The Werewolf Dates The Deputy - Kristen Painter Page 0,33
bottle back, finishing it. “You really want to know?”
He glanced at her. “Yeah, I do.”
“You’re sure? Because if you want me to be truthful, you can’t get mad at the answer.”
He could. But he wouldn’t. Not for the sake of them moving forward in a meaningful way. “I won’t. Promise.”
She pointed the empty bottle at him. “You’re an oath breaker. And I don’t want anything to do with someone like that.”
Jenna knew the slight buzz from the Warhammer was partially to blame for her sudden impulse to tell Titus what she really thought of him. But hey, he’d asked.
He stared at her in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“You broke your engagement.” She shrugged and put the empty bottle down. Something inside her gave way to the anger she still felt toward Eric. Maybe all the magic influencing her was causing it, but there was no stopping what she wanted to say. “I know you had a fiancée and I know she left you and I know there are two sides to every story, so whatever the reason that arrangement dissolved, you still had a part in it. Which means you share the blame.”
An angry wolfen glow lit his eyes. “You don’t know anything about my engagement.”
“I know what I need to know.” He was getting mad. And mad seemed like a good way to shut down the effects of the love spell.
“No, you don’t.”
She rested her arms along the edge of the tub and leaned back. “So tell me.”
He swallowed, some of the angry light in his eyes fading until, a moment later, it was gone completely. But something new had taken its place. Sadness? Regret? Disappointment?
That wasn’t the response Jenna had expected. A pang of sympathy went through her. What had happened to Titus to make him feel that way? And why on earth had she asked? If she felt sympathetic toward him now, how was she going to feel after listening to his story?
She’d made him mad enough. There was no point in pushing this further. She held her finger up. “You know what? I changed my mind. You don’t have to tell me.”
“No, you asked. And you assumed. So I’m going to tell you, because you clearly have some false ideas about me.” His jaw was tense, making his words come out sharp. They matched the angry light that had crept back into his eyes.
She pulled her arms back into the water and tucked her hands under her legs. “Okay.”
“Zoe was…perfect in every way. She’s a schoolteacher. Great with kids. And they love her right back. She’s wolf, like me. And just a beautiful person, inside and out. She’s everything I wanted in a partner.” He hesitated, obviously a little lost in memories.
A moment later, he started again. “But it wasn’t meant to be. Her parents are older, and then her father fell and broke his hip. She’s an only child and felt obligated to move home and take care of them. So she went back to Oregon and her parents. I certainly can’t fault her for doing the right thing by them. In fact, her willingness to give up everything for them is an example of the person she is. The person I fell in love with.”
“Why didn’t you move with her?”
He shook his head. “I was already chief. I’d built this house for us. My brother and sister lived here, my parents not far away. My life is here.”
“But if you really loved her…”
He looked miserable. So much so, she felt bad about bringing up the subject. A vein in his forehead pulsed. “I guess I didn’t love her enough to give up everything I worked for. To leave my family behind for hers.” His words grew angrier as he spoke. “I’m as responsible for our breakup as she is. Or maybe you’re right, and it’s all my fault since I wasn’t willing to move.”
“So you’re admitting you were selfish?”
“Selfish?” The glow in his eyes was almost blinding, and his voice had a growl that hadn’t been there before. “You want the truth? Yes, her parents needed her, but she was already planning to leave because she hated my job. Thought it was too dangerous. Couldn’t stand the idea of worrying about whether or not I’d come home after every shift. So I let her go. Happy? Feel better now that you’ve gotten that out of me?”
Jenna sat there, mouth open, realizing how wrong she’d been about everything. About him especially.