Changing Course (Wrecked and Ruined #1)(40)

"Go away." The sharp pain in my chest is too much.

"That's not going to happen. Let me in."

"I can't...I want you to leave me alone. Go back to your wife and kids. It's not right for you to be here." I begin to choke back the tears all over again. This is just ridiculous. I can't believe he even has the audacity to stand outside my door after his wife called me. "Go home!"

"I can't go home Jesse, not knowing that you are in there, hurt and upset," he says, and the pain in his voice is almost enough to make me want to reach out to hug him. Almost.

With his wife's words ringing in my ears, I remind myself that I am no one's dirty little secret. As much as I like Brett, he's a lie. It’s better I found this out now, before I have a chance to fall in love with the facade. I rise to my feet squaring my shoulders, ready to fight for the only person I can really trust. Me.

I yank open the front door to see him instantly meet my gaze. His assessing eyes glide over my tear-stained cheeks. Rushing forward he pulls me hard into his chest. He holds me, caressing my back, but I don't reciprocate. Tucked tightly into this man’s arms, my anger begins to fade from my body, but I refuse let it go completely. I stand limp, feet anchored to the ground, the rest of my body sways barely balanced enough to stand. He won't let me fall, and that realization hits me like hard a punch to the stomach. I mentally allow myself one minute to melt into his safe and comfortable arms, smelling his scent and feeling his strength as he kisses the top of my head. I enjoy this feeling for one last second before snapping out of the trance.

Shoving him as hard as I can, I push myself out of his grasp. I must have caught him off guard because he stumbles backwards a few steps.

"Get out, go home, and never speak to me again. Find a new place to eat breakfast, too. You may think I'm a na?ve, easy play, but I'm not falling for your crap anymore. I know who you are Brett."

"Oh really? Who am I Jess?" He roughly runs his hand through his hair. Tousling it in the sexiest way. Crap!

"You’re a liar and a cheat. You played me which is bad enough, but for God’s sake, you played your own family, too."

"What did she say?" he asks, and I can almost see the flames shooting from his ears.

"Go home."

He sucks in a deep breath trying to collect himself. "Jess, when I'm angry I cuss...a lot. Last time I cussed at you, you freaked out. So let me prepare you, because I'm about to say a lot of words that you may not like. Please, don't take this personally, but I won't be able to watch my mouth." His calm voice raises to a shout as he obviously loses whatever control he collected just second ago. "Especially when you are telling me to go home to my wife and f*cking kids. Now, before my head explodes, what the f*ck did she tell you?" he screams.

"It doesn't matter what she told me. None of this is her fault, so don't you dare try to blame it on her. You're the one who lied to me. Why don't you try telling the truth for once? You would be amazed how liberating it feels. Jesus Brett, you told me you wife was dead. How do you sleep at night?"

"I never told you my wife was dead," he says, clearly befuddled.

I throw my hands up in the air and walk away leaving him standing in the doorway. I grab a beer from the fridge, not even bothering to offer him one. "You told me you lost her in a car accident. You said Caleb lost his fiancé too. Do you two work together? Lying about your dead wives to gain sympathy from unsuspecting women just to get them into bed?" I ask, taking a much needed sip of the beer.

Still standing in the foyer, his biceps bulge when he crosses his arms across his chest. Seriously, I have got to stop checking him out. No wonder he got me into bed so quickly. This man is good. Even knowing he's a big fat liar, I can't stop myself from lusting after him. Damn it!

"I told you I lost my wife in a car accident and that is the truth. I didn't realize that you thought she was dead. I see now how you would have assumed that though. I truly apologize for not being more clear. I never meant to imply she was dead, but you have to know that is the way I feel about her. She died years ago."

He sucks in another deep breath ready to continue, "Caleb and I are not working some big play to get women into bed. You are the first, and only, woman I have gotten into bed in over four years. Caleb's fiancé, Manda, actually died in the car that night. She was Sarah's best friend, and her death is a large part of the reason why Sarah is the way she is today. "

"Sure. Are you done yet? Because, you really need to leave." I can't listen to his lies. He is explaining away the fact that he has a living breathing wife. I'm not buying it.

"Sarah and I are still married." He finally tells the truth and even though I already knew, it still hurts to hear him actually admit it. "But she is not my wife anymore."

"That's not what it sounded like on the phone tonight."

"Jess, I have no idea what she said to you, but I'm starting to piece some of it together. She is the one who lied to you. We don't have any kids. We haven't lived together in over three years. I did lose her in a car accident that night. She didn't die, but I lost her all the same," he says in such a sincere voice, that I almost want to believe him. Then I remember the heartbreak in his wife’s voice when all of his deception hit her tonight. That alone, is enough for me to never speak to him again.