by Megan Ryder
Anna stood, a smug smile. “So, you forfeit the challenge and give up your chance to win? The lamp will look great in your apartment.”
Delaney froze. Shit. She’d forgotten about that stupid challenge. Anna’s face was firmly set. There was no way she would budge. She was too competitive. She looked at Ethan, but his face was impassive. It was her decision. He wouldn’t make it for her.
She sighed and sat down. “What are the rules?”
Anna grinned, a gleam of triumph in her eyes.
Caroline nodded. “Similar rules as before. We tally points by team. You accept and complete the truth or dare and you get a point. You fail, you lose a point. Final tally by team, couples. Whoever has the most points wins the money and designates who gets the lamp.”
Brigid, ever the lawyer, raised her hand. “So, nothing life threatening or insulting, right?”
Caroline nodded. “Correct. Nothing too outrageous. Matthew and I will act as judges.”
Immediately, the whole group protested.
Delaney spoke for everyone. “No, you paid in. You have to participate.”
Matthew stood. “We never even finished the scavenger hunt. There’s no way to win.”
“You never know. Delaney might bolt again,” Anna replied.
Well that truce lasted all of a few hours. Damn. Could she risk it? The money would be nice. What was once pocket change was now more precious and meant a bit more disposable income. And, she had to face it, her car wasn’t going to last forever, judging by the rattling coming more and more frequently. No, she wanted that money, but she wanted Anna to have to display the lamp. She wanted that so bad, she could almost taste it.
“I’m in.” Delaney crossed one leg over the other and sipped her wine.
One by one, everyone agreed and paired up. The game started innocently enough. Anna was challenged first and, as usual, she took a dare. Brigid took the truth, again staying true to form. When it was Delaney’s turn, she went with the dare, truth being too risky.
Caroline gave the challenge. “Wear this blindfold and kiss one man. You must tell us who it is without touching him with anything but your lips.”
Delaney’s hands were shaking when she put on the blindfold and stood in the center of the patio. A presence loomed next to her, alerting her to his nearness. A hand was placed on her shoulder to steady her. She took a deep breath and a pair of lips settled on hers, a brief pressure of lips touching hers, impersonal and remote. Who was it? She had never kissed anyone else in their group. She expected Caroline would make Ethan kiss her, force them together. The lips lifted from hers and she automatically reached out but the body shifted out of place.
The guys were all drinking beer, so that wasn’t an indication. She searched her memory for what she remembered about each guy. Could it be Ethan? Who else would Caroline have asked to step in? She was matchmaking everyone. If she used anyone else, someone would be pissed.
“Time’s up, Laney. Who was it?” Anna’s voice sang out.
Delaney took a deep breath and her nose caught a brief scent, a tease really, of an aftershave. Her lips curved in a smile. “Ethan.”
She pulled off the blindfold to see Ethan standing a few steps away, an inscrutable look on his face. He nodded once and turned away, no further reaction. Her shoulders slumped. Maybe she really had pushed him away for the final time.
She rejoined the group and the game continued. As they played late into the night, they skipped the beer and wine and shifted to tequila shots. By the time the moon was high in the sky and midnight was approaching, they were each more than a little drunk and feeling more reckless. As they were tied, the final round was declared a truth round. No exceptions. The words pierced Delaney’s haze and she put down her drink, struggling for soberness before the inevitable.
Anna stood, swaying a bit. “My turn. My turn. Okay, I’m going with the elephant in the room. Delaney. Truth. Why did you walk away from all of your friends?”
She fell back into her chair, steadied by Wyatt, and settled. The laughter of the group died abruptly and all eyes turned to Delaney. This was it. The day, the time she had been dreading for the past several days. Truth. She could bow out and lose the challenge. It wasn’t a big deal. She’d lost before and had survived. She’d survive again.
She slowly stood, the world tilting around her. She wobbled and Ethan stood, his strong arms supporting her.
“You don’t have to do this,” he whispered. “I’ll take the lamp.”
Again, he was sacrificing for her. She looked at him, his expression resolute. He was going to protect her no matter how much he wanted the answer.
She laid a hand on his cheek for a moment then turned to the group. “No, I need to do this. You all deserve answers. I left to protect all of you.”
Shock and confusion registered on everyone’s face.
She held up her hand. “Let me explain.”
She looked at Anna. “You hated me, or were jealous of me or whatever, from the day we became roommates. But we overcame that and were friends. I had enough hatred from people who professed to be my friend. I couldn’t stand to see you change too. Maybe it was cowardly. But there it is.”
She looked at Brigid. “You wanted to be a lawyer. Being the friend of an infamous con artist wouldn’t help you at UT Law or in getting a job.”
She finally faced Caroline. “Your father lost a lot of money in the scheme. He was senior partner in a law firm. Associating with known criminals and family members is not a good idea. I’m sure your father told you this, Caroline.”
Caroline nodded, tears in her eyes. “I would have ignored him.”
Delaney patted her shoulder. “I know you would have.” She straightened and faced the group. “I was dealing with a lot of shit. My mother was attacked verbally and physically, so much so she had a breakdown. Then my father died. All because of me.”
Anna started to laugh. “You really think a lot of yourself, don’t you, Delaney? The complete collapse of a man and several families. It’s all about you, isn’t it?”
“It’s very simple. My lifestyle was extravagant. You pointed it out to me often enough. The media pointed it out gleefully. My father didn’t have the money to support us in that manner. I should have known, should not have demanded, should have been less spoiled, as you called it, Anna.”
Ethan grabbed her arm and turned her around. “You think you were to blame? This was all a punishment, a way to redeem yourself? You know you’re not to blame for his actions. He could have said no at any time. He lived beyond his means too.”
She was shaking her head before his words finished. “My father tried to say no, many times. But I always pushed, expected, demanded. I was a Winters and deserved the trip to Europe, shopping in Paris, a weekend in Vail. Once he died, someone had to step in and deal with the fallout.”
She turned to the group. “I was a coward. I couldn’t bear to see you all hate me.”
Anna stood and walked over, wavering a little on her feet. “So, you pushed us away before we could push you away? I get that. But it was still stupid. We would never have repudiated you. We loved you. Even me, while I was totally jealous of you and kind of secretly glad when you lost everything.”
“Bitch,” Delaney said but without any real heat.
The two girls laughed, wiping tears from their eyes. They embraced and were quickly joined by Brigid and Caroline. Soon, the group was crying and laughing. Delaney caught Ethan’s gaze from across the fire. He was serious and pensive, filled with questions of his own. She hoped he bought her story.
There was one truth she could never tell. Why she broke up with him.
Ethan strolled along the water’s edge, letting the waves lap against his feet. The ocean was still fairly calm for the Gulf, but by this time tomorrow, it would be a frothing mass of water, debris, and anger. Kind of how he felt at this moment. Delaney’s story, her explanation of why she withdrew, was plausible, believable, even acceptable.
&nbs
p; To everyone but him.
He knew Delaney. She met everyone’s gaze, except for his. And she never directly addressed why she had left him, lumping him in with everyone else. She never actually mentioned Wyatt or Matthew, either, but she had been engaged to Ethan, more than a friend. She owed him more, a better explanation, a more personal explanation. He was glad she didn’t bring it up in the group. That was a topic better left to a private discussion. Somewhere deep inside, a little voice asked, was it worth upsetting the status quo now to pursue the line of questioning or would it be better left alone?
“Ethan? Is everything okay?”
As if conjured out of his mind, Delaney’s voice broke in to his thoughts. He turned. She was standing just beyond the waves, wrapped in a blue blanket, wind whipping the short strands of her hair against her head. Her face was hesitant, unsure, closed, not the face of someone who wanted to clear the air. But still, she had followed him. A part of him was satisfied she was still tied to him, that she still looked for him when he wasn’t present.
He walked out of the splash zone and onto the soft sand to stand in front of her. He searched her eyes for a long moment then framed her face with his hands and kissed her, long, slow, and deep. It was a kiss designed to connect emotionally, not a prelude to sex. She sagged against him, her hands braced against his chest. After a minute, he pulled away, hands still on her cheeks, holding her in place, and he looked deep into her eyes, seeking answers that he wasn’t sure he was ready to hear. Her eyes fluttered down and away, avoiding the intimacy.
He dropped his hands and buried them in his pockets. She pulled the wrap farther around herself, like a shield against questions. She stepped around him to the hard-packed sand, the waves tickling her toes in her sandals.
“Why did you come down here?” he asked, ducking the real question.
“I wanted to make sure you are okay. You were quiet for the rest of the game and then slipped away. I was worried.”
He stepped up next to her and stared at her. “Why?”
She shrugged. “I was just checking.”
“Are you telling me you were worried about me? Why would that be, Delaney?” He advanced on her, crowding her, but still she wouldn’t look at him. “Could it be that you gave a bullshit reason for walking away from everyone who cared about you, including me? About how you gave a reason for why you left everyone in that room except me? I thought your MO was to cut and run, instead of facing the hard questions.”
She whirled, eyes pleading. “Ethan, I don’t want to fight about this. Please. Besides, if my reason was bullshit and I wanted to avoid this discussion, would I have followed you out here?”
She went up on her tiptoes and wound her arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his. Her body fit perfectly to his, her soft curves wrapping around his firm frame. Desire stirred low in his stomach and even lower, pressing against the fly of his pants. He kept his hands in his pockets, counting sheep, types of grapes, anything to try to not react, to not give in. But she knew him, knew the right buttons to push.
Her hands drifted down and under his shirt to trace the sides of his abdomen. His stomach muscles twitched and his cock hardened painfully, lengthening, begging for release. She slid her hands up his shirt and over his nipples. He gasped and she chuckled against his lips, her tongue sweeping in to tease and torture him further. He groaned and gave in. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and cupped her buttocks, lifting her more firmly against him, rubbing against the vee in her shorts. She moaned into his mouth and flexed against him, lifting a leg and wrapping it around him, bringing herself more fully against him.
He pulled his lips from hers, reason fighting against the desire drugging his system. There was a question he had to ask. He had to keep his wits about him. “Wait, Delaney.”
She slipped a hand under the waistband of his pants and grasped him firmly in her hand. He moaned and threw back his head at the caress.
“You still want to stop?” she whispered against his lips.
Her words broke the spell holding him captive. He grasped her hand and pulled it out of his pants then stepped away. “Sex is not the answer.”
“It never bothered you before.” She planted her fists on her hips and cocked her head at him, a faint challenge in her demeanor.
“There are a lot of things that never bothered me before. Maybe I’ve grown up.”
She threw her hands up. “What do you want from me, Ethan? You want an explanation? Fine.” She balled her hands into fists and held them to her face, like a prayer. “Five years ago, life was perfect. I loved you, I truly did. I was going to marry you, and I was happy. Then it all went to hell. Fast.”
She turned and walked a few steps away to stand on the hard-packed sand and gaze out over the ocean. Her words took on a dreamy quality, as if reliving the past. “I wasn’t home when they arrested my father. I was in class. All my classmates knew about it before I did. The age of technology. Nothing is hidden, sacred. And they couldn’t wait to tell me. One minute I was a happy college student, planning a wedding. The next minute, I had reporters hounding me everywhere I went, cameras blinding me, microphones shoved in my face. Everyone asking how I felt, what I thought, how could I live with myself.”
She turned. The wetness on her face glistened in the moonlight. It was like a sucker punch to his stomach. He buried his hands into his pockets to resist the urge to comfort her. He needed to hear this. She needed to say this. Then they could decide where to go from here. Her arms wrapped the blanket around her upper arms, hugging herself.
“I was there. I stood by you. We all did.” He spoke softly, not wanting to break the spell of the night.
“I know you were. But you had your own issues. Did you know some of the people were so angry they attacked my mother outside our house? They grabbed her, surrounded her, and screamed at her. She was terrified. I barely got her free. She had bruises from their grips. The police were of no use. They looked the other way, if they were even there. Everyone abandoned us. No one gave a damn.”
He advanced a few steps. “That’s not true. I was there.”
She laughed, a harsh bitter sound choked with tears. “Really? You were working eighteen hour days, or even more, and your father was certainly not letting you too close to me. He kept you on a short leash, using the business and your family’s reputation as his weapon.”
He jerked as if physically slapped. His eyes narrowed. “You forget we had our own issues. We were one of the investors, along with several of our clients. We had the SEC and FBI to deal with, to prove we weren’t in collusion with your sainted father.”
“I never said he was a saint.” Her voice was quiet. “I know he was guilty, and I know I share in the blame.”
He laughed. “You’re not a criminal mastermind, no matter what you think. Don’t take on his crimes.”
She smiled. “I spent the money, Ethan. I took the expensive vacations, bought so much stuff. Did you know when they cleared out the town house, we couldn’t even keep most of our clothes? There was a reporter who took pictures of my clothes, many of them with the tags still on them. He was very happy to add up the totals for his readers, proving what a selfish bitch I was. Maybe I didn’t coordinate the theft, but I profited from it, and my spending forced my father to find ways to support our lifestyle.”
He grabbed her shoulders and gave her a small shake. “That’s ridiculous. Do you even hear yourself? That was your father’s choice, not yours.”
“Why do I need to hear myself when the reporters said it for years? They’re the voice in my head now, echoing accusations and recriminations.”
He bent his head to peer into her eyes. “Well, screw them. You’re not a bad person.”
She pulled back. “I know. It was just so hard.”
His hands dropped to his side. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”
“You said it yourself. You and your family were dealing with a lot of fallout too. You had enough to deal with. It wa
s just easier to deal with it myself. Besides, I had to grow up sometime.”
“I’m so sorry, Delaney. I guess I was being selfish.” Guilt twisted in his stomach. He cocked his head. “If you had told me this, I would have stood by you. You rejected me, my protection.”
Her eyes skittered away, down to the sand and the water. “You were there, as best you could. We both did the best we could. The split just kind of happened.”
Her words rang true, but there was a note of something else, of something hidden, something she wasn’t telling him. He narrowed his gaze and tucked a couple of fingers under her chin, turning her back to face him.
“Our breakup didn’t just happen. You torpedoed it, blindsiding me in the process. What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing, Ethan. It was just bad timing for us.”
Her eyes were wide and guileless, but he couldn’t shake the feeling she wasn’t telling him everything. He decided to let it lie and deal with it another day. They had all week.
He stepped back and stuffed his hands into his pockets again. “Want to go back to the house?”
“No. I think I’ll stay out here a little longer. It’s so peaceful here.”
“Okay. See you at the house.”
He walked slowly back to the house, turning once at the dunes. She stood just beyond the waves, the wind whipping her hair and the blanket around her, looking lonely. That was a false image, though. She was stronger than she looked. Now that he had his answers, what next?
Somehow, he didn’t feel the satisfaction he’d expected, the peace he’d been looking for during the past five years. They still had unfinished business and being with the group wasn’t going to help them resolve their issues. Too many prying eyes and too many chances to hide from each other. He had to know what she was hiding before he decided if he could trust her again. His body wanted her, but his heart was cautious. He needed to get her alone, just the two of them, with no one else to interrupt.
Could he trust his heart to her a second time? He wasn’t sure it would survive being broken twice.