Blind Love (Cowboys & Angels 5)

So. I did. In Spanish. I blurted out how much it had hurt to hear him with his girlfriend. And how I didn’t think my heart could possibly hurt anymore, but walking back into his office had nearly destroyed me. How I wanted to scream his name out as he made me come over and over again. Damn him.

He sat there, watching me as I yelled in a language he didn’t know. A few times his body jerked, as if he knew the words I was screaming out to him. For a brief moment I pondered if he might have learned Spanish. My voice raised a few times…catching him off guard. When I had mentioned him making me come, I thought his eyes turned dark. But I knew I was only dreaming it.

I finished and dropped my face into my hands. I was emotionally exhausted.

With a knowing look, he simply said, “Please, Harley. I want to help you.”

I scoffed. I felt like I was defeated in more ways than one. “Tripp, please. You’ve avoided me for years, no matter how many times I begged you to talk to me. Why I thought you would help me with a legal problem is beyond me. I panicked and you were the first person I thought to go to.”

He smiled.

Ugh. He actually had the nerve to smile.

“That’s because I’m the best lawyer in Oak Springs.”

Sitting back in my chair, I lifted a brow in contempt. “You’re the only lawyer in Oak Springs, Tripp. Sort of like me saying I’m the best vet in Oak Springs. It’s an esteemed honor, to say the least.”

His head tossed back as he let out sexy-as-hell laugh.

“I wish that were true, Harley. There are three other lawyers in town.”

Well…that was an interesting bit of information.

“That’s good to know,” I said. Crossing my arms over my chest, I watched as his gaze fell to my chest, then rose back up to my eyes. “I’ll be sure to look them up and reach out to them.”

The small chuckle that came out of his mouth was clearly a sign that he was not happy.

“That’s how you want to do this, then?”

Swallowing hard, I started wringing my hands. I wanted to cry out that, no, this wasn’t how I wanted to do this. I wanted to beg him to forgive me for walking away all those years ago. Tell him the truth about how I’ve been miserable ever since.

But I didn’t. I simply nodded.

Tripp nodded and stood. “Fine. Then I would contact Pete London. He’s a good lawyer.”

My heart dropped to the ground. He was giving up just like that. My chin trembled, and I felt the tears threatening to spill out. I wasn’t sure if he noticed my reaction; he didn’t falter at all.

“Good luck, Harley.”

I tried to respond, but I couldn’t. He started for the door, and I jumped up. Ready to spill the truth from my lips.

He opened the door and walked out, softly closing it behind him.

He left.

Sinking back into the chair, I covered my mouth to keep the sob in that wanted to bust free.

He left.

He truly doesn’t have any feelings for me at all.

With a spin of my chair, I turned and stared out the window.

I should never have come back to Oak Springs. It didn’t take very long for the tears to slip out and trail down my cheeks. Closing my eyes, I dropped my head against my chair and cried.

I cried so hard, the only thing I could hear was my heart pounding in my ears.

“Harley?”

Jumping up, I tripped over the chair and fell flat on my ass.

The pain in my lower back nearly made me sick to my stomach as I attempted to get up off the floor.

“Christ! Are you okay?”

Tripp lifted me up, and my head started to spin. My sadness mixed with the pain—and the excitement that came with him touching me. My world felt like it was tilting over, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. All the strength I’d used over the years to keep moving on was quickly fading away.

“I’m…fine. I’m f-fine,” I said between sobs.

“You’re not fine. Please tell me why you’re crying, Lee.”

His pet name for me nearly had me falling back to the floor. I hadn’t heard it in years and all the memories of us came flooding in.

My eyes lifted to his beautiful baby blues. I’d forgotten how blue they were. They reminded me of a summer sky after a heavy rain when everything gets washed away and you’re left with nothing but a crystal clear day.

“I never cheated on you. There was never another guy,” I blurted out. The moment the words left my lips, I wished I could take them back.

His grip on my arms got tighter.

“What?”

I closed my eyes for a brief second. “I didn’t want to tell you like this, Tripp. I’ve tried so many times to tell you the truth, but you’ve been pushing me away.”