Page 9 of Ozzie

I finish the water and set the cup down. “At the end ofthe night, it was just the two of us in my old bedroom. He thought I had looked at another man, so he punched me—hard—in the stomach. Then he hit me in the face. Finally, he stormed out, and I locked the door behind him. The next morning, I had a black eye. John told my parents I ran into a door. They didn’t question it.”

“Jesus, I’m so sorry,” Ozzie says.

“Durango was there, at the party. The next morning, I went for a walk around the ranch and ran into him. He’d been jogging. He took one look at my face and asked who did it. I broke down and told him everything.”

I’ll never forget the look on Durango’s face when I spilled my guts. It was a mix of sympathy and rage.

“He escorted me to my room, where I packed. He grabbed his bag, and we left. He drove me all the way back to New York and told me I could stay as long as I wanted. He even helped get my college credits transferred.”

Ozzie blows out a breath. “That’s why he’s so protective of you.”

I nod. “I think so. He also enrolled me in a self-defense class. I’m forever thankful to him for that because that’s how I managed to get away from John.”

“I’m thankful to him too.” He rubs my back. “What happened with your parents? With you leaving, I mean.”

I take a deep breath. “They were angry and tried to talk me into coming back. Durango spoke to them about my black eye, but they simply suggested couples counseling. Durango said I wasn’t coming back.”

“Good for him.”

“Then my parents gave me an ultimatum—come back and work things out, or they were cutting me off.”

“Fuck, that is so messed up. I’m sorry, Piper. Why did they want you with that asshole?”

I wipe my eyes. Ozzie holds up a tissue box in front of me.

“Thank you. They never said why, but I’m sure it’s related to their company. It always is with them.”

“Your parents treated you and your sister like business assets instead of family,” he says.

I blow my nose. “Yes.” There isn’t really more to say. Now he knows why I’m here.

“Piper?”

I glance up into his blue eyes. God, I could get lost just looking into them.

“Is this why you’ve been hesitant for us to move forward?”

I nod, sending tears down my cheeks. “You’re a good man. But John seemed like a good man too. For a long time.”

He moves closer and puts his hand on my thigh. “You have to understand I would never hurt you. Ever. Your cousin wouldn’t even let me get this close to you if he thought I was capable.”

“Deep down, I do. But John really did fool everyone, and it’s going to take time for me to trust. But I want to.”

He pulls me onto his lap and wraps his arms around me. “We can go as slow as you need. But we do need to talk to Durango first. I won’t date you behind his back.”

I nuzzle into his chest. His strong chest. I’ve only felthim through his clothes with hugs and a few cuddles. It only makes me want to see him without clothes. But I push that thought away because he’s right; we need to go slow. I don’t want to blow up his friendship with my cousin only to find out we’re not long-term material.

He rubs his hand up and down my back, and I close my eyes. A vision of us sitting like this with our kids running around the room floods my mind. I jerk up.

“What’s wrong?”

I smile. “Nothing.” I settle back in. “What’s your family like?”

He sighs deeply. “Not great, but not as bad as yours.”

I nod into his chest.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t insult them. I’m angry with what they did,” he says.

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