My jaw clamped, I drew her close and stroked her arm as we waited.
Logan’s ex got out, looking like he was off to a photo shoot, sporting gray dress pants and a black button-down.
He sprinted to the porch. Grimacing, he swiped the rain from his hair, as if a little water would scar him. “Ila, thank God you’re still here. Please, I need to talk to you.”
Her mouth tightened, and relief filled me. Good. She’d tell this asshole to get lost.
After a moment, she turned to me. “Max, can I have a minute, please?”
In disbelief, I stared at her, and at the pleading look in her eyes, anger corroded my stomach like a vat of acid exploding. Without a word, I stalked inside, shutting the door behind me, fighting not to slam it.
Back in the living room, I didn’t sit, too edgy and too damn furious to remain still.
“Where’s Ila?” her father asked.
“Outside,” I had to push the word through gritted teeth.
Ray jumped up from the couch and peered through the window. “That’s Devyn’s car—oh, crap!”
Mrs. L got up in distress. “My poor La.”
Sean Logan rose, too, his expression hard, his eyes darkening like a thunderstorm. “Sit down, love,” he patted his wife’s arm, “I’ll deal with this. He dares to shows his face here after what he did? I will kill him.”
“No, sir, that’s my prerogative,” I told him, feeling like a buzzing detonator. “Logan’s mine. Andhehas two minutes.”
Ila
A chill settling inside me, I rubbed the goosebumps from my arms. Max was mad at me. But I needed closure. It had been two years—two years since I stood in the study doorway of Devyn’s house and prayed that it was all a nightmare.
I leaned against the balustrade of the porch and waited.
Two years older than me, Devyn still had that boyish look about him. He drew closer, stopping a few feet from me, shoved nervous fingers through his inky hair, disheveling the neat look he preferred. Then he slid his hands into his pockets and locked his pleading gaze on mine. “I’m sorry. Ila, I’m sorry about what happened. About everything.”
The remnants of anger that still burned inside me had the words tumbling out. “You’re sorry?”
“Ila, please—”
“You not only cheated on me, but you did it with mycousin, despite knowing how much she dislikes me and my family. God, I was so naïve.”
His nostril flared, his expression tightening. “It was a mistake, Ila, one I bitterly regret. You canceled dates, ignored me when I needed you—”
“My mother was ill—she had a stroke! We thought we’d lose her,” I cried as old hurt and betrayal seeped through me. “You couldn’t give me that much? Where was your compassion, Devyn?You, who supposedly loved me.”
“I still do.”
I shook my head. “It’s too late.”
“No! You loved me once, you will again. I’ll do anything...” He reached out a hand in a pleading manner. I stepped back. “Please, Ila, give us another chance, don’t throw away all those years we had together because of one little mistake.”
“A mistake? Did your dick just slip out of your pants and into Simi?”
A dull red stain crept over his bronze skin. “Ila, please, I waited two years, gave you time.”
Tired of all this and knowing the closure I’d always wanted had occurred the moment Max had stepped into my life, and that it truly was over, I said quietly, “I didn’t throw us away, you did. Goodbye, Devyn.”
“No—” He grasped my wrist when I turned to leave. “You need time, I’ll give you more. I tried to talk to you then, Ila, but your father refused to let me near the house or you. Later, I found out you were gone—”
“You hurt me, Devyn.” I pulled free. “What you did broke me, crushed my heart so badly. There is no coming back from that. We are over.”
