Burn Out by Cheryl Douglas Page B

miserably.”
    Evan felt the
force of those words. She was right, and for once, he wouldn’t deny her claim.
He had to own his mistakes if he wanted her to believe he wouldn’t repeat them.
“I wasn’t man enough to give you what you needed back then. I can admit that.
But I am now.”
    “Really? What’s
changed, Evan? You’re still at Titan all hours of the day and night from what I
hear-”
    He pulled her
against him and brushed a kiss across her cheek. “You wanna know why? I go home
and look at your picture, fall asleep in the bed we used to share, and I…” He
pressed her hand against his chest so she could feel the steady beat of his
heart. “I miss you so damn much there are days it takes everything in me not to
drive by your work and plead with you to give me just one chance.”
    A tear slipped
down her cheek and she quickly brushed it away. “I would’ve given anything for
you to love me this much when we were together, but you couldn’t. That damn
company was your first and only love and I know it still is.”
    “No, it’s not,” he
whispered, knowing earning her trust again would take time. He had no idea how
valuable that was until he lost it, and now it seemed that was the only thing
he wanted money couldn’t buy. “I swear to you it’s not.”
    “I can’t listen to
any more of this,” she said, taking a step back. “I know we have to spend the
next week together, and for Dom and Lena’s sake, I’m willing to try and get
along, but don’t push me or I will fight back, Evan.” She squared her shoulders
and looked him in the eye. “I’m not the same silly little girl who fell head
over heels in love with you. You can’t make me believe your lies just because
you whisper them in my ear in the heat of a passionate moment, and you can’t
buy my forgiveness with expensive jewelry.” She set a hand on her hip. “I’m
doing just fine on my own. In fact, I love my life exactly the way it is.”
    He smiled at the
conviction he heard in her voice. Anyone else would have been fooled, but no
one knew her as well as he did. “I got that when you sent back everything I
ever gave you.” His smile slipped. He wasn’t that good of an actor. “I’m not
even gonna try pretendin’ that didn’t hurt like hell.”
    “It wasn’t about
getting even, if that’s what you think,” she said, casting a glance at the
ground. “But I didn’t want any of those things. They reminded me too much of…”
She sighed. “The one thing I wanted. The only thing you weren’t willing to give
me.”
    He held his
breath, knowing this would hurt more than any well-aimed insult.
    “I just wanted a
simple gold wedding band.” Her eyes were shining when she looked up, but he saw
a sense of resolve that told him she’d made up her mind and he wasn’t going to
get what he wanted this time. “I needed to know that you wanted me and only me
for the rest of our lives.”
    His throat was
thick with emotion when she started to walk away. “Erika, wait.” She looked
over her shoulder and the despair he saw in her eyes tore him apart.
    “I can’t wait any
longer, Evan. It’s time for you to let me go, for good this time.”
     
    ***
     
    Evan retreated to
the master bedroom as soon as they boarded the plane, and most of the other
passengers were already asleep when Jeff reached for Erika’s hand. She let him
comfort her because she needed a shoulder to lean on. She didn’t know why, but
she felt sad and lonely after her talk with Evan.
    “Are you okay?” he
asked, kissing the top of her head when she leaned on his shoulder.
    “Yes.” She sighed.
“No. I don’t know.”
    “You must know
that a man who loves you would never hurt you this way, Erika. He just wants
you back because he can’t have you. If you gave him what he wanted, he would
revert to the same selfish bastard you walked out on.”
    She knew he was
right, but admitting it still hurt. “I told him I’ll never take him back.”