She blinked. “You don’t like what?”
“That you once trusted him.”
The vulnerability in that surprised her as she stepped closer. “You can’t rewrite my history.”
“I know.”
“But you aren’t competing with it either.”
“I’m not competing,” he blurted.
She arched her eyebrow. “Are you jealous?”
“No.” He shifted his stance and focused on her eyes. “I hate the idea that he had a chance with you.”
She laughed. “I’m not so sure. He was always too polished, too fake. Seeing him now, I understand that he didn’t respect me.” She shook her head. “He was never the one.”
He exhaled sharply as his gaze studied her. “You worked beside him.”
“Yes.”
“You respected him.”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t now?”
“No.”
He stepped closer. “Why?”
“Because safe and impressive are not the same thing.”
His mind heard the words and took a moment to understand.
“He seemed impressive at the time, calm and confident in ways that made people believe he understood chaos better than anyone else in the room.”
Wyatt ran his hand across his head. “And me.”
“You’re steady.”
The echo of that word passed between them.
“He made me believe I needed to prove myself,” she said. “Like if I didn’t outwork everyone, I’d disappear.”
“And I make you feel?”
She hesitated for only a second. “Like I can do anything, and you’d stand next to me waiting for me to shine.”
His expression changed as the smile lit up his face. “Thanks for that.”
She kissed his cheek.
Wyatt embraced her. “I’m grateful you don’t scare easy.”
“I don’t.”
“And he doesn’t scare you.”
