"No. Avery called off the wedding in February. Said I had to prove I could be faithful before she would marry me."
Smart woman.
Paige snorted. "Why would you walk away from a woman like Avery?"
"Because I want to be with you." Phillip leaned toward her, an expression somewhere between pleading and a smolder on his face.
A sharp pain pricked her heart. Three months ago, those words would have brought tears of joy to her eyes, but now, they made her want to vomit. She felt so broken and damaged that hearing Phillip still found her desirable and wanted to be with her boosted her self-esteem. But no way would she get mixed up with him again.
"Not interested." She held up a hand, palm out.
Phillip grabbed her hand and slid to one knee beside her chair. He pressed his lips to her knuckles. "Come on, Paige, honey, I know you still love me."
She jerked her hand away. "No, I don't."
"You told me a few months ago that you loved me more than you ever thought possible." His voice took on a low, seductive quality as he rested his hand on her knee and caressed little half circles with his thumb. "I don't believe you stopped loving me just like that."
"Yeah, well turns out the man I thought I was in love with doesn't exist, so it wasn't all that hard." She shoved his hand away from herleg. "I can't believe you were living a double life the whole time we were together."
He lowered his gaze to his hands, but his face didn't look contrite.
She couldn’t get rid of him fast enough, but she also needed to know why he'd led her on.
"Why me?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why did you target me?" She folded her arms and glared at him.
"I didn'ttargetyou."
"What was all that stuff at the gym? You flirted incessantly with me. Then when you ran into me at the grocery store, you followed me around like a puppy dog, talking about your grandma's favorite recipes. You kept asking me out until I caved. Why did you do that when you were already engaged?"
"Because you were beautiful, spunky and fun. I loved your positive attitude and your zeal for life. I felt so alive after every interaction with you that I had to get to know you better. And the better I got to know you, the more I wanted to be with you. I fell in love with?—"
"Don't say it." Paige cut him off. "Don't you dare tell me you fell in love with me when you were supposed to be in love with another woman." She shook her head and scoffed. "You were planning to marry her for Pete's sake."
"I insisted we put off the wedding after I met you. I thought maybe I'd made a mistake in proposing to Avery."
Yet you continued to sleep with her, so she ended up pregnant.
Paige didn’t bother voicing the words, because he would only tell more lies to justify his actions. She couldn’t believe anything that came out of Phillip’s mouth anymore.
"No, your mistake was flirting with me when you were engaged to another woman." She sliced her hand through the air then jabbed it in his direction. "You strung us both along for eight months. Eight months, Phillip!" She poked him in the chest. "I wasted the better part of a year with you, thinking our relationship could lead to a happily ever after."
"It can now, sweetheart." Still down on one knee, he pulled a small black box from his pocket.
Paige's stomach clenched and every muscle in her body tensed. She shook her head so hard it throbbed.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Paige." He popped the box open to reveal a large square-cut diamond.
Paige couldn't be sure it was the same one Avery had worn, but it looked similar.
The proposal she'd anticipated three months ago was finally happening, but it brought Paige no joy. It sickened her that Phillip considered her Plan B. He trampled all over Avery's heart. There was nothing to keep him from doing the same to her. The moment another woman turned his head, he wouldn't hesitate to go after her, like he did Paige, and she would be the one with her heart in tatters. Again.
Was that why Noelle, his crazy ex, was out to get him? Had he done the same thing to her?
"It's time for you to leave, Phillip." She pushed to her feet. "And don't ever come back."
