Page 136 of Wild Love
She stays eerily still, staring—no, glaring—at me as splotches of red expand on her chest and travel up her throat, unspoken words forming in her heart and moving up to her vocal cords so she can hurl them at me.
Angry, pissed-off words. Because IknowI shouldn’t have involved West in this.
“You…” Her voice is stony, a troublesome sort of calm. “You toldmy brotherabout what happened with Stan?”
I drop my phone on the desk beside me and take a step toward her, but she holds a shaking hand up to stop me.
“No. You’re going to stay right there.”
I swallow heavily and stop my forward motion before lifting my arms and raking my fingers through my hair. “Rosie, I’m sorry. We weren’t together at that point. When I told him, I still… I figured we were going to be what we’d always been. Nothing had happened between us yet. I never knew we’d be where we are now.”
“I…” She glances around the room now, a breathy, disbelieving chuckle lurching from her throat, followed by a pained groan. “I told you that in confidence.” Her eyes slice back to mine, pinning me to the spot. “You are theonlyperson I’ve told that to other than Ryan. And something hasalwaysbeen happening between us. We’ve always had secrets.”
“I’m sorry.” It’s all I can say, and I’ll say it over and over again. No matter how many times it takes.
“You told me you wouldn’t tell anyone. And then you decide that of all the people in the world to tell, mybrotherseemed like the ideal candidate? Who else? My parents?God.” She drops her face into one hand while the other clutches at the white sheet. “How humiliating.”
“You havenothingto be humiliated about.” I spit the words out like venom.
She looks back up at me, face drawn, hands limp at her sides. “Fine. So why exactly is my brother facing charges?”
My molars grind. West and his fucking temper. “I don’t know the details. He hit Stan. I thought he would be okay just being the one to hand-deliver the eviction notices. He wanted to do something and was getting a kick out of tormenting the guy. But apparently Stan came at him this time, and you know how that goes over with West.”
She shakes her head at me, like she can’t quite believe what I’m telling her.
“You know we’ve always been partners in crime.”
She scoffs. “Yeah, when you were kids playing ding-dong ditch or getting booze underage, it was fine. You guys are adults now, and you can’t just play this off like you are two teenagers getting into trouble. This isn’t… Ha!” She barks out a laugh. “I’m sorry. I’m just having a really hard time wrapping my head around how someone as intelligent as you can be so deeply oblivious. He has two children who need him, Ford. He doesn’t have billions of dollars in his coffers. You can’t use him to do your dirty work just because he’s always been a little rougher around the edges than you. You keep your hands clean and play chess while West takes the fall? If you’re as good a friend to him as you claim to be, how could you have put him in this position?”
“That’s never how I meant it. We were working together as a team.”
“Right, well, one of you is sitting in a police station and the other is lounging around in a thousand-dollar-a-night boutique hotel room. Forgive me for missing theteamaspect of this venture.”
My throat dries as I wrap my head around what she’s saying, finally seeing the entire situation from a perspective other than my own. Beyond my tunnel vision for revenge on a man who wronged someone I love.
“I didn’t think?—”
“No.” She stands and the sheet drops, leaving her entirely naked as she walks to me. “You didn’t think because you are privileged beyond compare.” Her arms fly out wide. “You have power you don’t even recognize. Money. Clout. A name you complain about but wield like a weapon. And that’s okay. You should make the most of what you’ve got. But goddamn it, Ford. At least recognize it. Own it.”
I blink. Stricken by the rawness of what she’s telling me.
“That day? In that office? Stan stole my power. It was for a split second, and maybe it should have been easy to brush off, but it changedeverythingI worked for in my life.” She snaps her fingers, and I flinch. “Poof, gone. It was a stark look at how truly insignificant I was. It made me question my value.”
My throat aches. It contracts so tightly on itself that I’m unable to find my voice.
“That wasmystory to share. When I was good and ready. Or my secret to keep for however long I wanted. And I entrusted it to you.”
“Rosie—”
Her head shakes sharply. “No. I don’t want to hear it. I know what you were trying to do, I do. But Ford…” Her fingers comb through her wavy hair as she blinks away. “You guys aren’t teenagers with grudges against some small-town boy who dumped me anymore. The dynamic with us isn’t what it was when we were kids. And I know he’s your best friend, but if you and I are ever going to be anything, I need to be the one who comes first, Ford. I need that loyalty from you, even over him. I won’t settle for less.”
Her voice cracks, and she blinks her tears away. Head held high as she turns back toward her overnight bag, rifling through it for clothes.
I watch her dress in guilty silence, realizing what I’ve done. Undermined her trust and tried to play god. Pulling strings I have no business pulling, no matter how virtuous my cause or pure my intentions.
Keeping secrets I shouldn’t, while spilling the ones I should.
“Rosie, I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”
