Page 98 of Say the Words
“I don’t expect you to forgive me. I wouldn’t forgive me. But I still wanted to apologize.”
“Why?”
He smiled, but there was no joy in it. “Samantha left me for someone else.”
It would have been a good moment to get a dig in about karma, but I didn’t have the heart. Even if it served him right, I couldn’t pour salt in that wound, not when I knew exactly how deep it cut.
“One of the partners in my law firm, to be precise,” he went on. “It’s been a little…”
He didn’t clarify, but I could fill in the blanks.Shocking. Painful. Humiliating.
“I found out a few months ago. I thought about getting in touch with you then, but I didn’t think you’d want to talk to me.”
Leave it to Bret to make it my fault he didn’t do the right thing. What had I ever seen in him? He was charming and confident, always up for anything. His desire for nonstop action had been just what I’d needed when we reconnected, but it couldn’t suit me now, even if he had never thought about cheating.
Now, I wanted someone who didn’t need to put on a show, who was down to earth and kept true to his values even when it hurt him financially. I wanted someone who put me ahead of his own selfish interests. Now, all I wanted was Ty.
“I’m sorry I didn’t break things off with you before I—” Bret grimaced, apparently unable to admit his infidelity even when he apologized for it. “I thought I’d find the right time, but—”
Most of his apology went unsaid. That fit. As a lawyer, he probably had some credo against self-incrimination.
“Ty kept telling me to man up and be honest with you, but I guess I was too much of a coward.”
The warm cocoon around my heart shattered. “Ty knew?”
Bret made a helpless gesture. Why wouldn’t he have told his brother? I’d always assumed Ty found out after the fact just like I had. But no, Bret had told Ty, and Ty had kept the secret. I went cold, untouched now by the afternoon’s stifling heat.
“I’m sorry, June. I learned my lesson too late, but I wanted you to know.”
I doubted the lesson would stick. A long pause followed where he seemed to expect me to say something, probably offer forgiveness. I stayed silent. He took a step toward me, arms out as if coming in for a hug. I jabbed a finger over his shoulder for him to leave.
“Right, right.” He turned and walked away.
I moved deeper into the peach trees that blocked the Robinsons’ yard from view of the street, tempted to run all the way to my pop’s. Maybe that would get rid of the sick feeling that coiled around me, pressing in and suffocating. Blood pounded through my veins, pulsing at my temples until the sound filled my ears.
Ty hadn’t told me. Not then, not now. He’d kept Bret’s secrets.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been in the trees when a new voice came from behind me.
“June?”
Ty.
I turned around to face him, my heart cut to shreds by the sweet worry lining his face. I’d wanted that kind of openness from him for weeks, longed for it—but now, how could I trust it?
“Are you okay?”
I shook my head, willing away the shock that clouded my thoughts. “No.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” He moved closer, but I held up a warning hand.
“You knew?” My voice was low, but he stopped as though I’d shouted. A part of me had hoped I’d misunderstood or Bret had misspoken, but Ty’s hesitation confirmed all my fears. The churning in my gut had me reeling. “You knew he was cheating on me, and you didn’t say anything?”
The tenderness in his eyes seemed to harden up and close down, like he was packing it all away. Shutting it up in a box labeledFeelingshe’d stuff away in an attic.
“I didn’t know what to say.”
“How about the truth?” My voice came out too loud, but music thrummed through the night, and the rehearsal dinner went on undisturbed. I clenched my fists, my nails digging little half-moons in my palms.
