Page 26 of The Love Shack

“No, I...” He what? “I got the feeling you didn’t want to talk about it.”

“There isn’t much to say, is there?” Her jaw worked, her lips compressed. When she spoke, he barely heard her. “It was so freaking awful.”

Because she’d had the bad luck to have an affair with a married man.

And not just any married man, but Chad Durkinson, husband to a local news anchor, a hometown girl who’d made it big and was considered a real success story.

“It’s the elephant in the room, right?” She smirked at him. “I know you know. You know I don’t want to talk about it. So there it sits, taking up space and sometimes making things awkward.”

Sometimes...But not always. Mostly, his time with Berkley was interesting, refreshing and in some ways addictive. The more he saw her, the more he wanted to see her. The more she shared, the more he wanted to know.

With barely muted defiance, and a touch of hope, she met his gaze. “Not that it matters anymore, but I thought he was single. That’s what he’d told me. If I’d known Chad was married, none of it ever would have happened.”

So the hope was for him to believe her? Lawson didn’t have a single doubt. “He was a lying bastard.”

For once, she didn’t chide him for swearing. Relief widened her eyes a little, and then she nodded. “He was that and more, but I didn’t see it until it all blew up in my face.”

An apt description for the way the story had been sensationalized. “Durkinson was a complete coward, too. He let you take all the heat.”

Tipping her head back, she stared up at the sky. “That’s not how the public saw it. Chad was the poor victim, don’t you know, somehow bewitched by the dog-faced nobody who wanted to use him...for something.” Her gaze slanted his way. “No one ever really specified what I was supposedly after.”

He nearly flinched at the moniker—dog-faced nobody. Obviously, she’d heard—or read—all the insults thrown her way. “You’ve always been attractive, Berkley. Whoever started that name was probably jealous.”

“Jealous ofme? Hardly.” Then she muttered, “The name sure caught on, though.”

Only because Durkinson’s wife had used her access to local media to trash Berkley far and wide. What dirty work she couldn’t accomplish herself—like the absurd name-calling—her loyal fan base was happy to handle for her. There were a few social media defenders for Berkley, just not enough to counter the group taunts. Even online news sites and local commentators had something to say about it.

Berkley huffed. “I never quite got why everyone painted him as such a catch. I mean, I liked him because he liked me and...”

And her life had been a giant cyclone of sadness. An older guy who treated her kindly, who gave her reprieves from the poverty and treated her dying mother with respect, would have felt like a gift. “The dude was doughy,” he grumbled. “A thirty-year-old man-baby with a receding hairline.”

Snickering, she said, “That’s mean.”

“But true—and don’t you dare defend him.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. Especially since it wasn’t his looks that won me over.” She turned thoughtful for a moment. “Chad was just an outlet, you know? A way to forget about things for a little while. Seeing him was separate from everything else that was falling apart.”

“I get it.” For Berkley, the asshole had probably seemed like a knight in shining armor.

“When I couldn’t go out, Chad would come to the house and bring my mom flowers. When he took me to dinner, he’d insist on getting food for her, too. He seemed so considerate, to both of us.” Her mouth twisted. “My mom always worried about me, but she told me once that she was glad I’d found someone. She didn’t like the idea of me being alone after she...was gone.”

No doubt Berkley’s dying mom had also been looking for a light in the darkness. A polite, older man to help care for her teenage daughter so she wouldn’t be left alone in the world. It had to have been hell for her. For both of them.

Lawson wished he’d been a better person back then, someone they both could have turned to.

Not that he’d been in a position to offer any real help. He’d been fighting his own battles and because of that, he’d been a powder keg of rage waiting to detonate. He’d avoided commitments, but he’d definitely felt pity.

Pretty sure Berkley would hate it if she knew.

Since she’d been brave enough to bring it up, to own it, maybe he should own his part in it, too. “I’m the one.”

“The one?” she asked, confused.

Yeah, probably didn’t make any sense to her. “The one who got her to end her reign of terror on you.” He’d threatened Chad against ever using Berkley again. She wasn’t a plaything for him, and Lawson told him to stay away—or else. Then he’d flat-out told the wife the truth of things. Actually, in a way, he’d threatened her, as well.

Yet until this moment, he’d never admitted it to anyone, because he hadn’t wanted to be involved. Hadn’t wanted to be drawn in.

Hadn’t wanted tocare, because caring would only make it harder to get away.

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