Her heart sped up. “You have a date lined up for tonight? But we just…”

“Fucked,” he said.

The word had never sounded so harsh. She had thought it was more than that.

“You can’t tell me you didn’t feel something like that. Something real.”

“You’re right,” he said. “And that’s why I’m ending this early. I should have ended it a long time ago.” He shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe we never should have done it at all.”

The weight of Kansas was nowhere near as heavy as his presence. She’d never felt more naïve, more discarded, than she did right then.

He looked at her. Standing tall, fully dressed, and perfectly kempt while she sat naked, a total mess, in a ruffled bed. Her entire chest snapped into two, and she’d never felt so vulnerable, so alone.

She could have sworn a flicker of sadness crossed his face, but it was gone too soon for her to be sure. She had to find some kind of dignity. Even if it was faked.

“You said you should have broken this off sooner? Why didn’t you?”

He shook his head but didn’t speak.

“Because emotions got involved?” she challenged, hoping she sounded angry. “Whose emotions are you referring to?”

“Yours.”

She nodded. “Of course. Because I’m the only one in this, aren’t I? I’m the only one who feels something. Certainly not you.”

“I should have—”

“Don’t! Don’t you dare tell me what you should have done, and don’t do me any favors.”

“It was never my goal to hurt you,” he whispered. “You want something I can’t give.”

“Oh, so you’re sparing my feelings, are you?” She gritted her teeth. “I don’t need your pity.” She was using his words against him, but it didn’t make her feel any better. “You’re a coward,” she said. “You know what you want. She’s standing right in front of you. But you’re too scared to take a chance.”

She stood quickly, yanking on her dress and hating that she likely looked terrible, especially now that the tears were spilling over her lashes.

“Penny—”

“You asked when we started if I was sure I could handle you. You weren’t sure I’d last.”

She waited for him to say something, but when he only gave her silence, she walked past him and to the bedroom door.

With her hand on the knob, she said, “You were wrong about one thing.” She opened the door. “I outlasted you.”

With that, she slammed the door on everything. Sebastian. Their future together. And the stupid idea that they could ever have been more.

Chapter Fourteen

Bass adjusted his tie as he walked into the hotel where Jenna and Colt were holding the rehearsal. Penny’s words had vibrated through his mind since she’d left this morning.

Maybe I am a coward.

What he’d said to her was the hardest thing he’d ever done. And she’d called him on it. Only this time, he didn’t want to fight. He’d made the right choice cutting ties with her before the attachment got even worse, but everything in his gut told him he was wrong.

A feeling that intensified when he saw her walk in with Finn. She looked beautiful. The only flaw he could find was whose arm she was on.

What the fuck was I thinking?

Seeing her, not being able to touch her, claim her, feel her…

Tags: Joya Ryan Chasing Love Erotic
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