“Suzy, will you take Heather with you to the office?” he asked. “I’d like to have a minute alone with Chrissy.”
Chrissy beamed, and it took every ounce of self-control to not lose his patience and inform her this wouldn’t be a pleasant conversation.
“Are you sure?” Heather asked.
“Yeah.”
Suzy scooped up a pink box from the table. “I’ve got doughnuts if you’re hungry.”
“Starving. Let’s head out.” Heather placed a kiss on Duke’s cheek then slid her arm away from his. “Call if you need me.”
Suzy lifted her hand in goodbye then hurried out the door.
He stared after her, hating the wounded look in her eyes.
“She’s nice,” Chrissy said, honey lacing her voice.
But he knew all too well that Chrissy’s honey was often spiked with poison. “Leave her alone.”
Tilting her head to the side, her blond hair spilled over one shoulder. “I don’t know what you’re so concerned about. She knew you, and I wanted to pick her brain about how to get you to sit down and talk to me. Turns out, all you had to do was see me with Suzy.”
“I won’t be sitting, and I’m the one who’ll be asking the questions. Where were you last night?”
She turned her lips into a pouty frown. “Why? Miss me?”
“Not in the least,” he said. “From 10:00 pm to 11:00pm. I want to know your whereabouts.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “In bed. I drove for a day and a half to get here and was exhausted.”
“Where are you staying?”
“The Tumbleweed. The cutest little bed and breakfast right off the square. You should really stop by and see it. I’d love to give you a tour.” Dipping her chin, she batted her long dark lashes.
“Any way you can verify that?”
She blew out an irritated breath and threw up her hands. “Maybe. I don’t know. If they have any kind of security system I’m sure you can see when I got there, and that I stayed in all night. What is this? Some kind of interrogation?”
He ran his tongue over his top row of teeth before he said something he shouldn’t. He thought back to his conversation with Suzy the night before and figure this was his best chance to get what he needed to say off his chest and put this situation to rest once and for all.
Scrubbing his palm over his face, he gathered his thoughts. “No, not an interrogation but a glimpse into how I see you. I don’t trust you. Not your intentions or who you’ve become as a person. I thought I was clear when I told you things were over, if I wasn’t, I’m sorry for that. But we were finished a long time ago and that will never change. There’s no reason for you to be here. We have nothing left to talk about.”
Tears hovered above her lashes, but they didn’t move him in the least. She’d always been an expert at calling them forward when needed. “You said you’d come back to me. That we’d start a family. I planned my entire future around you.”
“We were kids, Chris. So damn young. And so much has happened since then. We’ve both moved on.”
Her chin jutted up. “I didn’t. Never have and never will.”
He fought the urge to laugh. “You don’t think my sister’s told me about the other men you saw? The wild nights at the bar?You’ve dated plenty, and I’m pretty dang sure you were with some of those men when were still together.”
“You were gone, and I didn’t know if you’d come back. What was I supposed to do?”
“You’re right,” he said, lifting his palms. “You should have lived your life the way you wanted. Moved on and had fun. Hell, that’s still what you should be doing. What was between us is water under the bridge. I need you to go back home and forget about me.”
“But we’re meant to be together. I know it.”
He shook his head. He’d never get through to her. “No, you just don’t like not getting what you want. But you better get used to it because this is one fight you’ll never win.”
Her shoulders drooped forward. “I don’t want a fight, Duke. I only ever want you…want us.”
