“The other guy?” I tilt my head to get a better angle of his eye. “What did you do to him?”
“I broke his nose in high school. “He flashes me a smile. “It’s still as crooked as the day it happened.”
My brow furrows. “What?”
“You’ve seen the other guy, Champ. You’ve seen what I did to his nose.”
I slowly piece that together. “You’re talking about Dagen, aren’t you? You’re the guy who broke his nose.”
“Guilty as charged.” He takes a step closer to me. “I went to drop off a pen for Leon this afternoon. I ran into Hillstead in the lobby. He ran his fist into my face, and we ended up at the police station.”
* * *
I placea small bag of frozen peas against Sean’s eye. “Does this hurt?”
“Damn right it does,” he says, tossing his head back until it’s resting on the back of the couch. “I’m sorry I didn’t respond to your messages. I didn’t notice them until I walked out of the police station. I wanted to have this conversation in person.”
This conversation.
I’ve been hiding my secret for so long that I’ve never considered having a conversation about it with anyone, especially not the man I’ve fallen in love with.
“When I saw the picture in your office yesterday, I realized there was a good chance that you knew Dagen,” I confess. “I had no idea that you were the guy who broke his nose.”
He glances at me with his uninjured eye. “He deserved it.”
I nod. “I’m not surprised.”
I don’t know how to explain how I got so involved with Dagen Hillstead that I was on the cusp of marrying him. It wasn’t a whirlwind romance. He didn’t sweep me off my feet. Our connection built slowly after he stopped at Tin Anchor one night. He came back repeatedly before I agreed to go out with him.
I believed I was in love with him, but what I felt for him can’t compare to what I feel for Sean.
“He deserves worse for what he’s put you through. He told me everything, Champ. I know what the bastard is holding over you.”
Tears well in my eyes. I hang my head to shield them from him. “I’m so ashamed.”
“For what?” The words leave him in a rush. “For trusting a man who claimed to love you? For believing that he wanted what was best for you?”
I look into his face. “For letting my guard down.”
He tosses the peas onto the coffee table before moving closer to me. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. You have worked so damn hard to get out from underneath this burden. I can’t tell you how badly I want to fix this for you.”
“I have to fix it.” I calm him with a hand on his knee. “It’s important to me that I fix it. I have to see this through to the end.”
“I know.” He scoops my hand into his to press a kiss on my palm.
“You said that he told you everything,” I whisper. “But that’s coming from Dagen’s point of view. Can I tell you everything from my point of view?”
He turns so he’s facing me head-on. “Tell me, Calliope. Tell me how you ended up owing Dagen Hillstead more than forty thousand dollars.”
“It’s not that amount anymore. I’ve chipped away at it since we broke up.”
“By working at Tin Anchor?” he asks. “By working two jobs?”
“Yes.” I breathe in a heavy sigh. “And by packing my lunch for work. By shopping at vintage shops and by selling things.”
“Like your camera?”
I glance at the new camera on the foyer table. “Yes. I sold it and gave that money to him.”