Engaging his Enemy (Shattered SEALs #4) - Amy Gamet Page 0,6
up everything for me—the Navy, your dreams of becoming a SEAL—and that you were glad you’d caught me with your brother, so you could be free.”
His gaze was steely, reflecting no emotion, just as it had been that day. She could remember the pain of her plans slipping away, her hopes for a reconciliation, that maybe they could be a family. He hated her, and nothing she could possibly say would change that.
“You said there was nothing for you in this town,” she continued. “That you would have become a used car salesman like your father. That you’d have been a loser, just like Ben.” She shook her head at that. “Your words, not mine.”
“Sorry if I badmouthed your future husband.”
So he knew. A weight slipped off her shoulders. At least she wouldn’t have to confess that, too. “He’d asked me just before I went to see you. He knew about the baby.” She stared, unseeing. “I had a choice. I could tell you I was pregnant, taking away everything you ever wanted and tying us together forever, or I could let you go and marry Ben. I could have a chance at a happy life with a man who loved me.”
“So you lied.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Fuck you, Davina.” He stood and began to pace. “It wasn’t your choice to make. You had no right to take my child away from me.” He ran a hand through his hair. “To be raised by my brother, of all people!”
“Ben has been a tremendous help.” She hated to hear him talk about Ben like he was worthless. “But he didn’t raise Wyatt. We didn’t get married after all.”
He stopped pacing. “What?”
“We were engaged for a few months, but in the end we realized we made better friends than anything.”
“Than lovers?” He crossed to her slowly, like an animal on the attack, and her heartbeat accelerated. He squatted down in front of her. “You’re blushing. That’s a nice touch. Can’t you even say it? Lovers.”
She could smell his scent, a heady mix of sandalwood and spice, and she wrestled with whether to set the record straight or preserve what was left of her dignity. Lying to this man had only brought her sorrow, so she opted for the harder course. “I never slept with Ben.”
He stood abruptly and scoffed. “Don’t insult my intelligence. You were damn near fucking him the last time I saw you together.”
“You don’t have a clue what you saw. He was upset, devastated by your parents’ deaths. He made a mistake.”
“Upset? I was upset! They were my parents, too, and my girlfriend was in bed with my brother.”
“It was a misunderstanding.”
He crossed his arms, nostrils flaring. “Why were you in Ben’s room?”
“He’d been away at college. It was a guest room, remember? It never occurred to me that room was his space when he was in town. I just needed to sleep.” Her palms broke out in a sweat. “He thought I was waiting for him. I thought he was you. He curled up next to me while I was sleeping. By the time I opened my eyes and realized it wasn’t…”
“Your eyes were open when I walked in. You knew exactly who you were kissing.”
“It wasn’t like that.” She swallowed hard. “I felt so sorry for him, Zach.” A muscle in his jaw twitched, and she knew how a mouse must feel staring up at a cat. “I was comforting him.”
“Stroking his face. Resting your forehead against his.”
She remembered it all, knew how compromising a position he’d found them in. Yet she hadn’t cheated on this man, no matter what he believed. “I explained that to you.”
He leaned down, his face only inches from hers, the scent of him filling her lungs and setting her nerve endings on fire. His gaze raked over her features from brow to chin and back up again. “I want a paternity test.”
She put her hands on his chest and pushed him away. Piggy barked at Zack.
“Hey!” yelled Wyatt. She turned toward the door just as her son lunged awkwardly toward his father, hands balled into fists. “Leave her alone!”
How long had he been standing there?
For the briefest moment, she stared at the tableau they made. Father and son, anger and hurt, mirror images of one another separated by only a difference in height. She grabbed Wyatt’s arm to pull him away, surprised to realize he was too strong. “It’s okay, he wasn’t going to hurt me.”
Wyatt’s glare never left Zach. “Who is this?”