Page 260 of Sweet Temptation

He rubbed his hand over his face again.

“Ronan…”

“We got married. Right out of high school.”

I blinked at him. “So, why didn’t you just tell me this?”

“Because… it’s a long and sordid story.”

“Good. Tell me all of it.”

“Good? What do you mean good?”

“I mean, good. We both have a past. I’ve told you more than you probably ever wanted to hear about my past loves, heartbreaks… catching my boyfriend snorting coke out of another woman’s ass crack…”

He frowned. Okay, so maybe I hadn’t gotten that… detailed... about that particular piece of my history before.

But oh well.

“I swear to you,” I said, “I would tell you anything from my past that you wanted to know about, Ronan. Anything.”

“You’re right,” he said. “I need to tell you about this. But… are you sure you really want to hear it right now?” He eyed the ring box that he’d brought with us and set on the bed beside me.

“That’s just on pause,” I said. “So you can tell me this. You have to know by now that there’s no way I’d agree to marry a man who wouldn’t first tell me about his previous wife.”

“Shit. You’re right. I fucked this up.”

“You did not.”

“I should’ve told you sooner. I guess I thought we’d get engaged and have that fairytale ending you dreamed of, and one day I’d just casually slip it in or something… and at that point it wouldn’t matter anymore.”

“Are you kidding me?”

He looked kinda pale again. “I’m not. But I just heard myself say it and I can’t believe you’d even consider marrying me now.”

“Ronan. You’re proposing. Don’t fuck this up.”

He took a breath and blew it out. “I’m really trying not to.”

“Then tell me about this bitch you were married to.”

He smirked. “How did you know she was a bitch?”

I sighed. “Because if this was a she’s-a-great-person-but-we-just-grew-apart situation, I’m pretty sure you would’ve at least mentioned her existence in passing by now.”

“Yeah. That’s true. And I’m not saying she’s not a good person…”

“But…?”

“But, it’s complicated.”

“Life is complicated,” I said, patiently, like I had all fucking night for this shit. I wasn’t exactly the most patient person, so he knew I was serious about this.

He sighed again. It was actually more of a growl of frustration. “Okay. Keep in mind I’d just turned nineteen.”

“Okay…”

“I’d known her since I was twelve, but we didn’t date until high school, on and off. In retrospect, I think she pretty much started dating me to avoid Piper.”

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