Page 15 of Accidental Mile High Daddy
“You were beingyou,” she said, releasing her death grip on the chair to cross her arms over her chest. “You were trying to get under my skin.”
“I wasn’t,” I said, not a hint of a lie. I gestured casually to the seat across from me, the one she’d held onto, but she didn’t move.
She narrowed her eyes, though. “You knew.”
I pressed my lips together, rolling them between my teeth. “Knew what?”
“Don’t—” She cut herself off, taking a deep inhale through her nose as her gaze flicked to the ceiling before landing back on me, somehow sharper, somehowangrier. “You knew who I was—or, am.”
I met her stare and held it. “I didn’t.”
A bitter laugh poured out of her. “Oh, come on, Matt?—”
“I’m serious,” I said, cutting her off. “I didn’t know your name until I looked up the flight manifest a week ago. Before that, all I had wasSienna. No last name. No context.”
Her jaw went crooked, her tongue working something in her mouth as her nails dug into her arm. “I’m supposed to believe that?”
“I have no reason to lie. If I wanted to sleep with the woman my brother was with for almost two years, I wouldn’t have needed to hide who I am.”
Her eye twitched. “You’re so fucking cocky?—”
“I genuinely didn’t know,” I reiterated, cutting off her insult. “I hadn’t seen Ryan in months. We barely speak, and I’d never met you. He’d said your name, what, twice? It wasn’t at the front of my mind.”
Her throat worked, and for a split second, I felt bad about mentioning how little Ryan spoke of her. But I wanted to get this out there.
“I had no idea he had planned a trip to Italy, let alone with you,” I continued, sitting forward in my chair. “I didn’t know he’d booked it until I looked at the original booking information and saw the change in the reservation, with his name, and the card he used.”
She stiffened, her brows narrowing. “His card?”
“Mycard. I recognized the last four digits. It was the card for the support account I set up for him. So, you’re welcome.” I held her gaze as I leaned forward onto my elbows on the table. “Your vacation came out of my wallet.”
Sienna blinked, her body recoiling just a tad. I’d rattled her. “Wait, what? Go back. What do you mean bysupport?”
I sighed, trying to work out how to explain it. It didn’t surprise me that he hadn’t told her where that money came from, but itdidmake my blood boil. “Money I send him to keep him from spiraling,” I said carefully. “He burns through cash like it’s gasoline, Sienna. When it runs out, he calls me. Always has, always will.”
Her brows furrowed as she stared at me, the gears in her head turning so obviously that I couldseethem whirring.
“You didn’t know that, did you?”
“I thought—” she hesitated, trying to find the words, then scowled. “I thought he was spending what he had left after you screwed him out of the inheritance.”
I exhaled sharply through my nose. “Of course you did.”
“Are you saying that’s not true?”
“I’m saying Ryan has a very convenient relationship with the truth,” I said.
Her arms dropped, her chest rising as she took in a slow, shaky breath. “So, what, you’re just some generous brother who gives away money to the sibling who hates him? That’s your story?”
I exhaled, trying not to let my irritation get in the way of the truth. “It’s not a story, Sienna. It’s what happens every few months. More often recently. But whether you believe me or not is entirely up to you.”
Her jaw tightened, but she didn’t say anything.
“I’d rather you believe me,” I added, my voice lower, more deliberate. “But maybe before you lob another accusation at me, you should ask yourselfwhyyou’re trusting the man who cheated on you for a year, instead of me.”
That landed. I felt the shift, saw the way it flickered across her face.
“Yeah. I spoke to him last week. He told me,” I continued. “You believe him, even after everything he did. But I lied to you once—unintentionally and by omission—and I’m the villain?”
