Page 48 of Blame It On the Secret Santa

I shrugged and looked down at the table, ignoring the look she was giving me.

“Of course.” She lowered her head and shook it. “I should have known. I’m such an idiot.”

She put the box on the table, then got up and rushed out of the room.

I followed after her, needing to know what was going on.

“Cassidy, wait,” I called, rushing to catch up to her.

I grabbed her arm and spun her around to find tears spilling down her cheeks.

“What is going on?”

She wiped the tears away with the back of her hand and looked at me.

“Declan told me.”

My body tensed at the mention of my brother.

“Told you what? When did you talk to him?”

“Earlier, when I came to check into my room. He was in the lobby with his wife, and she made him tell me about what happened back in high school. How it wasn’tyouthat cheated on me. He was the one who cheated on his girlfriend but lied and said it was you.”

She sobbed and covered her mouth as the tears continued to flow.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, her body starting to tremble.

I scrubbed a hand down my face and stared at her.

“I tried. You didn’t want to believe me.”

“You should have tried harder,” she cried, allowing me to pull her into my chest.

“I knew you wouldn’t believe me until he came clean, Cassidy. And I didn’t want to continue a relationship with you as long as you believed I had cheated on you because that thought would always be in the back of your mind, and it would taint whatever we had together.”

“I can’t believe I’ve hated you this entire time for something you didn’t do.”

She pulled away and wiped at her eyes.

“It’s okay, Cass. I don’t blame you for it.”

“It’s not okay, Sean. It’s not okay that I’ve spent the last twelve years of my life hating you for something your brother did, yet you never stopped loving me. Don’t you see that?”

I nodded, not sure what to say. She was right. I never stopped loving her, even when it killed me to see how much she hated me at times.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I wish you would have known the truth sooner. But you’re right, Cass. I’ve never stopped loving you, and I don’t think I ever will.”

“I love you too, Sean. Even when I tried to hate you, I still loved you.”

She reached up and grabbed my face, pulling it to hers as our lips brushed against each other.

“I have a room,” she murmured, her lips and face smushed against mine.

“Is that an invite?” I teased, grabbing a handful of her ass and squeezing.

“No. It’s a demand.” She pulled away, giving me a look that made me weak in the knees. “Come to my room with me so I can show you all the ways I love you and make up for hating you for so long.”

I swallowed hard, my dick immediately hardening as her eyes darkened and she licked her lips.

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