Page 10 of Mine to Protect

He opened his mouth to remind her that she had his phone number and could have called him, too, but playing that game was childish and immature.

“I’m not hurt or angry. And if I’m being totally honest with you, when I went back to Jacksonville, I was hyper-focused on my brother. So, you not calling wasn’t the end of the world.”

Ouch. That hurt.

“But at the time, it would have been nice, considering we shared an intense three weeks.”

It was impossible to keep from smiling as his mind tumbled back to five years ago and that bungalow in Key West.

“Confession time,” he said. No way could he tell her that he’d fallen head over heels for her and that not a day passed where he didn’t think about her and wonder what she was doing or if she had a boyfriend. If she was married. He quickly stole a glance at her ring finger.

No ring.

His heart pulsed a few extra beats.

He cleared his throat. This was not the time or place. Right now, he could give her some insight into his life when they met, and then he’d help her find her brother. Anything else would have to wait. “I wasn’t totally upfront with you about why I was in Key West.”

“You weren’t there working a case?”

“I was, but I was also trying to get over a woman. Someone I’d been in love with, and I needed a distraction.”

“Oh, really?” She lifted her paper cup and slurped from her straw. “So, you were using me.”

He groaned. “That didn’t come out right.”

She laughed. “I think it’s safe to say that we used each other. I dropped my brother off at a rehab facility and drove south with no real destination in mind. You provided me with a way to keep my mind off what he was going through. But, like I said, it would have been nice to hear from you.”

“Communication works two ways, and you had my number, as well.” He cringed. If he’d learned anything from any of his brothers and their relationships, it should have been that pushing a woman’s buttons was the fastest way to get a palm across the cheek. “You could have reached out.” Apparently, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut, though.

“I suppose I could have,” she agreed. “Tell me about this chick you were getting over. Did it work, or are you back together?”

“The weekend I met you was the weekend she got married. We’d been on and off for so long that I kept thinking she would dump her fiancé. That never happened, and I was licking my wounds because I knew it was finally over.”

“I’m sorry she broke your heart, but that doesn’t answer why you never called me,” Shelby said.

“I’m getting there.”

She laughed. “You’re taking the long way.”

He generally didn’t beat around the bush. He was known for getting to the point unless he was actively avoiding something. He didn’t want to think about what he was circumventing at the moment because while his feelings for Shelby weren’t as raw as they had been with Krista—in part because he’d kept them to himself—Shelby had no idea how he felt.

Krista did.

And Krista had sworn she felt the same way. Yet she’d married someone else.

Although that wasn’t the point. He needed to find a way to explain and apologize but not put everything out there.

“I want you to know it had nothing to do with you. I was in a bad personal space and had a lot of soul searching to do. It’s taken me a long time to figure out who I am without Krista, and as much as I wanted to call you, I needed to learn to be alone.”

“That’s the girl you were getting over?”

He nodded. “It was an unhealthy relationship, and I had a destructive attachment to her. I couldn’t be with anyone until I was good with being in my own skin.”

“And how’s that working out for you?”

He chuckled. “Pretty damn good.” If she only knew how hard it was to sit across from her and not lean over, take her chin between his thumb and forefinger, and kiss the hell out of those pouty lips. Or how often he’d been with someone else and Shelby’s face would pop into his mind.

It had been unfair to every woman he’d ever dated, which was why he preferred to immerse himself in work and have meaningless encounters with women who only wanted one thing from him.

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