“Why what?”
“Why are you doin’ this?”
I cut my eyes over to her quickly, processing her disbelieving tone.I wasn’t sure what I'd ever done to her to make her keep me at arm’s length, to have her thinking the worst of me, but clearly she did.
Reagan appeared to be waiting for an answer.Unfortunately, I didn’t have one, so I led with, “Do you really think I’m a dick, or what?”
Without waiting for a response, I got out of the truck, trying to rein in my temper.Why did it always seem that the woman wanted to jump up and down on my fucking nerves?It was as though she wanted to piss me off and I didn’t get it.
“Lynx!”Reagan hollered, the passenger door slamming shut.
She rounded the truck, coming to stand a few feet away.
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
No, actually, I didn’t.
Reagan put her hands on her hips.“With all the shit I’ve done, I?—”
“We’ve got a new rule,” I interrupted, glaring down at her.“From now on, we don’t talk about the shit in the past.Not Billy.Not Tammy.Not any of it.”
“But I need to apologize,” she declared.
“No, you don’t.You need to stop dwellin’ on that shit and let’s move forward.”
“Is that how it is for you?”Her tone was hard.“You forget everything in the past and just look at the future?”
“In a way, sure.”
Reagan chuckled, but I could tell it was strained.“Explains all the women.”
I yanked my ball cap off my head, thrust my hand through my hair, and groaned, spinning on my boot heel and walking away.“You don’t fuckin’ get it, do you, Reagan?”I called back.
“Get what?”
Pivoting to face her, I locked my eyes with hers, the three feet between us not nearly enough to keep me from wanting to put my hands all over her.
“It’s always been you, Reagan.Always.”
“What’sbeen me?”she snapped.
“Do you remember when you started datin’ Billy?”
She frowned.“What the fuck does he have to do with anything?”
“He’s got every goddamn thing to do with it,” I yelled.“Since before you were eighteen, you’ve been with that fuckup.”
Reagan shook her head.“I don’t have a clue where this is goin’.”
I took a step toward her.“I have spent… Goddamn!For ten fuckin’ years, Reagan … I have wanted you.And then when you turned eighteen … I’ve spent the past eight yearswaitin’for you.”
Her eyes widened.“You’ve got a funny way of waitin’.Fuckin’ every woman who crosses your path.”
“They were neveryou,” I growled, coming to stand directly in front of her.“No matter how fuckin’ hard I tried to get you outta my head, it never fuckin’ worked.And yes, damn it, I fuckin’ tried.Do you understand what I’m sayin’?”
She didn’t speak.
I took a breath, tried to get a handle on my temper.When I felt as though my head wouldn’t explode, I caught her gaze with mine.
