Page 15 of Something New

But the pain in his eyes couldn’t be ignored. Their history, her remaining feelings, which had to stay hidden for her sake, wouldn’t allow her to let him be hurt.

“Wyatt, I didn’t know you wanted me back here. You had been so insistent on me leaving to pursue my dream. You were the one who said it was pointless for me to twiddle my thumbs while you rehabbed your knee.”

“I wasn’t talking about the first injury.”

She dropped her hand and hugged herself. “I know. When I saw you go down on the field against Green Bay, I almost died. I wanted to get on a plane, but I couldn’t.”

This time, he pivoted and faced her. “Why couldn’t you come back?”

Anna stared past his shoulder, over the green lawn to the moonlit ocean and the waves that were barely visible. The roaring of the water created the illusion that they were isolated out there, away from everyone, lulling her into the false sense that she could trust him, that no one was hiding anywhere to take advantage of her words and use them against her in the cold harsh light of day. Heck, she didn’t even know if she could trust Wyatt anymore. Too many people had been betrayed in Hollywood by their supposed friends by the lure of money, fame, or even better roles. Who was to say Wyatt wasn’t one of those people, or Delaney, who probably needed the money? Or maybe someone snuck onto this quiet stretch of island to spy?

No, the real reason was that she couldn’t admit her own fears and selfishness to the one man who gave a damn about her. The one man who loved her for who she was, not the actress, not the sexy siren, not who she could be. He loved Anna Maria Costado, and she had betrayed him in every way.

So, she did what she did best. She lied. “I had an audition and a part on a show that had the potential to lead to a major part, which it did. It made my career, Wyatt. I couldn’t drop it and run back to Texas to sit by your bedside and hold your hand.” She allowed her voice to turn bitter at the one remembered betrayal on his end. “Besides, I think you were well taken care of by Honey.”

Anger rapidly was replaced by confusion. “Honey? What are you talking about?”

“Cute, bubbly, very capable of taking care of your every need? I hear her specialty was sponge baths. I think that may have been on her playboy details for her monthly spread,” Anna snarled.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know a Honey.” Slowly, recognition dawned, and he flushed.

She laughed. “There you go. Now you remember her? Thought so. I called you, right after your injury, to ask if you wanted me to come home, and she answered. Sounded like she had everything under control. You were nowhere to be found.”

“She was a friend, brought food and stuff. I was stuck at home, waiting for my surgery to be scheduled. She was trying to be helpful. There was nothing going on.”

Anna arched her eyebrow, her remembered pain at the woman’s voice filling her up inside and fueling her own anger. “Well, it certainly didn’t sound like it. She was there early in the morning, Wyatt. What woman is there early unless they spent the night?”

Wyatt ran his fingers through his hair and let out a loud exhale of frustration. “Well, shit, Anna. What do you want me to say? Why didn’t you say anything back then? Didn’t you trust me?”

“Like you trusted me? Didn’t you just say a few hours ago that I had your replacement lined up?” She sighed. “Wyatt, this week is going to be difficult enough without us making it more difficult. Can we just move on? Clearly a long-distance relationship wasn’t going to work out, and it was better that we found out then and ripped off the band-aid, rather than waiting until it died a slow, painful death?”

“We’ll never know, since you never gave us a chance. You chose your career over us every time.”

Anna gave a sound of pure frustration. “Oh my God, Wyatt. What did you expect? For me to give up my shot because your dreams were dead? Were you really that miserable that you wanted everyone else unhappy too? That’s not love, Wyatt.”

Wyatt’s face grew stony, only a muscle ticking in his jaw furiously as he stared at her. “No, I guess it was always all about you, Anna. Lord knows, everything about our lives was always about you. Hell, even the death of my career was all about you.”

She sucked in a breath and closed her eyes at the wash of pain. Her head dropped to her chest as she struggled to hold back the tears. The song of frogs in the night air echoed around them, along with the crackling of the fire in the fire pit just beyond the shadows where she and Wyatt stood.

Finally, tears under control, she opened her eyes to a blank wall. She hadn’t even heard Wyatt leave. How the hell could she get through the week with this standing between them? And how was she to face it?

* * *

Wyatt stalked away from the house, and the friends gathered there. He wasn’t in any mood for idle chit-chat or questions about him and Anna, which Caroline was bound to be asking. He needed space and time. As if five years hadn’t been enough.

He headed for the beach, hoping the soothing sounds of the ocean waves would temper the roiling anger inside. He never used to have a temper quite like this. Sure, he had been a typical arrogant jock, thinking he was invincible and able to handle anything thrown at him. Of course, that night at the off-campus bar, he hadn’t been able to handle four redneck assholes who threatened Anna and then beat the shit out of him.

He was over that, mostly. He would do it again if it happened today. Nobody treated Anna or any woman like those guys did and got away with it. A couple of other guys stepped in and saved him from a worse beat-down, ensuring those jerks got arrested for assault. But the damage was done, as was his season, thanks to a mangled knee.

No, his actual issue happened the next year when he got hurt in a game, the injury that sent his career to the sidelines forever. He needed her by his side, and she chose Hollywood, her dreams over his, when his future was dead. She could blame Honey or whomever she wanted, but the bottom line was she didn’t care enough about him to come home. Instead, she was out on the red carpet with A-list actors, making a name for herself, attending parties, being seen and climbing the acting ladder. Meanwhile, he was in a physical therapy clinic learning how to walk without a limp and trying to figure out what his next steps were.

When he first saw her on the ferry, it was a like a sucker punch to the gut. She was still beautiful, all curves and sexy lines. Yet, there was a remoteness about her, a cool isolation in the surrounding space that made him want to step inside that bubble and gather her up so she wouldn’t be lonely again. She never once said she was lonely, but somewhere deep inside, he could sense it. She was not alone, but she was lonely and had no idea how to get out of the trap. Maybe she didn’t want to. She certainly had the armor built strong and tight against letting anyone inside. He saw it from the first time she saw him on the ferry. She pulled on a role and played it perfectly with him, then another with her nasty fans, being all gracious and kind. Then she turned again at the house, one-part kind and sweet and friendly to Caroline, the perfect bridesmaid, then pushing everyone away from her, lashing out at Delaney before Delaney could hurt her again. Lashing out at Wyatt before he could hurt her again.

But Anna was wound tighter than a wet boot, and she was slowly strangling as a result. The question was, did he care and, if he did, what was he going to do about it? At the end of the week, she was going to head back to LA and her career, while he would head back to UT and coaching. They were at an impasse—not that she had shown him any sign that she wanted to start up where they had left off.

It would be better if he kept his distance, steeling his heart against her pain and letting her deal with it on her own. After all, wasn’t she dating that big shot now, Derek Harper, the pretty boy who had no idea what a real cowboy did? He was an embarrassment in his last movie, a western that supposedly made him an up-and-coming star. Wyatt would have thought Anna would have seen through that, having spent time on his family’s ranch. But, clearly, she had changed.

And so had he. He had to remember that next time he found himself softening toward her. He had to remember they had no future, and their past was filled with pain and regret. It was time to move on.

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