Her throat tightened. If she let her walls down again, she knew what would happen. She’d tumble right back into love with him. And that couldn’t go anywhere. Then she’d be hurt.
“Maggie.” He sounded hoarse, and she glanced up at him. His face was etched with deep lines of concern between his eyebrows. “I wasn’t lying to you about that phone number, I swear. I really had forgotten about it.”
She nodded.
“Do you know why I broke up with you?” He tucked his hands into his jeans pockets. “And why I avoided you afterward, even though I knew it was a shitty thing to do? It’s because I freaked out.”
“About what?”
“I had a vision of my life at that time. I was popular and had lots of friends. I wasn’t going to get serious—was just going to have fun.” He barked out a harsh laugh. “But you knocked me off my feet so quickly, and I wasn’t ready to feel that way.” He raked his hands through his hair and rubbed his neck, staring off at the wall behind her. “I was scared and stupid, and so immature. And then I was ashamed of myself. It was easier to pretend like nothing had happened instead of facing the truth—that I’d screwed up. Badly. And I wasn’t sure at the time that I could ever forgive myself for it.”
Her heart squeezed. So he’d run away from her, from his own sense of shame. It made sense. With that realization, something in her chest lightened. The breakup hadn’t been her fault at all. And it was clear he felt horrible about it. “I think I understand.”
Andrew took one step toward her and looked down into her eyes. Tension poured from his body. “I don’t spend a lot of time regretting my past anymore. I wasn’t the person I should have been, but I’ve worked hard to become that man. To forgive myself for my mistakes and hope that one day, maybe you could forgive me too.” He pulled back. “And since I’m coming clean, there’s something else I need to tell you. There was something I kept from you. That I just didn’t know how to say.”
“What?” Shock kept her riveted in her seat.
He shook his head. “I don’t think it’s what you think it might be.” He raked a hand through his hair again, leaving rough waves on his head. “Dammit, I don’t quite know how to say this, so I’m just going to blurt it out. I’ve been doing some digging around into the case, of course.”
She gave a small nod.
“Well, I have some suspicions. About things.” He stopped and stared right into her, his face as serious as she’d ever seen it. “And I’ve been struggling with what I should tell you because I didn’t want to get you upset over something that might be nothing at all. But you came here to talk, and I want to be one hundred percent honest, even if I don’t have concrete evidence to share. Just my gut instincts. That means no more secrets between us,” he said, walking over to her and sitting just inches away.
Her pulse hammered so hard in her ears that she could barely hear him. Her fingers went flat-out cold, but she made herself nod again, not trusting herself to speak. Dreading and anticipating what he might tell her.
“Maggie,” he said, giving her a sad smile and clutching her icy fingers within his warm hands, “I have reason to believe that your brother knows something more about Cassandra’s death than he’s admitted to.”
Read more of THE INHERITANCE Part V
THE CONFRONTATION
Available from InterMix November 12, 2013
Olivia Mayfield has been an unabashed fan of romance since she was a teen, secretly devouring her mom’s Harlequins. She has a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing, as well as a Master’s degree in English, and lives with her family in Ohio. In her free time she loves reading, shopping, wearing absurdly high-heeled boots, cheesecake, karaoke, and harassing her friends. Find her online at oliviamayfield.com.
The Inheritance Part IV Page 6