Flawless River (Grizzly Bear Lake #2) - Ruby Shae Page 0,39

on the couch, and waited for him to start speaking.

“Were you really engaged to that guy?”

“Yeah, I was,” she nodded. “It’s not something I’m proud of, but it’s also why I decided to leave my old life. He dated me to get in good with my dad, and my dad pushed me to date him because he was “perfect.” I was so desperate to be perfect, too—to finally fit in—that I agreed to marry him even though I wasn’t in love with him, and I knew he wasn’t in love with me. Hell, he didn’t even like me, and you know he never touched me sexually. He claimed it was because he wanted to wait for marriage, but I knew the truth, and despite knowing that the ring he gave me was fake, and that our whole marriage would be fake, I still tried to make it work. I told you some things about my parents, but there’s so much more that I would rather forget.

“I spent a lifetime trying to fit into their perfect world, and they spent that same lifetime pointing out my flaws and encouraging me to make decisions based on status and appearance instead of my happiness. The final straw had been a family dinner where Amber returned from one of her many trips to Europe. Kevin had never met her before, but at the dinner he decided that he’d picked the wrong daughter, and that he wanted to marry my sister instead. And the best part? My parents were fine with that. They encouraged it. My father had been waiting for Amber to take over my job as his executive secretary for years, because she fit the image he wanted in his front office. She was the perfect one, and I was the one they guilted into staying while she travelled the world. I went to every party, every event…” she shook her head. “I did everything they asked, and I tried so hard to be perfect, too, but I’m not perfect, and never will be.”

“You’re perfect for me,” Lael said, linking his fingers through hers.

“And you’re perfect for me,” she smiled, “but when we first met, I…that’s why I tried to stay away from you. I thought you were gorgeous—flawless—and I expected you to act the same as all of the people in my old life. I’m glad you didn’t give up on me.”

“I almost did,” he admitted. “After that first night, when you said you wanted to just be friends, I knew what you meant. I knew you were giving me the brush off. I was hurting, but I was also stubborn enough to give you what you wanted. Luckily, Lacey talked some sense into me. She knew you were hurting, too, and basically told me to go after what I wanted, even if it took forever.”

“I’m glad it didn’t take forever,” she laughed.

“Me, too.” He tightened his grip on her fingers. “Are you sure you’re okay? I know it took a lot of courage to stand up to them, and I’m really proud of you.”

She believed the sentiments, but at the same time, something was bothering him, and she couldn’t stop the sudden wave of fear that swamped her. Was he about to dump her after she spilled her guts about her past? The thought seemed ridiculous, but he was normally pretty easy-going, and his smile had barely returned since he pushed her sister’s hand away. Did he think less of her now? Did he want her sister? A few minutes ago, she’d been so sure of her place in his life, and now she didn’t know what was going on.

“I’m fine,” she said. “What’s going on?”

“I have something to tell you.”

Lael took a deep breath, and tried to stop his racing heart.

God, he envied his brother Liam right now, because somehow the man had shared their secret with his mate, and still lived to tell the tale.

Unlike Lael, who felt like he was about to lose oxygen any minute.

When the deep breath didn’t help, he let go of Stacey’s hand and started pacing the room in front of her. She watched him warily, as if she was waiting for some blow of bad news, and he wished he could reassure her. Unfortunately, he had no idea how she would take the news, and that’s what had his heart nearly pounding out of his chest.

Well, that, and the fact that his woman was simply awesome. She’d survived twenty-eight years of horrible parents