Page 144 of Strange Seduction
I gave her my full attention, not bothering to hide the way I looked at her.
Calmly, I answered, “The room’s in my name. They gave me a key.”
She glared at me, unimpressed, but didn’t argue.
“Whatever. It doesn’t matter.” She tried to stride past me and grabbed her clothes from the couch. “Keep the room. Do whatever you want with it. I’m out of here.”
I blocked the way.
“Where are you going,Amore mio?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
“I found a last-minute one-way ticket to New York,” she said. “I’m leaving.”
“No.”
She rolled her eyes. “Not this again.”
“I don’t want you to go.”
“A little late for reasoning, Theo. My mind’s made up.”
“Can we talk about this? Please.”
“There isn’t anything to talk about.”
“You want to end our relationship over this, so yes, there’s plenty to talk about.”
“Don’t make it sound like I made this decision on a whim,” she snapped, heading into the bathroom. “You did this to us.”
“I know, baby,” I said, following her to the doorway. “So let me fix it.”
“There is no fixing it.”
“How do you know that if you don’t let me try?”
“I know,” she said coldly, dropping her toiletries into her bag, “because I don’t trust you anymore, Theodore.”
The silence that followed settled over the room like a blanket.
I watched her zip the bag shut, my heart threatening to cave in on itself.
“Do you remember back at Eden?” I asked quietly. “When you showed up at my dorm and Allyson was there?”
She froze mid-movement, her back to me. Then she turned, eyes sharp.
“Are you trying to piss me off even more or…?”
“No,” I said, stepping closer. “I was scared as hell you’d never talk to me again. We were already on thin ice, and I thought that moment would be the final straw. But after I explained everything, even though I’m sure you didn’t want to accept my explanation. You decided to trust me.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Is this story supposed to prove how gullible I am?”
“No. It’s supposed to remind you why you trusted me in the first place.” I held her gaze. “I would never do anything to hurt you, Carmen.”
“But you did,” she snapped. “So this is the thanks I get for giving you that trust.”
“No, baby, you don’t get it.” I reached for her hands and held them gently. “I swear on my life, nothing happened with her. I love you too much to ever cheat on you.”
She yanked her hands back.
