“I told you. I missed you.”
“That’s crap. You just admitted you don’t love me. You just wanted to see what was going on. You want to control me.”
The man was a control freak in his business. Clearly he was also a control freak in his personal life. How had she gotten involved with him?
Unfortunately, she knew the answer to that question.
Money.
Sydney and her parents were carrying some major debt. Rod had been her savior. But right now, money didn’t matter to her. She wanted out.
“I think you’ll change your mind. But for now, if we’re no longer to be married, I guess I don’t have to worry about controlling you.”
“That’s right. Now get the hell out of here.” She pushed him out the door and slammed it shut.
Rod’s words stung because they were mean, but not because they’d come from him. That realization made her even more comfortable with her decision to break it off. She hadn’t wanted to hurt him, and she hadn’t. For that, she was glad.
Now, what to do about Sam?
She couldn’t have a life with him. That was out of the question. But she didn’t want to hurt him. She didn't want to hurt anyone, but especially not Sam.
She wanted him to know that last night had meant something to her. That their time five years ago had meant something.
That she’d never forgotten him, and she never would.
How, though, could she convey that while also telling him she couldn’t see him again?
* * *
How could he have misjudged her?
Sam raked his fingers through his disheveled hair. He needed a shower. He drove up to his small guest house on Zach and Dusty's ranch and took refuge inside.
He inhaled. Pears. Musk. Sex. He could still smell her. Yep, he definitely needed that shower. And it needed to be a cold one. Even now, his cock still throbbed for her.
As the lukewarm water streamed over his tired body, images of Sydney’s dark, brooding eyes haunted him. She’d been acting strange yesterday, no doubt. Yet after they’d made love, he’d been sure he imagined it.
No such luck.
The woman was like a disease. She got into his body and wreaked havoc.
The sex had been amazing, though. He connected with her on a level unknown to him with any other woman.
He was tired of trying to replicate the feelings he’d had when he was with Sydney. He’d tried for five years, to no avail. He was done trying.
Sam O’Donovan would live out his life as a bachelor. Yes, he’d always wanted to be a father, but he could still be a father figure. He didn’t need his own kids. He’d dote on Seanie and his cousins on Zach’s side. Dallas and Annie had four adorable kids, and Chad and Catie had a beautiful little girl named Violet. They all loved their Uncle Sam. Or Uncle Sammy, as Dallas’s girls, Sylvie and Laurie, called him.
In a flash, an image of a smiling little boy with sandy brown hair and dark brooding eyes soared into his mind.
His son with the woman he loved.
Loved?
Make that the woman he’d never have.
The child he’d never have.
He let grief consume him for only a few moments. Then he washed his hair, stepped out of the shower, and dried off.