Page 66 of Fight

I lift my chin to meet her sullen face. “I should have met youthat day for breakfast. I heard rumors from some guys in town, and I’ve been beating myself up for weeks thinking I broke a marriage apart. I was engaged once and walked in on her having an affair at a really low time in my life. It messed with my head—bad. This whole time, I thought I did the same thing to another man.”

I haven’t mentioned Molly until now, but I planned to. I should have knocked on her door that day instead of walking away. We could have avoided all of this.

“I didn’t tell you earlier because I’m ashamed.” She clears the tears from her cheeks. “And embarrassed. From the outside looking in, it’s so obvious. But when you’re raised within those walls, the cracks of doubt are well hidden. What I participated in was abhorrent. I didn’t want anyone to know—they wouldn’t understand. What would the outside world think of me? What wouldyouthink of me? You said it yourself, it’s crazy… But if you heard rumors, why didn’t you just ask me directly?”

I bark out a laugh. “What the hell was I supposed to think? Gee, she’s married, but maybe she’s actually in a religious cult covering for her gay husband?”

My harsh words cause her to recoil, and I instantly want to take them back.

“I could have explained all of this back then. You never gave me the chance!”

“When I hear hoofbeats, I think of horses, not zebras.”

She paces back and forth. “Well, you sure thought zebras when you saw Dave leaving my place! You’re not the only one who’s been hurting for weeks, you know? You’ve been callous and cruel with every interaction. I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out what I did to upset you so much. Everyone told me you were a womanizer, that you were just using me. I defended you every chance I got and then looked like an idiot when you tossed me aside as if I were nothing.” She bites down on her bottom lip to keep it from trembling and lets herhands fall to her sides. “It would have opened up a conversation.”

I lean forward, bracing my forearms on my thighs and letting my head slump between my shoulders. “I didn’t show up because hearing from your lips you were married would have hurt worse.”I ran. I was fucking scared. “It would have been reliving my past. I didn’t want to go there… After I found out you were someone’s wife, I shut down. It’s not an excuse, but it’s why I did what I did.”

When I look up, her expression is pained.

My brows knit together. “Then when I showed up at your apartment, Dave said some shit that insinuated he spent the night with you?—”

“Hewhat?!”

“It doesn’t matter. I should have trusted your word over his. I should have come to you first.” I scoot deeper into the bed and lean back until my shoulder blades are resting on the cold windowpane behind me.

Scottie closes the distance between us. Her eyes search mine as if she’s searching for some courage to borrow. She has me holding my breath while I wait for her next move. I exhale when she plants her knee on the bed beside my thigh and straddles my lap. I sit up, and we stare at each other for a long minute.

“I’m sorry.” I hear the sincerity in her voice, see it in her downhearted eyes.

My throat burns seeing her like this. She wraps her arms around my neck and rests her head on my shoulder, hugging me. We made such a mess of things.

“Me too.” I slide my hands around her back and hold her the way she’s holding me. And damn, it feels good. I allow myself to bask in her touch before I speak, because even though the truth is out, it doesn’t change the situation. “I don’t know where we go from here.”

“What do you mean?” Her breath is warm against my skin.

“You’re still married.” I muster the courage. “Do youwantto divorce him?”

She doesn’t hesitate. “I do.”

The corner of my lip turns up.Ironic phrasing. “We can’t do anything until you file your paperwork.”

She raises her head to face me. “But he knows I’m gone?—”

“Would you kiss me in front of him?” She stiffens. “Would it hurt him to watch me put my arms around you?” They may not have been romantic, but they still had a relationship, so there must besomethingthere on his side. I’m not going to be with her in the shadows.

“Jonathan and I have had this conversation before. We told each other that if the other one ever needed to go, we wouldn’t fight it.”

I can’t imagine anyone willing to let go of her so casually, romantic or not. I have a better understanding of the tenacity she possesses, leaving everything and everyone behind. This situation is so fucked, and I’ve never felt so torn. With her ass in my lap and arms on my shoulders, all I want to do is lean in and take her.

My jaw tics. “If we do this, we need full transparency from now on. I want to know every skeleton in your closet. No more secrets.”

“Okay. And I expect the same courtesy from you…” Her fingers fidget at the collar of my shirt, and she averts her gaze. “Who was the girl you left the bar with that night?”

My brows jerk to attention. I don’t understand the question.What is she talking about?

“When?”

She pulls from my hold, and looks down at her hands. “When I saw you at the bar the other night, you were walking out with another woman, you had your arm around her about to get into a cab. Are you still sleeping with other women?”

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