Colters' Daughter (Colters' Legacy #3)(12)

His hand tightened on the wood of the door and he cursed under his breath. “Do you think I’d hurt you? Do you honest to God think I’d ever hurt you?”

She shrugged. “You’ve already hurt me.”

His breath hissed through his lips, and she saw some of his composure slip as fury brewed in his eyes. “Physically, Callie. Physically.”

She wouldn’t lie. “No. I don’t think you’d hurt me. That’s not what this is about. I just don’t think a hotel room is the best place for us to talk about anything.”

His eyes narrowed and then gleamed with quick understanding. “It isn’t me you’re afraid of, is it? It’s yourself.”

“Leave me my pride, at least,” she whispered. “When have I ever been able to resist you? You know it. I know it. There’s no reason for you to be so smug about it.”

“Goddamn it,” he swore. He swung the door open and gestured inside. “I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to. You have my word on that. It’s your pride I’m trying to salvage by having this conversation in private. I don’t really give a damn if people know how I feel about you. But I’d never humiliate you by airing our business in public.”

Feeling chastened, she stepped inside his room and edged over toward the one chair by the desk. She didn’t want to be anywhere near his bed. It was unmade and the indention from where he’d slept was still outlined in the mattress and on the pillow. She’d bet anything his scent still lingered.

He sat on the edge and faced her, his eyes still glittering. For a long moment he simply stared at her. Then shadows crept over his face. “I’ve missed you.”

She flinched and turned her face away, determined not to break down in front of him.

“Look at me, Callie.”

The soft command in his voice was her undoing. It brought back too many nights where he’d commanded her over and over. She turned back to see answering grief in his eyes and it left her feeling unsettled.

“I need to explain why I left you in Greece.”

She sucked in her breath and waited silently. It didn’t really matter why he left. What mattered was why he’d never come back. Why he hadn’t called. Why he’d done nothing to make her think any differently than he’d dumped her flat.

“My mother had been ill for quite some time. Even though she was ill, none of us expected her to have such a dramatic turn for the worse. She should have had years yet. She didn’t.”

Callie remained silent, unsure of what she was supposed to say. So she said nothing at all.

“My sister tracked me down in Greece. It was the first time I’ve ever purposely been out of contact with my family, or my business for that matter. I wanted nothing to intrude on my time with you.

“She told me I needed to come home…to say goodbye. My mother was dying and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. I went home and held my sister while our mother slipped away from us.”

“I’m sorry,” Callie said, not knowing what else to offer.

“I know I hurt you, Callie,” he said quietly, pain echoing in his voice.

She curled her fingers into tight fists. “You couldn’t tell me any of this then? What was so wrong with telling me why you had to go home? Did you think I wouldn’t understand?”

He shook his head. “No, I never thought something so badly of you. I knew if I told you that you’d want to come with me.”

His answer shocked her into silence and she stared at him as hurt crashed through her all over again.

“Damn it, Callie, don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what? Like it sounded like you had no desire for me to meet your family? What was wrong, Max? It’s okay to f**k me all over Europe but heaven forbid your family is exposed to me?”

His eyes warned her she was going too far, but she continued on recklessly, her anguish blinding her to all else.

“I loved you, Max. I thought you loved me. Of course I would have wanted to go back with you. I would have wanted to be with you, to support you during such a horrible time. That’s what love is all about.”

She shuddered violently and clutched her arms over her chest as she hugged herself against so much hurt.

“I waited,” she said painfully. “I waited for a month. I wouldn’t go anywhere because I was afraid you’d come back and I’d be gone. I wouldn’t let myself believe that you’d dumped me after all we shared. After I trusted you.”

Max rubbed a hand over his face and closed his eyes.

“I finally had no choice but to leave because I was out of money. You never called. You knew where I was and you never even so much as called to say what happened. To tell me you weren’t coming.”

“I was wrong,” he said softly. “I was grief-stricken. My sister was inconsolable. We’re the only family each other has. It took time to see to my mother’s affairs. There were matters to settle. I had to ensure my sister’s well-being. I knew I would never let you go. I knew that once I was able, I’d track you down no matter how long it took.”

“Well, here I am,” she said, spreading her arms, her hands palms-up. “As you can see, I’m fine. Your duty is done. You can leave now.”

“You’re not fine. Any fool can see that. You’ve lost weight. You have bruises under your eyes.”