Cooper (The Family Simon #6) - Juliana Stone Page 0,74

her movements measured and precise. “Are you saying that you and Christy wouldn’t have moved back here if you did?”

“No, I…” He sighed and sank back in his seat. “I would have tried to see you first. To let you know so that it wouldn’t be awkward. I don’t want to hurt you. I’m just…sorry about everything.” He splayed his hands along the top of the table. “I should make it clear. We don’t want to hurt you.” He paused. “Christy and me.”

Wow. Unbelievable.

Morgan’s hands shook, so she hid them under the table. Not because she was scared or upset or anything like that. She was mad as hell. Plain and simple. Had she really wasted years grieving the loss of these two?

She leaned forward and held his gaze so that there was no mistaking her words or her meaning. She needed to get this right.

“First off, Nathan, you’re giving yourself way too much credit. You’re not on my radar anymore. Not at all. I’ll admit running into you and Christy at La Spagatt was a little weird for me, but that’s all it was. Weird.”

He looked uncomfortable as hell, which gave Morgan an almost savage satisfaction.

“Secondly, you gotta remember my bullshit meter is pretty damn high. You don’t want to hurt me?” She made a tsk-tsk. “Please. You’ve already hurt me more than anyone ever has. The revulsion on your face that first time you saw me naked? That hurt. But even that didn’t compare to how it felt knowing you left my hospital room night after night and went straight to Christy. Jesus, you would tell me you loved me, even though you were careful not to touch me, and then go screw her.”

His eyes widened, and his gaze slid from hers, that nasty, guilty countenance more pronounced than ever.

“Don’t you dare look away from me. Be a man for once and take this like you should.”

Nathan ran a shaky hand through his hair and met her gaze once more. “How did you…”

“I knew all along.”

“I… How?” he asked quietly.

“I knew it in my heart long before my head got involved. It was Sara who filled me in on the reality of the situation.” She sat back. “My sister wanted blood, and you should thank me for talking her down, because Sara would have torn you apart.”

He nodded but didn’t speak.

“So you see, I know about the hurt thing. I’ve been there, and I’m over it.” She paused for a moment as that realization washed over her, because, Jesus, she really was over it. “But there are a few things I need to say, and then we’re done. I want you to know that it wasn’t okay for you to fuck my best friend.”

“Shit, Morgan.”

“I didn’t tell you that you could speak.”

He winced at her crudeness, but Morgan didn’t care. There was something liberating in that knowledge. She didn’t give a flying rat’s ass what he thought. Not anymore.

“I want you to know that using the accident as an excuse to hide your betrayal wasn’t okay. That was low. You wanted out? You should have broken things off then and there.” She eyed him closely. “Looking back, I think you liked playing the part of poor Nathan. The guy whose fiancée was horribly scarred in an accident. You liked the attention.”

“I—”

“Shut up.” It was her turn to pause as she dragged in a deep breath.

“I want you to know that making me believe I was the problem was definitely not okay. And making me feel unloved and ugly and repulsive was so far offside, you should be ashamed of yourself. All those things are a reflection of your weakness, and I'm mad that it took me so long to figure it out.”

Morgan got to her feet, not bothering to hide a wince as pain shot up her leg. “I want you to know that I’m still dealing with the fallout of that night, and even though I know I’ll get through it, some things will never go away. The pain, the memories…” Her voice broke, and she exhaled. “But that’s okay, because I’m a strong woman, and I’ve got good people in my corner. I’ve met a man who’s showed me how pathetic and shallow you are. A man who’s helped me believe in myself again.”

Nathan’s head jerked. “Cooper Simon?”

She didn’t hesitate. “Yes. Cooper Simon. All the rumors are true.”

“I don’t think he’s…” Nathan fumbled over his words. “Do you know what you’re doing? I don’t think he’s