Page 88 of The Rancher's Secret Relationship

With her face pressed against the crook of his neck, her voice came out slightly muffled, but the way the fingers threading through her hair stilled told her Thornton understood her just fine.

Her guilt grew, and her eyes started stinging.

"You do, right You know I was lying a while ago. D-Don't you?"

The fingers started moving again, and when she felt his lips brush the top of her head—-

Blake burst into tears.

"Baby..."

But this only made her cry harder.

"Blake."

Perfect,she thought, sobbing hard.He's perfect, and I don't deserve him for making him feel stupid things he doesn't deserve to feel.

"I k-know you have the wrong idea about me and Curt—-" She felt him stiffen slightly at hearing her say the other guy's name, and pain welled up inside of her. "It's not what you think!" She hugged him as tightly as she could. "I swear to God, Thorn, I swear—-"

"Blake—-"

"I'm not lying," she swore between sniffs. "So please—-"

"Blake."

Why did his voice sound somewhat strangled?

"You're choking me, baby."

Oh!

She quickly let go and was aghast to see how his face had changed color due to lack of oxygen.

Oops.

"I'm so sorry!" Her voice wobbled as she fought against the urge to burst into another embarrassing bout of tears. Could this night get any worse? Not only had she made a perfect boyfriend like Thornton feel jealous or betrayed even, she now had to add attempted murder to her list of growing sins—-

Just the thought of it proved too much, and before she knew it, she was crying again.

"It's alright."

But the gentleness in his voice only made her cry harder and hate herself more.

Thornton stroked his girlfriend's back but when her tears still showed no signs of stopping, he carefully reached up to disentangle her arms from around him.

Blake jerked when she realized what Thornton was doing. "T-Thorn?" But he kept moving, and in the next moment he had succeeded in getting her off his lap, and a tremendous wave of despair and empty loneliness threatened to swallow her up when she suddenly found herself seated on the chair opposite him.

He's going to break up with me, she thought hysterically.He's going to ask for an explanation, and I won't be able to say a word, and he's going to think I'm lying, and by the time I can tell the truth, it's going to be too late, and—-

"Blake."

She shook her head jerkily. "I don't want to hear it."

"Baby—-"

"No!" She covered her ears. "That's not going to make me listen to you either, and no matter what you say, we're not going to break up—-"

"We're not."

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