business since we aren’t together. But for the record, Marco and I are just friends. Very good friends, and nothing more.”
“Wyatt cares about you, Carly.”
“I know.” I cared about him too, but it wasn’t enough.
We were both quiet for a moment before he cleared his throat. “About Lula…”
“She came by to see me and told me everything.”
“We know there are others,” he said, looking down at the table, “but Lula… she’s special.”
“I know,” I said.
“I felt bad not tellin’ you, and I felt even worse when I realized Greta was missin’. You and Marco were gettin’ in deep, but I didn’t think I could tell anyone. It seemed possible Lula’s life was in danger, and I didn’t know if it was because of our father or if someone else was after her. Then Wyatt showed up and took charge, and we all went out to his house to figure out what to do.”
“Did you come to a conclusion?”
“We told our father that we know the truth, and that Lula wants nothing from him. We told him to leave her alone.”
I doubted they knew the full truth, but I wasn’t going to be the one to tell them. At least not yet. “Do you think he will?”
“Only time will tell. But we’re ready to jump in if need be.”
“Lula’s lucky to have two big brothers like you and Wyatt. Does anyone else know?”
“No. We’re keepin’ it quiet for now.”
“Don’t worry about me. I won’t tell anyone.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You sure you’re ready to come back to work tonight?”
“I’m goin’ stir-crazy, so yeah.”
After we said our goodbyes, I drove to Wyatt’s garage. I was worried about this meeting, but it needed to be done, and I wanted to see him before I met with his father.
I pulled into the parking lot and walked toward the building. The garage doors were open and both bays had cars. Wyatt was standing next to one of them, but he turned as I approached him. He started to walk toward me, a guarded look on his face.
“Carly, I hear you’ve been feelin’ under the weather.”
“You heard correctly,” I said, already feeling winded and I hadn’t even met with Bart yet. Maybe this had been a mistake, but it was too late to turn back now.
“What happened?” he asked, but there was an accusatory edge to his voice.
“What exactly are you asking, Wyatt?”
“Why did you stay with Marco?”
“Are you serious?” I asked in disbelief. “What happened to fighting for me? Where were you last weekend?”
He looked away. “We had a family emergency.”
“Funny how you’ve known about all of my emergencies, yet I don’t know anything about yours.”
“That’s not fair, Carly,” he said in exasperation.
“You know,” I said, utterly exhausted, “you’re right. We’ve known each other for a month, so yeah, it’s unreasonable for me to expect you to share your secrets with me, but the fact remains that you know far more about me than I know about you, and you’ve made it clear you don’t plan on leveling the playing field anytime soon.”
“Carly…”
“This argument is getting old, and I’m exhausted by it too. So I’m here to tell you that I have no expectations. Not anymore. You said you wanted to work with me to make things right with our fathers, but I accept that you changed your mind.”
“Why do I think this isn’t as good as it sounds?”
“Because bottom line is you don’t trust me, and I can’t be with someone who doesn’t.”
“Carly.”
“I deserve a man who trusts me.”
“You deserve a lot of things, Carly,” he said with a tight voice.
“Yeah,” I said, “I do.” My voice broke. “I thought you were different.”
“Is this about Lula? We had to wrap our heads around finding out she was our sister before we could tell anyone.”
“I’m not supposed to be just anyone, but to top off the insult, you knew I was looking for her.”
“You mean you and Marco were lookin’ for her.”
“We were both looking for her. Max put Greta’s life in danger by keeping this secret. She was kidnapped and almost killed because of what Charlie Jones thought she knew about Lula. But you put my life in danger, Wyatt. You left me vulnerable all because you couldn’t trust me.”
“How did you get hooked up with Bingham on Sunday night?”
I released a bitter laugh. “No. You don’t get to ask me that.”
“What were you really doin’ at Marco’s house?”
“I had the flu.”
“You still look like crap,” he said. “I don’t believe that for a