Page 57 of Wicked Flirt
Now she felt bad. He was trying to twist himself into some version of what he thought she wanted. What had Hailey said? The relationships that work out are the ones where the couple accept each other for exactly who they are. If she couldn’t accept Marcus for the friendly flirty guy he was, then maybe she shouldn’t be with him at all.
“Marcus, you don’t have to change for me.”
His eyes widened. “I don’t? So we’re good?”
“I’m not sure we’re a good fit. You should be who you are. And who I am is a woman who doesn’t easily put up with behavior that appears to involve my boyfriend with another woman, even if it’s not actually cheating. It just makes me very uncomfortable.”
“Lex, baby—”
“No baby, please.”
“I can change—”
“You shouldn’t have to. That’s my point.”
He threw his hands in the air. “So where does that leave us?”
She took a deep breath. She didn’t open her heart easily and it would take time before she could do that again. She just needed some time. Then she remembered Nate’s warning. “Do you remember dating someone named Grace?”
He stilled. “Yeah, I remember Gracie. Why?”
“She’s Nate’s sister. She tried to kill herself after you broke up with her.”
He hissed out a breath. “Is she okay?”
“Nate says she left the country, changed her name, and hasn’t been in touch with her family since.”
He raked a hand through his hair. “And he blames me.”
“He says she loved you.”
His brows scrunched together. “She did? She never said anything. She told me she was seeing someone from her office while we were dating.”
“Maybe she just said that. Nate says she was hoping you’d pick her in the end, and when you didn’t, she lost it.”
He frowned. “Jesus. I didn’t know. Honestly, I never would’ve guessed she was hurting. Gracie was always smiling, always happy.”
“Because she was in love with you.”
His eyes narrowed. “So now you blame me too?”
“I just think maybe you don’t realize the mixed messages you’re sending out, making a woman feel special without having much feeling for them.”
He scowled. “Nate poisoned you against me.” He pressed his lips tightly together. “So now we’re through?”
She sighed. “Can you just give me some—”
“Time,” he finished for her. “Sure. Take all the time in the world. I’m outta here.” He stalked out the door and slammed it behind him.
~ ~ ~
Marcus stepped into his apartment and slammed the door behind him, furious with Lexi for turning on him just because of something Nate said. She only saw the worst in him. She wanted to see the worst because she was a man-hater. He’d thought that from the first time he’d met her, and what more proof did he need? After all they’d shared…
Hell.He wasn’t going to wait around for her to make up her mind what she wanted. He’d be the one to dump her. He suddenly couldn’t get a deep breath. Calm the frick down. Think it through.Facts. He needed facts. Fact number one—
His phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number, but some sixth sense told him to answer. “Hello?”
A woman’s voice asked, “Is this Marcus Shepard?”
