Page 95 of Phishing for Love
Sorrow hollows my chest. His apology feels meaningless and empty. Is he sorry he ruined everything? Or sorry he got caught?
When I stay silent, he says, “I want us to work through this.”
“Work through this?” I echo in amazement.
“Yes.”
“There is no working through this,” I say sharply. “We are over.”
His lips go into a flat line. “We’ve been together a year. That should count for something.”
I stare at him, speechless. Then I lash out, “Were you thinking it counted for something when you shacked up with Melissa?” Just saying her name makes me feel sick.
“You’re right, I wasn’t thinking.” A shudder moves through him. “I don’t know what came over me. It was a terrible mistake.”
He reaches for me, but I bat his hand away. He no longer gets to touch me. He forfeited that right when he touched another woman.
His brown eyes stare at me, hurt and accusing. “Are you really going to throw us away because I made one mistake? Can’t you find it in your heart to forgive me?”
The tiniest sliver of doubt cuts through my conviction. Is that what I’m doing? Throwing away our relationship without fighting for it? Surely everyone deserves a second chance after they mess up.
“One mistake,” I say softly, repeating his words. “To be clear, you cheated on me just once with Melissa?”
I’m watching him closely and I see the guilt flash across his face before he can shut it down. My eyes sting. Deep down, I’d known it wasn’t just that one time. And when you have so manymistakespiled on top of one another, what you have isdeception. “I thought so,” I say when he doesn’t respond. Ironically, Nathan’s always been a terrible liar, but I have to hand it to him, he’s a first-rate cheat. “All those gaming evenings with your friends you were really with Melissa.”
“Not all of them.”
“I don’t want to talk to you anymore,” I whisper.
“Tess, please. Give me another chance.”
He glances at the control panel. For one terrible second, I think he’s going to press the emergency button, trapping me in here with him.
“Don’t,” I say, feeling my throat go dry. “We’re over, Nathan.”
I watch the realization of the magnitude of hismistakecrash over him, his awareness that he can’t just sweet-talk his way back into my life. I ought to feel some degree of satisfaction that he still wants me, that he’s filled with regret, but mostly, I just feel sad.
When the elevator doors finally open, I rush out blindly and slam straight into a solid chest. Strong hands grip my arms to steady me.
I know those hands.
Still breathless and trembling, I look up into Aaron’s concerned face.
He stares down at me, his mouth tightening when he glimpses my expression. He drags his gaze away from mine and looks at Nathan. In a too-quiet voice, he asks, “What did you say to her?”
Nathan squares his shoulders. “That’s between me and Tess.”
“Not anymore,” Aaron snaps.
Despite how shaken I am, part of me acknowledges how foolhardy it is of Nathan to challenge Aaron. Aaron’s shoulders are bunched as he takes on the look of a man wanting to put his fist through a wall. I’ve never seen him so angry. He’s always so cool and composed. This anger on my behalf is... I don’t know what it is, but it stirs something inside me.
I place a hand on his arm to calm him. The last thing I want is a scene in the lobby of my workplace. “It’s okay,” I reassure him.
Nathan’s gaze ping-pongs between the two of us. “What’s going on here?” he demands. “Why is he so protective of you?”
I hold up a warning finger. “Do not go there, Nathan.”
“Have the two of you—?”
