Page 83 of Play Pretend

“Ronan,” I said again, exasperated. “You’re not lying on thefloor.” He looked confused, and I rolled my eyes. “At least lie in the bed.”

His throat bobbed as he swallowed. Slowly, his tongue traced his lips, and all I could think about was the way he tasted, the way his lips felt against mine.

“I can’t do that,” he rasped.

“I’m not sleeping inyourbed while you lie on the floor.” I lifted my brow, and that smile of his came back. It made me weak. How had I never noticed it before?

“Stubborn woman,” he muttered, and I grinned triumphantly. “Fine. Let me change the sheets quickly.”

I stood in the doorway as he hurried around the bed, changing the sheets, pillow cases, and grabbed a new quilt from the closet. He evened the sheets and quilt up perfectly before tucking the sheets tightly in at the bottom. I knew I’d untuck it immediately when I laid down. I hated for my feet to be trapped.

When he was done, he stood by the bed and stared down at it like he was scared to look at me.

“What side do you sleep on?” I asked to break the silence.

“Usually that side,” he said, jerking his chin to the side closest to the wall. “But I’ll sleep here tonight.”

“Why?”

“It’s between you and the door,” he said like that was a perfect explanation. When I just stared at him, he cleared his throat. “If someone came into the room, they’d have to go through me to get to you. Sleeping on this side makes it easier to protect you.”

My heart was in my throat. Who was this man?

“Oh,” was all I could say. It felt so stupid, so lackluster in comparison to what he’d just said, but what else was there? Thanking him felt weird. Telling him he didn’t have to do that would be a waste of timeanda lie. “No one has ever done that before.”

“No?” He pulled the blanket back and motioned for me to get in. “Your journal said you had a fiancé. He didn’t protect you?”

I barked a laugh. “No,” I said. “He was too busy focusing on himself and finding a new woman to fuck every night.”

Ronan froze. “What?” His voice was deathly low, his eyes burning into me. I couldn’t look at him, not when he was so intense.

“Daniel was an asshole.” I shrugged.

“You knew he was cheating on you?”

“He didn’t exactly hide it.” I braced myself for the accusation everyone had—why did you stay?I answered before he could ask. “I stayed because my dad loved him. They worked at the same company, and I just wanted to make my dad happy. I know it’s stupid and not a good reason to stay with someone, but when I brought it up to my dad, he always told me Daniel would never do something like that. I eventually started gaslighting myself into believing I’d made it all up. Then…” I paused, not wanting to tell the rest of the story, but Ronan was staring at me, and there was something safe in his gaze. Something that made mewantto tell him everything. “Then I found out my dad knew about the cheating the entire time. When they went on some business trip, he’d seen Daniel go to his room with a woman and still told me it was all in my head.”

“Those motherfuckers,” Ronan said with a snarl, his voice low. I blinked at him, at the anger in his voice. “Your dad—” He clenched his jaw. “Your dad is a fucking asshole for doing that to you, but Daniel,” he spat his name out, “is an even bigger asshole. And he’s a dumbfuck for cheating onyou. I mean, he hadyouat home and he thought he’d find anyone better?”

A breathy laugh left me, but he was staring at me like he was deathly serious. “Thanks, Ro,” I murmured. “It was a long time ago. I’ve moved on.”

“If I ever see that man—” His jaw rippled again.

“What?” I teased. “You can’t fight him.”

“Like hell I can’t,” he grumbled as he rounded the bed. He sank onto the mattress, still muttering to himself. I couldn’t helpbut laugh again. It was cute. He glanced at me over his shoulder, his brows bunched. “What?”

“You can’t fight my ex, Ronan,” I said, exasperated.

“Can I fight your dad?”

“Mydad?”

“He deserves it, too.”

He turned the lamp off and lay on his back. I rested on my side, staring at the shadow of his profile.

“I read your journal,” he said softly. “I know what he’s like.”

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