I don’t have to dignify that question with an answer. So I don’t. Tilting my head to the side, I bite the inside of my cheek and watch him in silence.
“We are,” he murmurs. “It was inevitable.”
Inevitable.
I’m sure it was.
But at the same time, maybe not. I start to say that, but bite back my words and rethink them. If I say that, it’s going to start an even bigger fight, and there’s no need to do that. Not when I’m trying to make up…
