Page 37 of The Seascape Between Us

This again? I might have scoffed at the ridiculousness of his question if I hadn’t noticed the way his jaw clenched or his pulse flicking at his throat. “I told you; Ryan and I were just friends. We were never into each other. Probably because we’d known each other since we were seven years old.”

His eyes narrowed, mouth pressing into a thin line. “I saw you together.”

“Saw us together doingwhat?” I tensed at the heavy accusation in his voice. There hadn’t been anything for Grey to see. Ryan had been my best friend, and I still missed him every day, but there had never been anything romantic between us.

Grey’s gaze slid away from mine, and he plucked at the edge of the sheet. “He was… holding you, and you were leaning your head on his shoulder.”

I rubbed my forehead, struggling to picture what Grey saw—or thought he had seen. “Are you sure it was me?”

He swung his head around and pinned me with a furious stare. “Of course, I’m sure.”

When the hell had Ryan ever held me? We had never been all that physically affectionate. The occasional shoulder squeeze. I think the only times we hugged even was when he got married, when my mother died, and when I got the news about Ramona… Holy shit—was that what Grey had seen?

“Is that why we broke up?” I asked, feeling as if someone had kicked my feet out from under me. “Because you saw Ryan hug me, and you thought I’d been cheating with him?”

Grey held my gaze, and his throat jumped. “Did you?”

“I’ve already told you, I didn’t. I wouldn’t have done that to you.”I loved you.Clamping my mouth shut before the words could escape, I made this conversation even more awkward than it was.

“But I saw you.” There was something almost beseeching in his tone—but whether he was asking me to confirm what he believed so he could be sure I’d done what he’d thought all these years or prove to him he was wrong and I’d never betrayed him I couldn’t have said.

“You saw him hug me. I’d found out about Ramona, and I was upset—”

“And he’d hugged you because he was your friend, and why wouldn’t he?” Grey stood and began pacing.

“So, that’s it. You ended things with me because you thought you saw me with Ryan.” Hurt and anger tangled inside me until I couldn’t tell one from the other. I wanted my pants, and I wanted to get the hell out of there. “Why didn’t you just ask me?”

Grey stopped pacing and looked right at me, his expression impossible to read. “Because someone had already told me they’d seen you together.”

“Who?” Who would have told him something like that, something so far from the truth?

He didn’t answer. Instead, he snatched a thin stack of folded papers from the side table and shoved them at me. I took the pages hesitantly, like they were a snake I was afraid might strike. “What is this?”

“Guilty confessions from a man who lied to us both.” Grey was seething. His dark eyes burned hot, his entire body practically trembling with rage.

I opened the letter, then looked back up at Grey. “This is from your father. Are you sure you want me to read this?”

Grey waved his hand. “Go ahead. It affects us both.”

Frowning, I started reading, then wanted to shrivel up when I saw how desperate Oliver had been to keep me out of his son’s life so I wouldn’t weigh him down like an anchor.

“He really didn’t think much of me.” My voice rasped as if I hadn’t used it in years.

“Keep reading,” Grey said, dropping onto the bed next to me. “He warms up to you at the end.”

I snorted when I got to the line about me beingone of the best men I’ve ever known. Maybe he’d been starting to go senile, and I hadn’t realized.

When I finished, I folded the letter and handed the pages back to Grey. Before I could lean back, Grey cupped the side of my face with his hand, forcing me to meet his dark gaze.

“I amsosorry for everything,” he said earnestly.

I swallowed, though my throat suddenly felt tight. “You have nothing to be sorry for. It was a long time ago. I just wish you'd talked to me first. I hate that you went all this time thinking I did that to you.”

“I wish I did too.” I thought he might kiss me, and I wasn’t sure how wise that would be, but I was fairly sure I wouldn’t push himaway if he tried. Instead, his hand fell away. “Can I ask you one more thing?”

I shrugged and leaned back against the headboard. “Sure.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about Ramona?”

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