Page 51 of Never Say Never

“There was an accident, Brandi. But that didn’t keep me too long. I just needed some time to think, so I went for a drive.”

“You lied,” I say, trying to keep my voice level. “I thought I saw you that time—”

“You told me. And I was at work, you also know that.”

It doesn’t even take him a second to think about it. My stomach aches again, deep. “With your ex-wife. You were with someone who looked enough like me it had to be her.”

He doesn’t deny it, just nods and closes his eyes and my world starts to fall apart.

Travis is at my side, his hands on me, gentle, as he steers me to the couch. “It wasn’t me,” he says.

“Liar.”

“No, it wasn’t.” I look up at him but he doesn’t smile and I know there’s more. “I swear to you, it wasn’t me. Please, just sit down before you fall over. You’re swaying on your feet.”

The backs of my legs hit the sofa and I sit heavily, and he comes down next to me, his hands still on me, like he’s afraid I’m going to run away if he lets me go.

Who knows? At this point, I don’t really feel like I have a reason to stay.

“I had to think, because I don’t know what to do, and I don’t want to stress you out any more.” He’s staring at his hands on me, and I can feel electricity dancing between us.

“Why? I’m pretty fuckin’ stressed, Trav.” The words wash through my throat like acid burning away my flesh.

Telling him, admitting that he has the power to hurt me, is more than I want to give him. Especially when he’s lied to me.

“Jessica is back in town, with Tyler. You know he works at the hospital, but she wasn’t here. Now, she is.”

My world shouldn’t be falling apart right now, but it is.

16

TRAVIS

The expressionon her face breaks my heart and sends a wave of savage anger burning in my veins.

It’s my own fault for not talking to her about it earlier. I know that. Just like I should have told her when my mom called about their return. And now…

Now it makes me sound like the worst kind of liar.

A cheat.

All the things I utterly despise.

“She’s here.”

I nod. “Yeah.”

“And you’ve known for a while?”

I reach for her hand but she pulls it away and I bite down on a curse. “It sounds bad, I know. I just didn’t want you stressed out even more than normal.”

They are the wrong words to say. I know that the moment they are out of my mouth. But that is the problem, they are also true. I don’t want her upset. Yes, I have to sort things out and I need to be able to do that on my own, but Brandi upset? No, that is the last thing I want.

“My mom wants me to talk to them together, but… I don’t know.”

She nods, the movement tight and she looks so small and fragile sitting there. “You said you hated the bad blood between you two. That you miss your brother.”

“It’s not that simple.”

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