Sitting up, I face him. It’s difficult to see his expression in the darkness, but I don’t mind because I won’t see the anger on his face when he realizes how deceitful I was being with him. “I’m fine,” I murmur, turning my face to kiss his palm as he places his hand on the side of my cheek.
“Dixon told me that my fucking agent went to see you at the spa.”
I nod.
“What happened?”
“I need to tell you everything, not just what happened today.” I feel his body stiffening next to me. “When I won the competition, I really wanted to meet you.”
I see the gleam of his teeth as he grins. “Of course, you did, or you wouldn’t have entered the competition.”
I shake my head, hoping that that was the truth.
“Yes, but not because of what you think.” The knot in my stomach is making me feel sick at what I have to tell him. “I went there to expose you to the media.” He leans back slightly, giving me the idea that he’s trying to see my expression, and then I remember that he’s a shifter, so he’s more than likely seeing me as clear as day, while I can hardly see him at all.
“Explain.” His tone is tense, which gives me a foreboding feeling. I really hope he understands where my mindset was at the time, even though I have just met Blue, I don’t want to lose him. I have never felt so right, like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be in life. I know that’s why I’m so scared that he won’t understand and leave.
“I thought you were responsible for what happened to Lee Ann. I thought that you had no values, and that you were the one that hurt her.”
He stands and starts to pace the length of the room.
“I’m sorry.”
“What was it that you thought I did?” His tone is low—intense, I can hear the anger vibrating in the timbre of his voice.
“About a year ago, Lee Ann met someone, someone who she got involved with. I thought that someone was you because it was at your show that she first met him. She always used to talk about you, but it wasn’t until the night that I went to your show and met you, that I got back home and I found out the man she was with was not you.”
“But if you only found out after getting home, how were you going to expose me? You had the opportunity when we were in front of the journalists.” He stops; his hands are on his hips as he stands, looking down at me.
“I couldn’t go through with it. I wanted to, but when I met you, I couldn’t do it.”
“Why?”
“You weren’t what I expected. You were so kind to Denise, so gentle, the complete opposite of the dastardly man I pictured in my head. I knew then that I couldn’t go through with it.” A tear slides down my cheek, more than anything I want him to understand. I want him to know that I was wrong, and I know that now.
“How did Jim find out that was your intention?” I frown at his question.
“Jim didn’t find out. He only realized who I was when he saw Lee Ann today with me.”
He takes a step closer and leans down so his face is closer to mine. “So, why did he come looking for you?” His anger is palpable, his tone a warning of his fury.
“He wanted me to stop seeing you. He offered me a lot of money to not see you again.” I shrug as I throw my legs over the edge of the bed and lean forward to turn on the side lamp. It’s easier to hide from his anger, but I need to face it head on and hope that he forgives me. “I’m sorry,” I say as I face him. “I’m sorry that I wanted revenge for my sister and to destroy your life.”
“What happened to your sister?” I don’t talk about what happened to Lee Ann because it isn’t my story to tell, but I owe Blue. He needs to know why I was going to do what I was.
“You would never see it now, but Lee Ann was a happy-go-lucky kind of girl.” I think back to my sister and how she used to live life with an exuberance that used to lighten a room when she walked in. “When she started to date the guy from the show, she was innocent—innocent enough to think that he cared about her.” Sighing, I look down, trying to keep the tears back. When I think of the despair that she went through, my heart bleeds for her.
“They saw each other for a couple of months, but then she suspected him of cheating and went to confront him, only to be told that she was one of many, a pastime at best.” I look up at Blue again to be caught in his intense blue gaze. “That brought her down, but that was nothing like when she found out that she was pregnant.”
Blue’s eyebrows rise in surprise. “She had a baby?”
“No, she went to tell the father that she was pregnant, but he told her he didn’t care and that she should get rid of it.”
“Motherfucker.” The word is wrought with anger.
“That evening she miscarried.”
I hear Blue’s surprised intake of air before I continue. “She became depressed to the point where she tried to take her own life.” I shake my head. “I felt powerless, I help people every day but my sister I couldn’t help.”