abates, his angry hazel eyes meet mine. “Him?” He works to swallow. “Out of all the worthy men in the world, you pick the one who already proved unworthy. Him? Really?” Yeah, that seems to be everyone’s logic. I get tunnel vision. All I can see is Maverick. I hold up one finger in the air.
“First off, this is not what it looks like.” I gesture to my robe and then to Nash, unsure why I care what the hell he thinks. I do, though. “And secondly, people deserve second chances. That’s actually a normal occurrence in the realm of good people. Lastly, when you’re ass backwards wrong about so many things, you question your initial choices. That’s what I’m doing here. Giving him a second chance and wondering why I made all the stupid ass decisions to begin with.”
Maverick nods. It’s scary, captivating. “Stupid ass decision?” he asks pointing to his broad chest. Nash walks away and I’m thankful to hear him slam a door somewhere in the condo.
I bite my lip to keep from saying something I’ll regret. I choose my words carefully. “You blame me for your best friend’s death, Maverick. You just walked away from me…from everything without so much as a backwards glance. Sure, it took me longer to tell you how I felt, but that’s because what I felt for you was so much more than love.” Maverick takes a few steps away from me.
“Felt?” he rasps.
I ignore his question. “Am I a stupid ass decision, Maverick? Stone would still be here right now if you didn’t make that choice. Right? Or is Monica the only stupid ass decision you made?” He shuts his eyes. Guilt rears up. I shouldn’t bring Stone into this. Pain is etched into his every feature. I take a step toward him, but he throws out his hand. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” I whisper.
“Don’t come any closer, Windsor. Are you with him?” His whole face wilts as he asks. “She said you were dating. Morganna told me you were dating. She didn’t tell me it was that asshole.”
“If you’re asking if I’m with him like you’re with all of your hotel bags, then no. Not this go round, at least. Why does it matter? You got what you wanted from me. I was wrong about you just like I was wrong about Nash. You aren’t a one woman man now, just like Nash wasn’t back then.”
Maverick smiles meanly. “For someone who is wrong so frequently that’s a huge leap to make. But hey, you’re probably right about him.” He pulls his knee up to his chest to stretch it out and then the other. “He may be magically cured, but since the day I met you I’ve been a one woman man.”
It can’t be true. I saw the women with my own eyes. He has no reason to lie. Grabbing the back collar of his shirt he pulls the sticky material up and over his head. My traitorous eyes immediately seek out my tattoo. He notices. Dimples pop, my pulse skitters.
He shrugs and says, “Good luck with him, Windsor.” Maverick disappears down the hallway at a jog, while I’m left catching my breath. I want to cry and laugh and have sex at the same time. Neutral Windsor, meet positively charged, insanely in love Windsor. The latter also communicates with stupid Windsor frequently.
I close the front door and go find Nash.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Maverick
JOHN FUCKING NASH. I pour four fingers of whiskey and slam it down. Nashhole gets her. I don’t know why I’m so surprised. I throw the glass into a wall and watch it shatter. I take the whole bottle and go outside. I need to breathe. I haven’t had a drink in weeks. I was trying to get sober for work and for Morganna. If I don’t have one, or a whole bottle right now, I’ll do something really stupid. I want to kill him. For taking what I couldn’t. For taking what is irrevocably mine. Windsor can pretend all she wants. I saw her eyes when she looked at me.
I knew walking away from her would be hard. Keeping her away is proving more challenging than I planned. I know what the asshole is capable of and she deserves so much more than that. I swallow down more alcohol and savor the burn as it eases down my throat. I don’t deserve her either. Maybe I can deserve her. I can clean up my