That was the final nail. Just because he wanted to be unbroken didn’t make it so. Why hadn’t he kept his mouth shut and his curtain closed? He couldn’t continue this charade, as though there was a future for them.
For once, he’d thought about trying. That’s why he’d shared the truth with her. That’s why he’d gotten out of the car.
He shouldn’t have. And he had a hundred reasons why he should walk out right now before it was too late. He wasn’t cut out for this, for relationships. He had to get out now, before he hurt her even more later.
Ruthlessly, he shut off everything inside, especially the part that had started to believe.
“Why do you sound so stunned?” he said instead of answering her question as he scrambled for a way to let her down easy. “This is your area of expertise. Didn’t you set out to change my mind about love?”
“I’m not that good,” she blurted out and bit her lip.
“Of course you are. The couples you matched think you’re every bit the magical fairy godmother you claimed. Take credit where credit is due.”
A grin spilled onto her face. “Does that mean I won the wager?”
His chest had the weight of a skyscraper on it and all Elise could think about was the wager? “The wager is over.”
“Sorry.” Her confusion wrapped around him, increasing the tension unbearably. “What about marriage? Are you on board with that, too?”
The longer he dragged this out, the more hope she’d gather. Heart bleeding, he shrugged and looked away. “Maybe someday. With the right woman.”
“Wait a minute.” Unease flitting over her face, she sat up, clutching the covers to her bare breasts. “I thought you were talking about having a relationship with me.”
Carefully, he composed his expression as if this was no more than a negotiation gone wrong and both parties just needed to walk away amicably.
It nearly killed him.
“Come on, Elise. You and I both know we won’t work. I got out of the car because I knew I was missing something and I needed you to tell me what. So thanks. I’m good.”
She wasn’t buying it. Elise was far too sharp to be put off by half truths. That’s why it never paid to let anyone behind the curtain.
“Dax, we have something good. Don’t you want to see if we work before giving up?”
Her warm hand on his arm shouldn’t have felt so right, as though his skin had been crafted specifically for her touch.
“It doesn’t matter what I want. I can’t make long-term promises. To anyone,” he stressed. “I’m all about keeping my word because my mother didn’t. I can’t stand the thought of caring about someone and then figuring out I don’t have what it takes to stick around.”
Nothing like the whole truth to make the point. She needed to understand that this was for her own good, so she could move on and find her Mr. Forever, and he could go back to his empty loft.
“But you can make promises to me because I’m your soul mate.”
The soft whisper penetrated his misery. “What did you say?”
“I’m your soul mate. Your perfect woman. The computer matched us.”
Something dark whirled through his chest, squeezing it even tighter, pushing air from his lungs. “That’s not true. It matched me with Candy.”
She shook her head. “My name came up first. But I thought I’d made a mistake due to the unorthodox profile sessions. So I messed around with the responses until Candy’s name came up instead.”
Blood rushed to his head and the back of his neck heated. “You did what?”
“It was the ethical thing to do. I thought I’d compromised the results because of how I felt about you.”
Ethical. He’d been told Candy was his soul mate and therefore he’d believed Elise was meant for someone else. But it had never felt right, never fit...because he’d thought he was the problem.
Instead, it was all a lie.
Letting him think he couldn’t do happily ever after, letting him think he was broken—that was her definition of ethical?
“Let me get this straight.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and reeled his temper back. “You had such deep feelings for me it compelled you to match me with someone who isn’t my soul mate?”
“I hoped you’d hit it off. Because I do want you to be happy. Candy just wasn’t right for you.”
“And who is, you?”
The question was delivered so scathingly, she flinched and didn’t respond. Fortunately. His mood had degenerated to the point where he was genuinely afraid of what he might say.