Page 230 of Cowboys & Navy SEALs

They stood there eyeing one another until finally Addie sat back down, mostly because she had no place else to go. “I’m listening,” she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Maddox rubbed his jaw, laughing humorlessly. “I don’t understand you, Addie. You’re acting like you’re the one who was wronged, when you’re the one who broke up with me.”

She tried to interject a comment, but he held up a hand. “Let me finish.”

She clamped her lips shut, glaring at him.

“You act like I’m the only one who found someone else, but that’s not true.”

“I don’t have anyone else,” she countered, her voice escalating.

His eyes burned into hers. “You sure about that?”

“Of course!” Had he lost his freaking mind?

“Can you sit there and honestly tell me that you haven’t gone on any dates in the past few weeks?”

She went hot all over, then stone cold.

“Yep, just as I thought,” he said, giving her a vindicated look.

“T—that’s not fair,” she sputtered. “Going on a few dates is not the same as going steady.” The need to defend herself was all-consuming. Her throat went impossibly small as she swallowed.

The hurt in his eyes darkened them to indigo, his voice taking on a musing tone. “Let’s see if I can paint a picture for you. You’re standing in the resort. Your curls piled high on your head, sporting that green dress I got you for your birthday—the one that hugs your figure in all the right places. Your long legs showcased in sleek, high heels.” His jaw hardened, eyes searing into her soul. “A guy approaches. Hands you roses. Leans in and says something. You laugh and look at him with moon eyes.” Disgust coated his voice. “Need I continue?”

Her lungs shriveled to the size of Tic Tacs, and she had the feeling of tumbling off a cliff into thin air. Somehow, she managed to find her voice. “There’s no way you could know that unless?—”

“I came to see you?” Condemnation burned in his eyes. His voice took on a reflective quality. “Two days after I got back to the states, despite the fact that you dumped me, I came.”

Guilt gnawed at her gut as her mind whirled like a tornado. “I thought you were dead.”

His voice was as unyielding as the packed snow on the Black Diamond ski trail in February. “No, by that time, I’m pretty sure word had gotten out that I was still alive.”

She shook her head, trying to explain. “Yes, I know. But before that, I thought you were dead. Sadie, my assistant?—”

“I know who Sadie is,” he cut in. His voice was frigid, exact. “I met her today, remember?”

“Quit interrupting me!” she sneered, jerking a hand through her hair. “I’m trying to tell you why I was on a date.”

His eyes glittered with a hard amusement as he sat back and folded his arms over his chest. “I’m listening.”

She drew in a breath, her chin going high as she pushed out the words. “Sadie, whom you met—” she enunciated the words, giving him a scathing look— “was worried about me. She set me up on a date with her cousin. The date had been set for a few weeks by the time I realized you were still alive.” She sighed heavily, throwing her hands up in the air. “Anyway, I don’t know why I’m trying to explain myself to you. We weren’t a couple then.”

“Exactly. Meaning you have no right to keep throwing Felicity in my face.” He smirked. “Not to sound like a broken record, but you dumped me, remember?”

Her stomach hardened with the gloom of that knowledge. “Yes, I did,” she said quietly.Because you’re a coward!her mind screamed. “It was the biggest mistake of my life,” she uttered.

He cocked an ear. “I’m sorry? I didn’t catch that.”

“Never mind,” she mumbled, waving a hand. Maddox had come back for her! She felt the ridiculous urge to jump up andpump a fist in the air. He’d come for her and saw her with another man. The one time she went on a date and Maddox happened to stop by at the same time. Cruel, stupid, idiotic fate! She looked at him, her eyes lingering on the lines of frustration carved over his features. A smile tugged at her lips. “For the record, my date that night was a total disaster.”

He flinched in surprise. Then, a smile pulled at his lips, giving her a glimpse of those adorable dimples. “I’m glad.”

Time seemed to stand still as warmth spread through her. She felt such a deep connection to Maddox that, for a split second, she could almost believe the two of them had never been apart.

But they had been apart. They were still apart.

She frowned. “I felt you there. I went to find you and came across the yellow calla lilies. Why did you leave without saying anything to me?” A lump of emotion lodged thick in her throat. “I thought I was imagining things, that the calla lilies were a cruel coincidence.” She hesitated. “I assumed that because I’d broken it off you didn’t want anything else to do with me.” Her eyes misted as she gave him a wan smile.

---