“Didn’t expect I’d be stopping by, huh?” Anger, along with the confidence wrecking feeling of being utterly duped courses through me and I cross my arms over my chest.
“Evie.Enough. This is crazy talk.” His voice is low and harsh. It only elevates mine.
“What? Now I’m the crazy one? You know what? Maybe I am. For thinking it was a good idea to rush into this wedding. After the day I’ve had, I’m not sure of anything right now.”
Tate’s gaze narrows, his jaw ticking back and forth. When he speaks again his words are bit out in a command. “Evie. I have a client. Go wait in my office.”
My mouth opens and my worst fear flies out before I can help myself. “Are you sleeping with her?”
“Dave, why don’t you go get started on rowing sprints. Sixty seconds hard, thirty rest,” Tate instructs.
“Sure.” Dave nods, averting his somewhat wary gaze and walking away. It’s late enough that there aren’t many people here in the gym, but everyone who remains is staring at the spectacle I’m making. Normally I’d care, but I’m so pissed off right now I don’t give a fuck. Let them look.
Tate grips my elbow and has to practically drag me with him. He doesn’t say a word. In fact, his face gives nothing away. No anger, no lies, nothing.
“What? Don’t want to air your dirty laundry where you work? Should’ve thought about that before sneaking behind my back with a client.” The words leave my lips in a growl, but still he says nothing until we reach his office. He pushes me inside before he turns to lock the door. The overhead lights sense our movement and flick on, and the harsh fluorescents illuminate the tight lines of his mouth. He doesn’t lift his eyes.
All the anger from before melts in the silence, in the space between us. What I’m left with is only more confusion and hurt. My words are a whisper. “How could you do this to me? To us?”
His eyes close a moment and he grumbles something I can’t make out before his gaze snaps open to pin me with a glare. “I’m a tolerant man, Evie. I didn’t say shit when you went into business with your best friend—who was still completely in love with you, by the way. I don’t say a thing about the late nights, or the secrets you have to keep for work. I don’t worry or give you grief, and you know why?”
He pauses, but before I can open my mouth to answer he continues, and this time his voice raises, oozing with irritation. “Because I trust you! I fucking trust you, Evie. I love you and I know you love me, too. I’ve never doubted you once. Now you come into my workplace ... Disrespecting me and my clients? Why? Why did you come here? What caused you to do something so hurtful?”
“You don’t understand,” I bite out, but his cuts me off.
“I wouldneverdo this to you. Never.”
“You are so damn self-righteous for someone who invited his ex-girlfriend to his bachelor party! Did you think I wouldn’t find out? How would you think that’s okay?”
“Evie, that was nothing! Jesus, you had strippers at your bachelorette party even when I asked you not to.” His eyes narrow and he shakes his head as if I’m overreacting. As if that’s the same. Like this is no big deal.
“I didn’t hire the strippers! That was nothing.This!This is not nothing. You knew that! That’s probably why you didn’t tell me, isn’t it? What else are you hiding?”
“Oh, my God!” he shouts, tearing his hat off and scrubbing his free hand over his hair. “Really? That’s what you think? There’snothinggoing on with me and Lindsay,” he declares, but there’s a laugh to his tone.
I shake my head and he meets my hard stare with an expression of disbelief. It’s a standoff that only lasts a moment but feels like forever. I’m supposed to marry this man in a few days. I’m supposed to trust him. We’re not supposed to have doubts. “I can’t believe you,” I whisper and his eyes drop along with his frown. He’s disappointed. I am too.
“I have to get back to work. We can talk about this when I get off. Just wait here.”
But I can’t just sit here cooling my heels. “You know what? I’m gonna go before we say anything else hurtful that can’t be taken back. I need some space right now.” I bite the inside of my cheek to hold back tears because the reality of this moment, that this could be the beginning of the end for us, hits like a sucker punch I never saw coming.
“Space? What does that even mean?” He lifts his face to the ceiling and exhales a rush of breath. “We’re getting married in five days!” He turns his gaze on me, bursting with all the pain and hurt I feel. It would be so easy to fold. Give in. Move forward and pretend things are fine. But I won’t do that. I can’t trust him. I don’t trust myself. Us.
“Yeah, and you’d think my fiancé wouldn’t be keeping secrets from me a few days before the wedding.” The words taste foul in my mouth. I can hardly hold his gaze.
“What secrets? That Lindsay happened to be in the same restaurant when we had lunch yesterday? That she was sitting alone and I felt bad for her and invited her to join us? You call that a secret?”
If that’s how it went down ... But he doesn’t understand. I’ve seen the way she looks at him. She’s not in it for friendship or a good workout. “What are you, blind? She obviously wants you.”
“Evie, it was lunch. With a table of friends. Completely innocent.”
“Or awfully convenient.”
“Look, we can talk about this when I get home. I need to get back to work.” He glances at his watch and his eyes go to the door.
This isn’t a good time. I get that. But I don’t see how re-hashing the same stuff will change the result. I need perspective. I need space. “I’m not going home.”
“Okay ...” His words leave in a breath.
I straighten my spine, my resolution clear. “I’m going to my sister’s. I need to talk to her. I’m going to stay the night.” He nods until I add that last part.
“Don’t do this. Don’t shut me out.”
I shake my head. “I just need a minute to think, okay? I can’t when all I ever do is run into your ex-girlfriend and investigate my cheating brother-in-law. I don’t know what’s real anymore. Or what’s right. I need some time.”
“Okay.” He nods, his frown still in place. I don’t dare look into his eyes because they’re so full of sorrow. Right now it takes everything I have to not dive into his arms. Tate opens the door for us. “Take the time you need and then come find me. I’ll be waiting. I’ll be home.”
With that, I nod and leave the gym before I change my mind.
