“Why didn’t you tell me?” My hands come up into the air, and I clench my fists together. “I thought for a week longer than I needed to that someone might leak a video of you and me doing something wildly good but totally for nobody to see.”
“I’m so sorry. I just… I don’t know, seeing you with Hadley, and you were jealous of the pioneer making soup—”
My palm flies up. “Are you kidding me? Do not bring that twenty-year-old dressed in a bonnet into this discussion. What would possess you? We wanted to kill each other that day.” My voice is fuming.
“Something inside me just, I don’t know… was curious.”
Damn it, his smoldering eyes do something to me, and when he steps closer, I feel my heart quicken.
“Do. Not. Step closer,” I seethe out. “I will not let your wicked ways break down my resolve,” I admit.
I shake my head before I rub my face into my hands. Spencer is quick to grab my arm, hooks his finger under my chin, and ensures I’m staring into his ridiculously handsome eyes.
“Who knows, maybe if I didn’t do that then we would never have happened, and I’m so happy we happened.” His face is pleading with me to understand.
But I feel a tear form in my eye. “It’s not even about the video. In some fucked-up way, maybe one day I will think your ridiculous scheme is sweet. But you lied to me, and I hate lies. Would you have even told me if you didn’t hear me making that comment?”
“Yes. I’ve been wrestling with it for weeks, and with so many other things I want to tell you,” he swears.
“Lies are lies. My ex lied to me when he said he wanted to marry me, Hudson and Piper lied to me when they were seeing one another in secret, now you lied to me. I hate feeling like a fucking fool and like I’m some idiot for not seeing the signs sooner.” I’m boiling with anger.
Spencer still kisses my forehead, as if it will make it all okay. “I’m so sorry. I promise you, I didn’t do it to hurt you. I want to be honest, put it all on the table.”
“I’m so angry.”
He bows his head, ashamed. “Tell me what to do to make this better.”
That damn salty tear streams down my cheek. “I think you should leave.”
“Not until I tell you something else that you should know.”
Shaking my head and stepping back, I stand firm because I know I will just crumble into his arms. “No. I need space right now to calm down.”
“April, please—”
“No. I’m having complete déjà vu to a time where you drove me nuts in all the wrong ways,” I snipe. “Please.” I hold my palm up to him and feel defeated. “Just go.”
His face stills before he flexes his jaw. It takes a few seconds, but he relents and walks past me and out the door.
24
SPENCER
Iswipe my palm across my face in the hope of rubbing off my exhaustion. After April asked for her space, I gave it to her by heading straight to a hotel. It was two glasses of bourbon before I attempted to sleep and that didn’t really happen.
Now I’m staring at a plate of bacon and eggs, but all I want to do is throw it against a wall.
A hard knock against my hotel room door is maybe welcome, even though it’s not April. “Open up.” Ford is on the other side.
I walk to the door to open it and immediately walk back to the sofa in my lounge area. “What are you doing here?”
“I always stay in this hotel after a game, you know that. Plus, you sent aFord, I think I fucked uptext at midnight. I was asleep and need to head to a team meeting later this morning, but I thought I would kill two birds with one stone, so pass me the bacon and tell me what’s going on.” He doesn’t even wait, he just takes my plate of food off the cart that room service brought in.
Kicking up my feet, I lie back on the sofa and take a bottle of water with me. “It’s kind of a big deal or not. I mean, hopefully, April wakes up and realizes it’s a minor thing. I kind of delayed telling her when the video situation was under control, and she’s pissed.”
“Why on earth would you do that?” Ford is busy chomping on a piece of crispy bacon.
“Okay, I admit that it doesn’t go down as one of my finer moments, but I guess something inside of me wanted her to stay before the rest of me caught up. I thought she wouldn’t stay otherwise.”
