Page 65 of A Cowboy's Bride
“Not the sex? Right.”
“Oh, the sex too. But you shine, Petra. You really do.”
She stared at him for a couple of seconds, something odd twisting her expression.
Without a word, she crawled from the tub and vanished into the bedroom.
The hell? “Petra? What’s wrong?”
By the time he got out of the tub and wrapped a towel around himself, she’d vanished from the room. Cursing, he got dressed, stalking down the hallway and into the living room, looking for her.
16
Petra regretted bolting an instant after she’d done it, but she still didn’t manage to stop her feet until she had tugged on clothes over sticky wet skin and made it onto the porch.
She left the front door open, though, and settled on the porch swing, staring at the mountains in the distance waiting until she heard his footsteps.
“I’m out here.”
Aiden stepped into the doorway. “What just happened?” he asked softly.
She sniffed, dragging a hand over her cheek and brushing away tears. God, she felt like such a fool. “Not your fault. Just a bad memory surfacing at the wrong time.”
Aiden sat beside her, the porch swing rocking slightly. He tucked his fingers under her chin and stared into her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
She forced a smile, feeling more than a little watery. “Oh, honey. You’re not the problem. It was just a reminder of exactly how much I screwed up.”
The concern didn’t leave his face, but he sat, leaning against the wooden backrest of the porch swing. “Want to talk about it? Or at least give me some hints of what not to say so I don’t accidentally end up hurting you again?”
Well, shit. That was one of the things he’d shared that was overwhelming him—being worried he’d unintentionally upset Jinx.
Petra took a deep breath. Her parents had always emphasized the importance of honesty when they were growing up, even when it was sometimes embarrassing. With six kids in the house, lack of knowledge meant massive opportunities for small misunderstandings to bloom to unreasonable proportions. “My ex.Hesaid I was shiny.” When Aiden frowned, she held up a hand to hold off comments. “We met at a tech event, and when Curtis ended up interning at a company in our small town, it was as if fate had brought us together. We did everything together, just seemed to click, you know? In under a month, we were inseparable. He was so curious about everything, just like me?—”
Aiden’s expression went guarded. “Sounds as if you were a good pair. What went wrong?”
“He was super keen to meet my parents.” Petra nodded at the way Aiden’s eyes widened. “I mean, I lived right there, close to them, and we usually did all sorts of things as a family. I was so wrapped up in Curtis, though, I kept begging off on family stuff. When he pushed for us to spend time with them, I thought maybe it was a sign of an upcomingsignificantmoment. You know, meet the parents, start living together, all those things. It was fast, but it didn’t feel wrong.”
Aiden took a deep breath. He let it out slowly, glancing away for a moment. “I want to hear this, but I simultaneously want to break the bastard’s arms because I know you’re not together now, which means it’s his fault. I’m not going to like whatever you tell me.”
“No, you’re not going to like it at all,” Petra agreed. “He had a girlfriend.”
“What the fuck?” Aiden’s scowl folded his forehead into a mass of creases.
She smoothed her fingers across it. “He had a girlfriend in another town. What’s more, she knew about me. They had this convoluted plan wherein he was going to impress my father. My dad’s an inventor and on the board for several businesses who offer big ol’ grants. Curtis, with the full agreement of his girlfriend, decided if he made nice with my father, he’d get offered a coveted grant that would provide five years of funding for his pet project.”
“And after he got the funding, he was just going to drop you?” Aiden demanded.
“I assume something of the sort. He never got a chance because I accidentally hacked into the information and dealt with him accordingly.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, the fucking gall of the bastard. I hope you’ve blackballed him on every single grant list that there is,” Aiden snapped.
The first hint of amusement she’d felt in the past few minutes slipped back in. “See? This is why you and I are friends. Of course he’s blackballed. But other than that, I’m restraining myself because he and his now fiancée have a kid, so I’m not about to go make them penniless or anything.”
Aiden’s expression was beyond description. “I’m just— I mean— There is just no?—”
His jaw hung open, completely speechless.
“Right?” Petra sighed. “I’m so sorry. You gave me what would usually be a lovely compliment. I’m glad when you looked at me you saw life and happiness and me shining. Unfortunately, being shiny to Curtis meant a shining opportunity to take advantage of me. But it’s just a word, and I know whatyoutruly meant.” She cupped Aiden’s face and let him see the sincerity in her eyes. “I know it was an accident, and I absolutely forgive you. I hope you’ll forgive me for going off the rails like that.”
