Page 84 of Something to Someone

I would’ve never been prepared for what it hid.

“I made him this scrapbook,” she said, her voice shook, and the longer she spoke, the harder it was to keep from crossing to her. “It was for when he woke up, all the memories we’d shared, but he never got to see it. And today, for the first time since he died, I looked at the damn book.”

Finally, the sob she’d been holding broke free, and she looked up at me.

“I’m so sorry, Ryder.”

In the next second, I wrapped her in my arms and muffled her tears and apologies against my chest. I tangled my fingers in the back of her hair and tugged her closer with the other until there was no space left between us.

I could feel her heartbreak, and whatever I had to do to make it better, I would do it without hesitation. I wished I could fix it.

And as much as I hated witnessing and feeling her sadness, something settled within me having her back in my arms. Her tears calmed quickly, and I wiped away my own as she pulled back. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.Ididn’t mean to cry,” she said sweetly, lifting her hands to dry off my damp cheeks. “And I didn’t tell you this so that you’d feel sorry for me. It’s not an excuse for how shitty I treated you, it’s just an explanation. One of the reasons I’m…closed off.”

I nodded and brushed my thumb over her mouth. “I understand, and I’m so fucking sorry.” Her smile was sad, but she took a deep breath and stood a little taller. “Do you want to come sit down?”

“Yeah, let’s sit.”

I led us over to the couch, and when she tried to take a seat on the cushion farthest from me, I tugged her closer with a hand around her hip and another at her knee.

“I’ve missed you,” I admitted, not letting her go. “I didn’t know if…I just want you close.”

She set her hand on top of mine and nodded. “There’s more I should probably tell you.” She licked her lips and stared down at where our hands met, running her thumb back and forth over my hand.

“The first relationship I had after Daniel died was with an older guy. He was in his late thirties, and I was only twenty-three. Not that I have an issue with an age difference,” she said with a small smile. “But I desperately wanted some sort of connection again, and when I met Jaxon, IthoughtI’d found that.”

I already didn’t like where the story was going, but I stayed quiet and let her continue.

“It was a whirlwind—flowers, chocolate, trips, the works. I was fresh out of college and barely making enough to afford an apartment with a roommate, so his lifestyle was a very nice bonus. Until it all fell apart in an extravagantly horrible way.”

She rubbed a hand over her mouth and sighed. “He had some important job—I honestly can’t even remember what it was—so he was always traveling. Or so I thought. He told me one weekend that he’d be out of town, and I didn’t think anything of it. I was working at an event planning company as an assistant event coordinator, and we had the entire weekend booked up for a VIP client anyway. We were supposed to show them a ton of venues, nail down all the details. It was a wedding planning marathon, and my first huge event. I was overly prepared, so I knew it would be perfect. Until Jaxon walked into the first tour and kissed the bride.”

God, I was running through emotions today. My numbness had turned to rage, and now, the anger coming off me felt like it would singe my skin.

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope,” she said, popping the ‘p.’ “Unfortunately, I’m not. The man who had renewed my belief in love had shit all over it in less than a second when he walked into the wedding venue and into the arms of his perfect fiancée.”

I shook my head and ground my teeth together. Looking up the address and phone number for every man named Jaxon in his late forties wouldn’t be going too far, right? It would take some time, but it would be worth it to find the right one.

“What did you do?”

She shrugged. “I did my job. The look on his face was enough for me in that moment. He’d tried to pull me aside a few times, but I wouldn’t talk to him. I didn’t care what he had to say. He was dead to me the second I saw him.”

Fuck, my tough girl.

“So, I waited until the weekend was over, and I called his fiancée and told her everything. She said she knew he had slept around, and it was unfortunate it had been with me. But that she wasn’t really worried. She knew who she was marrying.”

Enthralled by her story, I leaned forward and placed my elbow on the back cushion, resting my head on my hand.

“She didn’t tell him, and he finally took the hint and stopped talking to me altogether. She knew, so I’d done my part. But she ended up marrying him and filed for divorce less than a year later. They hadn’t signed a prenup, so she got more than half of everything. I guess she felt bad for me, and mentioned that she was glad I hadn’t told anyone else, so she gave me a tidy sum. And that’s how I started my business—with my fuckface cheating ex’s money.”

A startled laugh escaped me, and I couldn’t contain my grin. “Holy shit, you’re a badass.”

She brushed her shoulder off and smiled her first genuine smile since I’d found her outside my door.

“I guess so, but as sweet as that revenge was, and helpful to the rest of my life, that relationship fucked me up more than I wanted to admit. I couldn’t trust anyone for a really long time. Losing Daniel then realizing Jaxon was a despicable human, it made me retreat. And letting anyone in again meant they had the ability to hurt me in so many different ways.”

“I would never?—”

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