“Wow, that came out of nowhere.” She tugged the hem of my shirt down, shifting from one foot to the other. She was nervous. It put me on edge.
“Just answer the question.” I gritted my teeth.
“No. I cared about Dane. I cared a lot about him until he started treating me like crap and cheated.”
“Really? Have you been in love before?”
Her eyes darted around the room. She still hadn’t moved closer to me. Why was she acting nervous?
“Yes.”
Fuck. Not what I wanted to hear.
“Have you? Been in love with someone?”
“No. Never.”
“Then what was Carla to you?” Her arms wrapped around her stomach like she was protecting herself from me. My damn chest ached somethin’ fierce. I couldn’t handle it if she pulled away from me.
I leveled my gaze on hers, so she’d know I was serious. “An easy, familiar fuck. Nothing else.” I watched her fidget with her fingers a moment. “Do you still love him?”
She inhaled a breath and looked off to the side.
“Look at me, Angel. I need to see your eyes.”
“What attracted you to Carla? How long were you with her?”
“I wasn’t with her,” I snapped harsher than I meant to. “I fucked her, or she sucked me off when I needed it. A year maybe. Before her and after, it was just random kittens, none of which are still around.”
“But you kept Carla around.”
“I shouldn’t have. She’s getting difficult. Possessive.”
“Well yeah, she’s possessive. Anyone can see she cares about you. She probably loves you. She wants to claw my eyes out, if you hadn’t noticed.”
“I noticed. Carla won’t touch you, though. You handled her well.”
“I didn’t handle her, but I will if needed.”
“I believe you could. Tell me abouthim.” Her hesitancy was scaring the shit out of me. I already hated this guy.
“There’s not much to tell. He was my brother’s best friend, kind of like part of the family and a lot older than me. It’d never happen between us. I’m sure he never thought of me beyond his friend’s kid sister. But he was more to me.” She came to me and dropped onto her knees between my legs.
We stared into each other’s eyes for several seconds. I wanted to hear more. I wanted to know what was so special about this guy who’d won her heart. I worried he might still own it.
“What else? Do you still love him?”
“I don’t know if you ever stop loving a fantasy. He was my dream guy. Kind of like a celebrity.”
“Except he was in your life for real. Like part of the family, you said.”
“Yes. And I haven’t seen him in over a decade. He moved away when I was young. Haven’t seen him since. But a little girl’s dreams can live on for a long time, y’know.” She shrugged a shoulder, but there was sadness in her eyes, dulling their brightness, and it gutted me.
“You still love him.”
She sighed but didn’t deny it. This fuckin’ conversation was pissing me the hell off.
“Did he keep you from loving Dane?” Shit, I really hated this dream guy. The thing about a fantasy, it was perfect and couldn’t be destroyed. I wanted more than anything to knock this guy off the pedestal Madeline had him on.