She leaned back on the sofa. “And there’s the fact that you walked out on me.”
He crossed his arms. “I told you why.”
“Yeah, you didn’t like the idea of living together. You weren’t ready to make a commitment.”
“That’s not exactly how I would put it.”
She glanced at the framed print and then returned her attention on him. “Did you run away from home?”
“No, I stayed.” Until he was driven out. Until it was made very clear that his parents did not love him. That no one could love him. “That’s when I learned to rely on no one. I had to stand on my own if I wanted to survive.”
“That’s a very bleak outlook on life.”
“It is, but I managed to do that for a long time.” He had survived. Thrived. For a time he had convinced himself that he wasn’t missing out. “And then I met you.”
She winced and covered her face with her hands. “I scared you off. I knew it.”
“Not in the way you think. You made me believe I could be someone different. Someone better. But I can’t.”
Angie leaned forward and rested her arms on her knees. “Cole, I don’t want you to be different.”
“You say that now. If we had lived together, you would have kicked me out within a month.” Probably sooner, he decided. She would have been under no obligation to stick around.
“Ah.”
Cole scowled at her. “I hate when you do that.” It meant she had figured out something he rather would have had kept safely hidden.
“That’s why you ended our relationship. It wasn’t because I was unladylike and too aggressive in bed. It was because I was getting too close.”
“Aggressive?” He didn’t know if he would call it that.
“You weren’t comfortable with me seeing the real you. All of you. Well, guess what, Cole. It wasn’t easy for me to bare it all with you.”
“Get back to that aggressive-in-bed part.”
“Oh, please. What was I supposed to think? We had talked about moving in once and it was maybe a month before you ended things. But two weeks before you left, I had become a little...” She waved her hand as if she were trying to find the right word.
“Demanding?” he said, remembering one intense night they had shared. “Passionate? Strong? Confident? Take your pick.”
“Pushy,” she said. “I know guys don’t like that much of a challenge in bed and I thought I scared you off.”
“Angie, I never had a problem with that. You know what you want and you’re not afraid to go after it. That’s kind of hot.”
“Right,” she said with a twist of her lips. “It’s so hot that you had to be in charge last night.”
“I wanted to show you how much I missed you. How much I still wanted you. I didn’t want there to be any question about that.” And he had made the wrong move. Instead of showing how he felt, he managed to raise more questions. “Next time you make the first move.”
She scoffed at his suggestion but he saw the flare of interest in her eyes. “Like that’s going to happen.”
“Don’t deny it,” he said with a knowing smile. He thought of Angie’s warmth and affection. “Last night you proved that you want me as much as I want you. You can’t keep your hands off me and I don’t see why I can’t encourage it.”
She raised an eyebrow. “What happened to my making the first move?”
He wasn’t that patient. He had one night with Angie and he wanted more. He wanted it all. “I never said I was going to be a gentleman about it.”
“I should have known,” Angie said with a small smile as she rose from the sofa. “In that case, I should leave and remove the temptation.”
“Leave?” How could he have gotten this all wrong? “I don’t understand.”
“I need to meet with Brittany,” she said as she headed for the door.
“That’s not it. You’re making excuses.” Cole tried to hide the frustration from his voice. “Why don’t you want to make the first move?”
“Because no matter how good we are together, nothing has changed,” she said. Angie averted her gaze as she walked away. “History will repeat itself and I can’t go through that again.”
* * *
ANGIE LOOKED AROUND the nail salon Brittany had reserved exclusively for her bridal party. Everything was sleek, modern and blindingly white, from the walls, chairs and tables to the nail technician’s uniforms. This was a side of Seattle she didn’t know. Located downtown between the famous designer stores and small expensive restaurants, Angie felt on edge.