Page 22 of Delinquent Daddy (Banks/Kincaid Family 2)

Feeling herself soften, she nodded yes. Boston's mouth curved slightly like he was remembering a happier time too.

But a split moment later, he paused as if realizing she was the enemy now. His face stiffened into a cool glare and he glanced away, stuffing his hands moodily into his pockets.

Ellie swallowed and dropped her eyes. "So, ah, anyway.

You probably need to get back to, ah..." Wherever the hell he'd come from.

Boston's gaze zipped accusingly to her face, eyes narrowed. She bit her lip.

"What about Cassie?" he asked.

60

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

"What about her?"

His forehead wrinkled. "She still doesn't know who I am."

Ellie didn't think that was a problem. As if reading her thoughts, his scowl deepened. "I want her to know the truth."

Lifting her eyebrows, Ellie said, "Oh, you want her to know the truth, huh? Sure, I'll tell her exactly why we broke up."

An uneasy look filled his face, and he opened his mouth to comment. But Ellie kept talking. "I'll be happy to tell her exactly where things went wrong. And how you were so ashamed of being with me you would never let me meet your family, or—"

"I never—" he started, but she kept talking over him.

"Or how you thought I was just a gold-digging bitch who purposely trapped you into staying with me by getting knocked up."

"I apologized for that." His face turned gray as if remembering his own words made him physically ill. "As soon as I said it, I told you I was sorry."

Unable to watch the repentant features that looked so truly genuine, Ellie turned and crossed her arms over her chest.

"So you did," she murmured, though she was sure he could hear in her voice that she'd never forgiven or forgotten.

A tense moment of silence followed, and finally he murmured, "Is that why you told me you had a miscarriage?

Because I was such a jerk?" He sucked in a breath. "Jesus, Ellie, I was a stupid, immature kid who was scared out of my mind. How could you—"

"And what do you think I was?" she broke in incredulously, spinning to glare at him. "I was three years younger than you 61

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

and a lot less experienced in the ways of the world. What do you think it was like for me?"

"Okay." He lifted a hand to hush her. Glancing toward the hallway, reminding her Cassidy was still just down the hall, he repeated, "Okay," in a calm tone that

made her want to rail at him all that much more. But how could he keep a level head when all she wanted to do was scream, and throw stuff, and cry?

Hissing out a disgusted breath, she spun away and pressed a hand to her thumping heart. Tears threatened, and she gnashed her teeth to keep them away. But damn it. She hadn't let herself cry over Boston Kincaid since—

"So I was a stupid, immature, selfish kid," he revised. "I didn't care about anyone but myself, and I freely admit that. I cannot tell you how sorry I am about how I treated you. I will always regret the things I did and said." He drew out a long, loud sigh. "I mean, God, if I'd known then I'd never feel for a woman the way I felt about—"

Ellie whirled to gape at him at the exact moment he broke off. She gulped when she found an expression of shocked horror on his face as he realized how much he was about to reveal. But that last word of his statement, though never spoken, seemed to hover in the air above them.

---