Page 53 of White Collar Rancher

“She lied? You lied?”

“She was my patient. She told me during the very first appointment after the condom broke that it was an old condom.” Her shoulders hunched, and she mumbled, “A really old condom.”

“Did she also tell you that she told me she was on birth control and not to worry about it? And I didn’t, and we kept—” He snapped his mouth shut. He was so stupid. “You knew.”

“What would telling you have done?”

She waited for an answer but he didn’t have one. What would he have done?

“Maybe it’s time you quit hiding behind Maisy and how she treated us.” She did not just say that. “You’re using her to justify sleeping with me without accepting any responsibility for how you treat me.”

“That’s rich,” he scoffed. “You were the one who was afraid being linked to me would be bad for your career.”

“How do you think it would’ve turned out for me, after they were being told that I was responsible for Maisy’s death?”

“It’s a good thing you looked out for yourself.”

Her hands fisted by her sides and her eyes flashed fire. “Do you know how long I’ve liked you, Justin Walker? Since before she got her hooks in you. But you went willingly. You strung her along as much as she did you, and all the while I played the supportive, happy friend. Years later, I’m still doing it. You’re right. You know what’s changed? I have. I have a loving and supportive family and a career I worked hard and fought for, and I’m ready for a real relationship. If you weren’t so concerned about shying away from expectations, using every woman who wronged you as an excuse, then maybe you’d see how well we worked.”

It took a few moments for her words to sink in. She’d liked him as more than a friend for… He’d been fifteen when he’d started dating Maisy. Neither she nor Priya had ever mentioned it. Priya had never hit on him. Never sent glances his way full of invitation.

She didn’t wait for him to respond. “I deserve to be more than a sidepiece. I deserve the trust of my partner. I deserve more.”

More wasn’t part of their deal. “You agreed to this arrangement.”

“Until now.” She folded her arms. In the mix of his tangled emotions, he still noticed how nicely the move shoved her bust up. The curtain of her hair shaded half of her face, highlighting the sad shadows in her expression. “I’m not going to beg. I did that once before, but I’m not going to let a man blame me for his own insecurities.”

“Sounds like another story you didn’t tell me about.”

“No, I didn’t. Here’s the story: He got into a prestigious fellowship and decided I was too tedious and boring to keep seeing. I cried. I begged. Then I ran home and moved in with my parents. See? You’re not the only with past relationship issues.”

“Which is why I don’t want another one.” The words tasted bitter as he said them. He didn’t. Did he?

Her expression went stony. “I see. I guess I have my answer.”

Yes.

No.

Wait. What did he want?

She stormed toward the foyer. Priya’s announcement, Maisy telling him she was pregnant, and the moment he’d found out Gabrielle’s fiancé had bought his company rotated in his head on a hamster wheel. “You liked me in high school and never mentioned anything.”

“Oh, I mentioned something, just not to you. Why else do you think Maisy hit on you so hard?”

He reeled back a step. The relationship that had started his mess of a personal life had been a calculated move to hurt Priya? “And you knew about that?”

She let out a puff of impatience. “Yes, Justin. You got me. Another woman hiding how awful someone was to you when it was all right there in front of your face.”

She gathered her purse and put on her shoes. From his spot at the table, he didn’t miss the longing look she shot Isaiah before digging out her keys.

“I was a teenager.” Dammit, he couldn’t let it drop. Too many revelations, all on top of Priya vacating his life.

The expression she directed at him said he should know better. “Not when you came back to town, turned down Maisy’s advances, then suddenly hooked up with her one night, igniting all the hopes she’d clung to since graduation. Who’s the bad guy in that scenario? Her actions afterward were all on her, but don’t forget you were the one who arrived on her doorstep to use her for your own reasons.”

He worked his jaw. The accuracy of her shot burned. He’d turned to Maisy out of spite. “She shouldn’t have—”

Priya cut a hand in the air. “Instead of blaming everyone around you when your life doesn’t go the way you want it to, maybe start with yourself first.” She slammed out the door, the sound echoing through the house.

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