I held up my hand. “It’s a fair question, considering my background, but no,” I said through gritted teeth, “I would never do that. I am a one-woman kind of man.”
“One woman being me…or that other girl Marc mentioned?”
“The woman he was talking about is my ex-wife, Vanessa.”
“Okay. So, you’ve been married,” she said. “I don’t follow the Wright family drama.”
“Any of it?” I asked with raised eyebrows.
“Nope. Kind of swore off the whole bunch. Are you still in love with her? Is that it?”
“No. Vanessa is not the woman for me. If she were, I never would have divorced her.”
“Okay.”
I reached out and cupped her cheeks. I hated this far-away, distant look on her face. The one that she used when she was bracing herself. The last thing I wanted was for her to be afraid of me. Afraid of what I would do to her. I would never be Mitch. That fucking bastard. I would never hurt her like that.
“Emery, I want you and only you. I would never cheat on you. Never, ever.”
“How could you know that?”
I hated seeing her so hurt and vulnerable. Seeing what Mitch had done to her. But, at the same time, I was glad she was showing those vulnerabilities to me so that I could prove to her how I felt.
“Because Vanessa cheated on me, and I divorced her for it.”
And that wasn’t even the half of it.
Emery made a small, almost inaudible gasp. “Oh God.”
“It was nasty, and I’d never put another human being through something like that.”
“It feels insurmountable.”
“It was,” I admitted. “And I’m not perfect by any means, Emery. I have trust issues. After what Vanessa did, I never thought that I would be open to another person again, but you’re different. I want to open up to you. It’s all going to take time.”
“No,” she said, waving her hand. “I was just cheated on. I’m the one with major trust issues. I just freaked out, and then Marc—”
“Marc is a jackass.”
“I’ve realized.”
“Look, I don’t want you to doubt me. This is the reason I reacted the way I did the first night we were together. I have enough baggage as it is. Though I may not be a hundred percent since the divorce, I know that I’m better when I’m with you. You make me a better man.”
She beamed. The tension and chaos of that brief interaction with Marc Tarman evaporated. Just like that, she was my Emery again. And I knew, right then and there…I was lost.
Twenty-One
Emery
I braced myself for impact and followed Jensen through the restaurant.
What he had revealed about his past explained so much about his behavior. It was as if I had been chipping away at the ice and I was finally finding the man beneath. When I’d decided to hate all the Wrights a long time ago, I had never once imagined that there would be so much more to who Jensen was or that he had been hurt like I had. He was so charming and gorgeous and everything.
How could someone do something like that to him?
And why did he even bother with Marc? Why go to dinner with someone he thought was a jackass and after just buying his corporation?
Seemed insane to me, but I wouldn’t abandon Jensen, leaving him to deal with Marc alone.
“Sorry about that,” I said when I took my seat.
“Of course,” Marc said, staring at me with his all-knowing sharp gaze. “I took the liberty of ordering you a vodka tonic. You do like vodka tonics, don’t you?”
His eyes slipped to Jensen’s, and I noticed the slight tension in his jaw. This was going to be a problem.
“I’m more of a champagne drinker myself.” I shrugged. “Or tequila shots. Whatever you’re into.”
“No vodka tonic? I’m shocked. A girl like you?” Marc leaned back in his chair. “Soon, you’re going to tell me you’ve never modeled with that pretty face.”
“Marc,” Abigail and Jensen snapped at the same time.
I held my hand up. “Look, it’s fine. Whatever you’re doing is fine. Take shots at me all you want. I get you might be upset with Jensen, and you’re petty enough to try to take it out on me, but I’m not a vodka tonic–drinking, pretty-faced model. I’m not anything you think I am. So, keep hurling insults and layered jabs. I can take it. It’s not going to make a damn difference to me.”
Marc closed his mouth on whatever he had wanted to say next. Abigail gave me an appraising look, as if I had passed some unknown test, while Jensen looked like he wanted to kiss me. Instead, my insides were roiling because I had acted so bold. But I couldn’t ignore the effectiveness of it.