Page 41 of Fighting For You
“Beast wasgood to you? Should we have you evaluated for Stockholm’s Syndrome?”
Elise cracked up, but Dove held steady. I rolled my eyes at her, though based on how I’d ranted about him in the past, and the many times they’d seen how tense any situation became when both of us were present, I couldn’t fault her for the assumption.
“He didn’t hold me hostage, for one, and two… he was great. And you know I wouldn’t say that if it weren’t completely true because I have nothing but contempt for the man.”
Not true anymore, and you know it.
Ugh. There came the feelings to mess everything up.
“Wait, you do not sound like you have contempt. You sound… something.” Elise narrowed her eyes.
Dove finished unloading the bag of takeout and gestured for us to take our meals as we moved to my small dining table.
Elise poured waters and raised her glass. “I’m sorry thisis water, but I figured after being sick, margaritas were a no go.”
“Correct. Rain check on margaritas. This woman needs hydration and rest and to tell us why she’s conflicted over a man she has hated for years after a few nights at his mountain cabin.” Dove wiggled her brows like something salacious happened in the last few days.
How to begin?Well, he gave me a bath and carried me to the bed and then, just before it all ended, he told me he used to be in love with me. Neat, right?
When I didn’t speak, Elise set her hand on my arm where it rested on the table. “Hey, whatever’s going on, you can tell us.”
The compassion in her eyes made my heart ache. These women were pure gold, and I was so deeply grateful to have them in my life.
“He really was great. It was confusing and I feel upside-down. We were almost like friends by the end, and then—” I dove a chip into the container of guac. “Then I asked him why he did what he did.”
Eyes wide, Dove urged, “And?”
“And he said I wouldn’t like what he had to say. So I went to bed angry and didn’t sleep the whole night, and we drove back to town, and he followed me all the way home to make sure I was safe and when we got here, I told him offagain, and he finally told me why.”
“And!?” Elise this time.
I leaned back in the chair, the weight of these emotions and lack of sleep hitting me all at once. “And he told me Kurt really had assaulted someone. That he, Beast, always suspected he’d cheated on me. And that Kurt was an idiot for doing that.”
“That steaming pile of dung,” Dove said through clenched teeth.
“I’m so sorry.” Elise’s eyes shone with sympathy.
This bit, they already knew from what I’d said at book club. Not the Jude point-of-view, but the gist of it. Now came the hardest part.
“When I asked him why he never told me Kurt was cheating, do you know what that total jerk face had to say to me?” I said, my voice far more watery than angry, because even that heat couldn’t burn through the tenderness I felt now.
They waited, rapt.
“He said he couldn’t trust himself—that there was no concrete evidence, and he wasn’t sure if it was just wishful thinking.”
“What? Why?” Dove asked, echoing Elise’s expression.
My stomach pitched but my heart flipped when I explained,“Because he was in love with me. And he didn’t want me with Kurt from the beginning.”
Jaws dropped. Eyes grew wide. Dove shoved up from the table and paced.
“Wait. No.” She circled back to the table. “Waiiiit.”
“Seriously? He said that? Just… said it?” Elise asked, as dumbfounded as I still felt.
I nodded, relieved they were as shocked as I felt, and feeling a new wave of frustration crash in me. “I mean, who does that?”
Dove nodded. “Seriously. Who does that.”
