Million Dollar Cowboy (Cupid, Texas #5)(60)

Finally, she appeared, her curvy figure silhouetted in the doorway, clutching her high heels in one hand. On silent bare feet she made her way to him, settled in beside him. Close, but not close enough for him to touch her without leaning in. Her shoulders inched up to her ears. 

"Who was the guy who destroyed your self-confidence?" he growled.

"Am I that transparent?" Her voice was weary, sagging with a heavy emotional weight.

He shook his head, smiled softly, held her gaze. "No," he said. "It's just that you're normally so happy that I knew something more had to be behind your edginess when I kissed your scar."

"I didn't mean to be edgy-"

"Hey, I'm not judging you for it. You're entitled to your anger. But it did make me curious. You don't owe me an explanation, Kaia. None at all-I just thought maybe talking about it would help."

She laughed.

"What?"

"Ironic."

"What is?"

She swatted him playfully on the shoulder. "You. The strong, silent type here encouraging me to spill my guts, when your cards are smack up against your chest."

"Ah," he said. "I get it. You want tit for tat. Okay, you tell me your ugly secret and I'll tell you mine."

She crinkled her nose. "Maybe we shouldn't do this."

"Why not?"

"Swapping stories leads to getting to know you better and getting to know you better leads to liking you more and liking you more leads to . . ." She trailed off. "Do you see where I'm headed?"

"Back into my bed?" he asked hopefully.

"You are such a guy," she said, and swatted his shoulder again, but her voice held a teasing note.

"So who was he? The guy who took your joy."

"Don't worry about him. I got my joy back."

"Okay," he said, disappointed she wasn't able to tell him her story, but fully understanding her reluctance to splash in water under an old bridge.

"It's not that I don't want to tell you. I . . . I don't know how to start," she confessed.

"Leave it lie. You're right. Maybe we shouldn't talk about it."

In the silence they heard distant voices, laughter, and a car door slam. Through pursed lips, Kaia hauled in a deep breath and slowly released it. Ridge reached over to take her hand and she did not pull away. He smiled into the darkness.

He gave her space. Letting her get to it in her own time.

"After my accident, I met a guy at the rehab hospital. He was there visiting his father and we had a lot in common. Both came from a family of five kids. Both loved animals. He was charming and I was vulnerable, feeling insecure after my accident . . ." She bit her bottom lip.

He stayed quiet, holding space for her to continue in her own time and way.

"After I got out of the hospital, I still needed a lot of therapy. He was so attentive. He wanted to start dating, but I wasn't in any shape for that. He told me he was happy to just be friends, and I took him at his word." She traced the coffee stain on her dress with her finger.

It was all he could do not to pull her into his lap and kiss her until she forgot everything but the feel of his lips on hers.

"He insisted on driving me to my appointments, and in the beginning it was so nice. He called me several times a day to make sure I was doing okay. I'm not going to lie, I was flattered by his attention and blind to what was behind it. But I wasn't sexually attracted to him and had no desire to take things to that level."

He squeezed her hand. Letting her know she was safe with him. It was the most he could offer her right now.

"Then things started to change. He moved into my apartment complex so he could be near me. If I didn't answer the phone immediately when he called, or I drove myself somewhere, he'd yell at me. Tell me I was still too sick to be going out without him. Honestly, I was flattered that he cared so much." She shook her head. "I was so stupid."



       
         
       
        

"No," he said sharply. "Not stupid at all."

"By the time I realized how possessive he was, and how dependent he'd made me on him, my self-esteem was in the toilet."

Ridge clenched his fist, his teeth, and his anger.

"The more I tried to stretch my wings, the more controlling he became. Then he got verbally abusive-"

"Did he ever hit you?" Ridge growled, anger a black thing in the pit of his stomach.

"No." She shook her head. "Not while I was still friendly with him. When I couldn't take any more of his yelling and cursing at me and I told him I didn't need that kind of negativity in my life, he begged my forgiveness. Said he was just concerned about me, begged me to give him a second chance."