Page 76 of And Then Came You

My body trembles, and I hoist myself from the bathtub, wrapping myself in a towel. I didn’t think the conversation could get any worse. Wrong again. “I don’t want to discuss that night.”

“Well, I do, Lexi. I need to discuss that night.”

“Why? To hurt me further? You’ve done enough damage. Telling me about all the women you’ve fucked in the interim is just salt in the wound.” I chew my lip, trying to rein in my tears. “I’m surprised you even remember kissing me.”

“How could I forget it?”

“You forgot me.”

“No, I didn’t. You never let me explain. You just left. All the things I said in those notes… they meant nothing to you, did they? You never even mentioned them.”

My heart stills in my chest, as my world threatens to upend itself. This is the second time he’s mentioned these mysterious notes—notes I’ve never seen. “What notes?”

Once again, Sam ignores my question, volleying back one of his own. “Were you drunk? Is that why you kissed me back? Is that why you claimed to want the same things?”

The man isnotblaming me for the events of that evening. “You were the one slamming back tequila, Sam. Not me. I was sober.”

“I don’t know if that makes this situation better or worse. Likely worse. I flew from England to be with you. To make you mine. I planned to spend that night loving every inch of you until you wanted me as desperately as I wanted you.Wantyou.”

My mind is like a blender on high, my thoughts and preconceived ideas getting pureed into an unrecognizable mess. Is Sam so drunk that he’s unaware what he’s saying or did I miss something vital that night in my rush to escape?

Either way, it doesn’t matter now. He’s proven how little I mean to him by screwing the first woman who spread her legs. I can’t compete with those women, nor do I have any desire to do so. Besides, Sam is a star, belonging more to the world than any woman.

I don’t stand a chance against those odds. “You can’t tell me you’ve screwed countless women and then claim you wanted to make me yours. You can’t mess with my head that way.”

“It’s the truth. You need to know the truth.”

Enough. It’s enough. My heart has taken a beating tonight. “I have to go, Sam.”

“They meant nothing.” I hear the desperation in his voice, pleading with me to understand. “You left without a word, even after everything I said. You fall off the map for a month, telling me I should figure out why you’re so angry. Then you resurface, only to tell me you’re dating Damian, and I’m the bad guy?”

“Wait just a damn minute,” I bellow, my anger rising with each word. “I left that night because of what I saw—youhaving drinks with another woman, while you were supposed to be with me. And not just any woman, the woman who insulted me. To myface. So, don’t cry to me about how hurt you were that I wouldn’t give you a pass. You broke my heart that night, Sam, and now I’m supposed to feel sorry foryou?”

“I explained everything.”

“You explainednothing,” I seethe.

“Everything was in the notes, Lexi. I tried calling, but you wouldn’t answer. I damn near banged down your door. What other choice did I have? Not that it matters. It’s obvious now that I meant nothing to you.”

With a lurch, I realize to what he’s referring. In my anguish, I walked past the pieces of paper littering my hotel room entrance. I never read them.

He’s right, though. What do they matter now? Regardless of what he said in those infamous notes, he’s shown his true colors, with ohsomany women.

I can’t hear over the blood pounding in my ears at his insinuation that he means nothing to me. What a crock of crap. “You’ve always been my number one. Every damn day. What do you do? You fly first class to Europe and blow your load into some bulimic runway whore. Were you even sober when you fucked her?”

Silence.

“Were you?” I scream into the phone, my lampshade dancing as I pound my fist against the nightstand.

“I wasn’t sober much the last month. It was too painful being sober.”

“Not too painful to fuck, though. Glad you’ve got your priorities straight.” I suck in a deep breath, willing myself back from the emotional ledge. “I told you not to speak of that night, but you did anyway. You used it as some sick validation for screwing countless women, yet you’re still miserable. Why are you doing this, Sam? You deserve better.”

“Do I? I’m just some pretty face, right? Nothing beyond that.”

“Stop it. I’ve never looked at you like that.”

“No, you’ve never seen me at all. In your mind, I’m disposable. Completely and utterly forgettable.”

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