Page 125 of Caught from Behind

I should have known better than to change from Priscilla’s usual color.

Now I’ve wasted hours and a shit-ton of product trying to return her hair to normal…and I’ve only managed to get us to a point where neither of us is happy. Not to mention, her hair needs a break, or it might be ruined permanently, so I can’t take any further steps to fix the color.

She sure as shit wouldn’t be happy with me—or she’d be even more unhappy—if her hair broke off.

Already, she was going to have to baby those damaged strands, give them some tender loving care and wait a while before we begin again—if she even comes back.

I sigh. “I should have known better.”

“You tried to warn her,” Kit says, pulling another bag from somewhere and munching away on his own fritter. “And you were more than accommodating.” He takes a huge bite, his next words slightly muffled. “Plus, that first color was fire, at least until she bitched about it being too light.” He swallows and rolls his eyes. “She wanted more blond and you gave it to her.”

I had—a gorgeous blond that was bright but not icy. I thought it made her eyes pop and didn’t wash her out and was exactly what she wanted.

Apparently, the joke was on me.

“Well,” he says when I just wrinkle my nose and start in on my own fritter, “I thought she looked good.”

“Thanks, honey.”

“I’m your biggest champion,” he says, “you know that.”

And suddenly, the fritter tastes like saw dust, the bite in my belly like lead all over again. “And I wasn’t yours,” I say softly.

Quiet falls between us.

Then he sets the bag on the counter and swivels in his chair, turning mine so he can take my hand. “You said something out of pocket, Ells.” A squeeze. “You had a bad day and messed up and…ultimately, you were right.” His throat bobs. “Patton was cheating on me.”

“What?” I gasp, leaning forward and taking his other hand in mine, holding them both tightly. “I’m so sorry,” I tell him. “What happened?”

He sighs. “I found the dating apps on his phone again, but this time I didn’t let him brush me off. I made him show me and…there were messages and dates of hookups that coincided with when he went out of town for work and?—”

A tear slips down his cheek.

“Shit, honey, I’m so sorry.”

“You warned me to break up with him. You knew he wasn’t a good guy.”

“Patton sent off my asshole detector, for sure. But I’m no genius,” I blurt when his face falls. “I hurt you and Nova and I…almost screwed up things with Riggs when we were barely getting started.” I nibble at the corner of my mouth. “And…I’m still fucking terrified almost every day that he’ll wake up and see reason like my dad did.”

Kit frowns. “Like your dad?”

My pulse speeds, but…I know there’s no point in hiding it.

Not anymore.

Not if I want to be different, want to do better.

“You up for the long, painful as shit story?” I ask him. “Or the Cliff’s Notes version?”

“Ells,” he warns.

I squeeze his hands again. “You know he’s not in my life”—Kit nods—“but you don’t know what went into that because…” I sigh. “I don’t talk about it. I don’t like to think about it, but…it’s also something that drives every decision I’ve made, including the shit I pulled on you.”

His face gentles. “Tell me.”

And so, I do.

I find the courage and I give him everything.

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