Page 118 of My Temptation

“He didn’t make me.”

“Yes, he did,” I said without waiting for him to deny it again. “You know what I don’t get.” When he just watched me, I continued. “You told me how much you hate this shit—drama, tension, all of it—and that’s why you always clear the air. Was that even true?”

“Yes, that was true.”

“Then why not clear the air?” I pointed at him. “I asked you if we could talk, and you said no.”

“I didn’t wanna hear what you were going to say,” I answered honestly.

That stung, but I tried really hard to keep my expression neutral so he wouldn’t know how easily he could hurt me. “Then I guess we don’t have anything to talk about.” I pointed toward the door. “Just go.”

“I already knew what you were going to say, Mila. You were going to plead your case for keeping our relationship a secret. I thought about it, you know. I actually considered doing something I knew wasn’t right for either of us or the team because I wanted to be with you, but at the end of the day, I realized if we hid our relationship, then it didn’t mean anything.”

I swallowed hard. “I wasn’t asking you to hide it forever. I just wanted some time to...”

“To what?” He waited patiently for me to find the words to explain what I wanted. But I honestly didn’t know. I had no plans of telling anyone.

“I don’t know, Ethan, but we could’ve figured it out together.”

He took a step toward me. “I know you’re scared.”

“I’m not scared,” I answered defiantly.

“Brody told me that your father constantly tried to prove you were the weak link.”

Embarrassment filled me immediately. I never wanted anyone to know that, especially the men I worked with at Elite, and I had no idea how Brody knew, but it was even worse that he shared it with Ethan. “That wasn’t his information to share.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

My eyes widened. “Do you really think I wanted anyone to know my own father felt that way about me?”

His voice rose slightly. “It was me, Mila. What the hell kind of relationship were we building if you couldn’t share that with me? It would’ve gone a long way in explaining why you were so hell-bent on hiding our relationship.”

I shrugged and grabbed my purse from the couch before pushing past him. I was angry, but even more, I hated that he was right. I should’ve shared more with him, but the idea of being that vulnerable and the fear of it being thrown back in my face was too much for me to handle. “I asked you to leave, and if you won’t leave, then I will.” When he didn’t say anything, I glanced over my shoulder to see he was right behind me. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going with you.” He pointed at my feet. “You may want to put on shoes before we leave.”

Looking down at my bare feet, I swore under my breath. “No, you’re not.”

“Look, Mila, we’re talking, and we’re doing that tonight. We can do it here, or we can do it in the car. Either way, we’re figuring this out.”

“Why now?” I threw my purse on the table beside the door. “You were right when you said nothing’s changed for either of us, so what’s the point of rehashing everything?”

“We’re both miserable.” He announced what I was having a hard time admitting to anyone, including myself. “And because we’re shit at hiding it, everyone’s aware that something went down between us. If we don’t figure it out right now, someone, probably Kyle, is going to bring it up at one of the meetings. Considering you want to keep it private, not talking to me tonight will backfire.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, annoyed that he was right again. He was always so logical, and that was how he handled every situation. I wish I had that ability rather than handling situations fueled by my emotions. “Fine. How do you want to fix it?”

He stared at me, and I could tell he was trying to figure out how he wanted to say it, but I needed him to just say it. Quick and painless, or at least quick, so we could both move on. I was fully expecting it to be painful.

“I’m in love with you.”

I stared at him in disbelief. That wasn’t what I expected him to say. Silence filled the room while we stared at each other until I finally spoke. “I don’t know what to do with that, Ethan.”

“I don’t either.”

I rested my hands on the sides of my neck, allowing the idea of Ethan loving me to settle in. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

He closed his eyes briefly before answering. “I didn’t want you to tell me you didn’t feel the same way. I couldn’t imagine hearing those words.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I fell in love with you the day I met you. There’s no logic to that. I barely knew you, but I loved you.” He took a step toward me but then stopped. “I’ll leave, but I need you to tell me it was just a fling for you. I need to hear the words so I can stop wondering if I made the right decision. I need to stop being angry with myself and you so I can get back to some kind of normal, whatever that will look like now. Just tell me that you were looking for a fling. Tell me you never wanted anything serious with me, that everything was in the heat of the moment, and that’s why it would’ve been so easy for you to hide our relationship. If you can tell me that, maybe I can start to let you go and move the fuck on.”

---