Needing You Close (Ex-Con Duet 2)

“You’re pretty rude for not telling me the truth about you and Ruby,” I reiterate.

“You should’ve asked if you weren’t sure.” We walk to the living room and sit on the couch.

“It wasn’t my business to ask or get involved,” I admit with a shrug. “But it wasn’t that hard to assume when I saw her in here wearing only a towel.”

“We took separate showers after working out together,” he explains with a shit-eating grin. “I obviously didn’t know you were gonna show up, but it was adorable to watch you get jealous,” he mocks.

“Jealous?” I squeal as my internal temperature rises.

“Yep, I think that’s what we call it these days. You thought we were sleeping together, and it bothered you.” He flashes me a sexy smirk, and I groan that he could see that.

“Guess I’m more transparent than I thought.” There’s no denying how it made me feel when I saw Tyler with her. Even if I was engaged at the time, it didn’t make seeing the first man I ever loved be happy with someone else any easier. Hopefully, we’ll be able to put all of this behind us and laugh about it in the future. Or he and Everleigh will rag me for eternity over it.

“Gemma.” Tyler’s voice lowers and sounds huskier as soon as the shower comes on. “That night at your cottage—”

I wasn’t prepared to talk about this right now and not sure I want to either. “I don’t think Robert knows what happened between us.”

He flashes me a pearly side smile. “I don’t give a fuck if he does. However, I need to clear the air about some things I said afterward that weren’t true, like how it meant nothing to me.”

I swallow hard as my heart races, and the blood drains from my face. Admittedly, that hurt when he said those words to me. “Why’d you lie?”

“I needed to keep you away. Though I didn’t want to, I told myself I had to come to terms with you getting married to someone else. So my only option was to ignore you and keep my distance. It’s why I got a job at the gym and filled my nights with other things to do besides dwell on what it felt like to kiss you again. It’s another reason I was okay with you believing Ruby and I were dating. It was to protect my heart, Gemma. And to protect yours too.”

My words are lodged in my throat, and I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out. The air between us is hot, and I’m ready to combust at his admissions. I suck in a deep breath, needing to say something as he stares at me.

“I guess that makes sense. The only reason I said it was a mistake is because I’m not the type of woman who cheats. I’m faithful. Until you came back, I thought I was in love with Robert. Seeing you again peeled back the layers of the fake relationship I had built up in my head, and it exposed too many ugly truths. I was literally having an existential crisis. But the chili was great,” I say, trying to lighten the mood.

He laughs. “I was gonna ask you about that actually.”

“I would’ve brought some leftovers for you the next day, but I thought it’d be awkward, so I happily ate the entire pot by myself.” While pathetically crying and rereading his letters.

He’s full on laughing. “At least that night wasn’t an entire waste.”

I smile and squeeze my legs together, trying to push away the thoughts of straddling him again. It’s almost as if he can read my mind because he adjusts himself. The water turns off, and our private time is about to be over. I still haven’t told Everleigh about that night, and I’m sure Tyler hasn’t said a word about it either. It’s something I’d like to keep between us for now.

“So when are you gonna drop the bomb on your dad?” he asks.

“I’m not sure. His disappointment might kill me, though. I need to do it soon before he hears about it from someone else. If I’m gonna spread the news that we broke up, then he needs to hear it from me,” I explain.

Tyler glances down at my ring finger. “You can start by not wearing that anymore.”

I groan at the sight of it, forgetting I even had it on. “You’re right. I need to give it back to him. And I should text Winnie before it gets too late.” I pull my phone from my pocket and notice my hand is shaking as I type up the message.

“I’m sorry you’re having to deal with this,” Tyler says, offering a smile.

“Me too!” Everleigh shouts from the hallway before she comes into view with Sassy on her heels.