Made for You (The Best Mistake 2)

He took a deep breath. “Sophie.”

She would kill her sister.

“Well, then she also probably told you about how I…”

“Yeah, yeah, how you were unpopular, and probably a little weird and you had bad skin, bad teeth, a limp, whatever.”

A limp?

“But, Brynn…you’ve got to get over it.”

Hot anger rushed over it. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare tell me how I’m supposed to feel. You don’t know what it was like.”

His face softened slightly. “You’re right, I don’t. And I hate that kids were mean to you. Hate that I was mean to you, even though all I ever wanted was for you to look at me. Bullying is real, and it’s vicious, and I wish like hell that I could go back and beat up anyone who ever made you cry, my past self included. But it was what, fifteen years ago? You’ve got to stop letting it ruin your adult life.”

It was as though his words ripped through her very soul, reaching for its most damaged nerve and searing it.

And in that moment, she really, truly hated him.

Hated even more that there was truth in his statement. Truth she wasn’t ready to deal with.

“Get out,” she said, after several tense moments passed between them.

He closed his eyes briefly. “If I walk out that door, I won’t be coming back, Brynn. Ever.”

Her stomach lurched. Ever? “But…”

He met her eyes. “I can’t do this anymore. You’re killing me from the inside out. You’ll be able to walk away with a tiny little battle wound. But me? I’ll be…”

Will didn’t finish the sentence, but her heart began to pound anyway. “What are you talking about? You can’t do what anymore?”

His face crumpled slightly as he reached out a finger toward her cheek. “Brynny. Do you have any idea what I felt when you showed up on my front porch that night three years ago?”

She tried for a smile to lighten the mood. “Horny?”

He didn’t smile back. “I felt like my entire life was finally about to start.”

Brynn literally felt her heart skip a beat.

“But it was just sex,” she whispered.

He didn’t respond.

“Wasn’t it?” she asked, her voice cracking.

He continued as though he hadn’t heard her. “I waited so long for you to come to me. I was on top of the world. And not even a week later, I find you on a date with some other guy.”

Her mind reeled, remembering. “You came over to return something my mom asked you to drop off, not to see me. And if I remember correctly, you were a total dick. Two days later, you were gone.”

His jaw tightened. “Did you care that I moved?”

No.

Yes.

Yes, I cared.

“I just thought you might have mentioned something that big, even to me,” she said softly.