For The One(5)

I slipped inside and pulled off my medieval garb—my laced outer corset, frilly blouse and two layers of brightly colored skirts. I was ready to transform back into a woman of the twenty-first century, and I was doing it fast, before the tent’s other occupant arrived.

In fact, I’d just pulled on my jeans and buttoned them up when Doug entered the tent. He’d already removed his armor and the padding that went underneath it. Like most of the group’s warriors, he wore period-authentic under-armor garments. And under all of the items he had been wearing, he appeared small, sweaty…sapped.

I gave him a tight smile as I bent to shove my stuff into my bag. “Congratulations on the win! That was an exciting fight.”

Doug’s eyes narrowed. “That was an annoying fight. That idiot has been working out. And training. He got a lot better practically overnight. Who the hell does that besides Captain America?”

“It wasn’t exactly overnight. He’s had months to work on it,” I said in a mild voice to calm his ruffled feathers, in spite of my resentment at the ‘idiot’ remark. The mellower he was, the better this would go for me. “You were more than prepared. You won, after all.”

“It was a technicality. I didn’t really win. It was close. Too close for my comfort. And he took some cheap shots.”

“I’m sure he didn’t mean to hurt you. He seemed on edge.”

“Yeah, I figured that out after the first bout. He’s such a moron that he admitted to me that the crowd freaks him out. Naturally, I used that to my advantage.”

My throat burned with bile. “Speaking of cheap shots…”

His eyes widened. “Hey, I followed the rules. He broke them. I won fair and square.”

“On a technicality.”

His face darkened and he pulled off his sweaty shirt, wiping his face with it. “Whatever.” Shit. My mouth had gotten ahead of me and now he was annoyed. Stupid move, Jenna.

I buckled up my satchel. I’d been prepared to flee after the fight, so I was pretty much ready to go. All I had to do now was deliver the speech.

No big deal. I’d done this before…just change the specifics and convey the generic message I’d resorted to in the past.

“So, Doug…we need to talk, and I figure now is as good a time as any.”

He dropped his shirt and looked at me. “That sounds kind of serious.”

“Well, you know that I’m getting ready to travel with the Renaissance Faire when it starts up for the season. I thought…I thought it would be best if—”

He held out a hand to cut me off, green eyes glittering. “Wait…what? You aren’t breaking up with me, are you?”

I hesitated, watching him.

His hand fell back to his side, tightening into a fist. “I can’t believe this! I just won that duel. I was going to convince you not to leave with the Faire people. To stay with me.”

I set my jaw. “Oh? And how were you going to do that?”

He started counting on his fingers. “I’ve helped you out a lot, Jen. Even when you didn’t know I was. Every time we went out together, I’ve paid for everything. I’ve bought you stuff—”

Gross. I wasn’t feeling so bad about doing this now. “Stop right there, okay? You can’t buy me, and you can’t convince me to do something by using your money.”

He smirked. “Oh really? So I guess you wouldn’t care if, say, I bought back a certain little bauble that you so callously hocked and decided to keep it instead of giving it to you as something nice that—you know—a boyfriend would do?”

My insides froze. The tiara? What the hell? He bought out my loan? Doug, as he was often quick to remind me, had a fantastic, secure job as an engineer and more money than he knew what to do with. Could he be telling the truth about this? And would he have the balls to hold the tiara over my head even if he had bought it back?

“You’d better be joking, and if you are, that’s a goddamn awful joke.”

He shook his head. “Not joking. I was going to give it to you tonight at dinner to celebrate my victory.” He turned away from me to grab a towel. “But now I’m not so inclined.”

Shock yanked the breath from my lungs and my blood roared in my ears. My fists tightened. “I want it back.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have hocked it to Tim.”

Doug’s uncaring words stabbed my heart. His judgment had been silent but obvious when he’d driven me to an acquaintance’s shop. It was always easy to judge someone else’s desperate measures where money was concerned when you had more than you needed yourself.