Page 20 of Three Sweet Nothings (The Blindfold Club)

“What do you mean? I loved you.”

Her expression made an emotion flare in me that I refused to acknowledge. “What evidence do you have to prove it?”

Her lush lips parted and her face twisted into a look which announced what I’d demanded wasn’t possible. “How do I prove that I loved you?”

Each time she said it, the words dug deeper into the spot where I’d stored away all my emotions about her. Ruby needed to be careful. I didn’t have as big of a temper as she did, but there was a lot of pain and anger hiding behind my front, and if it cracked, I might say something hurtful. There was no upside. It’d only make us both feel worse.

“Forget it.” I set my empty glass down on the table, no longer interested in the remaining alcohol in the bottle. Champagne had been a terrible choice to dull the senses.

“I don’t want to forget. I mean, for fuck’s sake, we almost had a threesome.”

For once, the steamy hot memory didn’t do anything to warm me, and my voice filled with ice. “Don’t you dare act like I pushed you into that. We both know who instigated it, and besides, all it does is support the argument how I was just a fuck buddy to you.”

“No.” She planted herself before me, defiance etching her face. “No. I loved you. All that shit I said was lies, just a defense mechanism. It fucking destroyed me when you left.”

I closed my eyes and centered myself. She was an attorney, which meant she was smart and skilled enough to know how to persuade. She could shade the words just so, spinning and twisting until things were seen her way.

But I was an attorney, too, which meant I was immune. Clever words or, God forbid, tears, weren’t going to shock me into seeing anything other than the facts.

“You didn’t seem too destroyed later that night,” I said.

Panic visibly poured through her. “What are you talking about?”

“After your voicemail, I lost it. I packed up my shit and drove off because I was so angry. I wasn’t thinking. Hell, I got a speeding ticket in Indiana and almost got arrested when I ran my mouth at the cop.” I’d been lucky to avoid jail. “By the time I hit Pennsylvania, I’d cooled off enough, and I called you to explain what happened. To apologize for leaving.”

Ruby went cold. “You did?”

“I shouldn’t be surprised you don’t remember. You sounded wasted.”

She’d looked scared when I’d mentioned the voicemail, but now she looked terrified. “What happened? What’d I say?”

I felt bad she’d spent the last five years not knowing what happened, but that wasn’t my fault. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It fucking matters, Kyle.”

Anger heated in my veins. “I don’t want to talk about it. It’s done. Let’s just move on.”

Could she see how serious I was? It’d be a waste of time to argue with me, because I would win.

Her expression fell. It appeared she understood, but she didn’t look happy about it one bit. Her gaze went severe, but she bit back her words, and my heartrate ticked up a notch. There was calculation going on behind that gorgeous face of hers. Whatever she throws at you, you can handle it.

“All right,” she said, her tone cool and calm. “What happens now?”

I tried not to mentally stumble over her shift in tactics. “I feel like we owe each other a real goodbye.”

Not the goodbye we’d planned to exchange five years ago, though. I was a lot of things, but not a masochist, and kissing her would only bring pain. I loved my memories of her lips and all the different kisses they’d delivered. Sexy, passionate, sometimes sweet. What if I kissed her now and it didn’t live up to what had grown legendary in my mind? It wasn’t worth the risk.

“Dance with me first.”

I froze. “What?”

“It’s New Year’s Eve. I got all dressed up, and . . .” She appeared to stopped fighting what she wanted to say. “I thought this conversation was going to take place on the ballroom dance floor.”

A calculated move. She looked unbelievable in her dress, which she’d probably worn to distract me, and it was working. She’d caught me staring at her chest more than once, and her satisfaction was evident. Fuck her for flaunting what I couldn’t have. She wanted me to look, so I did.

I glanced out the window, staring at the skyline. It had begun to snow, and fat snowflakes wafted downward. The only light in the room came from the shimmering pool, so the view was even better without our bright reflections competing against it. We were only two muted shapes in the glass.

“There’s no music.”

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