Page 43 of King of Players

“Oh, and you were so generously willing to tie yourself to the boring charity lady.”

“You’re so much more than that.”

“And so are you, so quit insulting me, Chad.”

“What?”

“You owe me an apology, goddammit!” she yelled.

“For what?”

“For sucking me into your world when you knew full well that I didn’t have a place in it. For… for…” Running her fingers through her hair, she seemed to struggle to utter the words. “For seducing me.” Raising my eyebrows, I couldn’t hide my shock. Not only had I not heard that word in over a decade, but I didn’t think I’d ever heard it from a woman before. The way she stared at me, with a film of tears sparkling in her eyes, made me want to hug her. I knew I couldn’t—I shouldn’t.

The only thing left to do was to give her what she wanted. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“Louder!” she demanded, the expression on her face threatening of a crying fit. I wasn’t sure I could handle seeing her cry all that well.

“I’m sorry,” I repeated. “I’m sorry that I made you the object of a stupid, juvenile hunt to feed my ego. I see now that it was a mistake. It was selfish, careless, and wildly inconsiderate.” What struck me was the honesty that accompanied my apology—something I hadn’t seen coming only a minute ago. “You didn’t deserve that. I apologize. And I really do hope that you forgive me.”

Staring at me, she repeatedly blinked, evidently adamant on not letting me see her cry. Her face, stiff as stone, began to soften as she examined me from head to toe. She didn’t move, only her eyes toured the length of me a couple of times. Finally, she sighed. “Thank you.” She paused. “That’s all I needed to hear.”

Before I had the chance to say anything else, she suddenly turned away and walked toward the kitchen entrance. I realized that that was where she had left her shoes when she bent over to put them on. My eyes landed on her purse lying on the chair and then went back to her, watching her brush the hair away from her face and straighten up her dress.

I was speechless, while my mind screamed with a plea for her not to go. Was that it? Was that the end of my little journey with Kaira Bradley? Didn’t I get an apology for the way she forced me to dream of her? If I’d told her now that I hadn’t actually slept with another woman since the last time I was inside of her, would she believe me?

And would it even matter?

The way she grabbed her purse without regard for me with a glance and ran toward the door offered a firm answer to my question.

The Chad Niles chapter was over in Kaira Bradley’s book.

And what was left now was for me to gather the scattered pieces of my mind and move on, with the agonizing knowledge that I almost had a good one.

The one that got away.

seventeen

Haunted

Kaira

“How are the exercises going?” Marvin asked while I sat curled up on his armchair, holding my head between my hands.

I sighed. “I’m doing them.”

“Do you think they’re working?”

“Oh.” I chuckled. “You mean the positive affirmations? Obviously, I haven’t started hitting my head against walls yet. So, I suppose?”

“What about the meditation?”

“I do it in bed. It’s the time I need it the most.”

“Is it helping you sleep better?”

“It’s helping me fall asleep. The quality, however, is questionable.”

“Have you started journaling again like we agreed?”