Her Forever Hero (Unexpected Heroes #3)(62)

“Had I known I was planning the wedding of this scum of a man, I would never have agreed to this,” Grace replied, fire in her eyes, but her voice calm. “He will use you and abuse you. Don’t think for a minute that you’re special.”

“You’re a liar,” Kitty cried as she tucked herself against her father.

“I think it’s best if you leave now, Grace,” Edwin told her.

“Gladly.”

With that, Grace turned and began marching toward the front door. Cam smiled at Jimmy—a promising smile, a look that assured the man he wasn’t finished with him. He didn’t move until he saw fear enter his eyes. Then he chased after Grace.

It was time for them to finish speaking about both of their pasts. They had no shot at a future while secrets still lay between them. Whether she wanted to or not, tonight they would be talking.





“Are you going to be silent the entire way back to Sterling?”

“I don’t feel like talking right now.”

Grace was still fuming, her adrenaline pumping, her nerves shot. When Kitty was gushing about her fiancé, James, she had never thought it could be the same person Grace had been stupid enough to have dated after he’d abused her.

Had she known what was happening, she would have had more time to prepare, more time to face the man she hated so much. But it was too late to kick herself now. The damage was done. Jimmy had managed to catch her off guard at a party with reporters present.

Grace’s humiliation would be complete when her face was splashed across the society pages for being a bitter ex, and her career most likely had just gone down the drain. So much time put into something that was gone in one weak moment.

“Are you still in love with him?” Cam asked.

That broke Grace out of her reverie, and she turned to look at him. “How in the world could you ask me that?”

That’s when she noticed that he seemed to be holding himself together by a very thin thread. She didn’t understand why he was so upset. If anyone should be upset at this point, it was certainly her.

“No, I’m not in love with him. I’ve never been in love with him,” she snapped, not in the mood to coddle Cam while she was feeling her own hurts.

“That’s bullshit and you know it, Grace. You were with him when you were still supposed to be mine,” he growled, his anger rising.

“What in the world are you talking about, Cam?”

Her anger drained in her confusion. She was also grateful for the privacy glass between them and the driver, although she wasn’t so sure it was soundproof.

“I saw you with him. I came home my first vacation from school and I saw you with Jimmy Wells behind my father’s barn, and he was kissing you.”

Grace was silent as she processed his words. “I never cheated on you, Cam. I wouldn’t have done that. I loved you,” she said, trying to think of what he was talking about.

“Don’t insult me by lying, Grace. I saw you!” he yelled.

“When?” Her voice was quiet. Maybe he didn’t notice how quiet, but it was very, very quiet as she waited for his response.

“It was the beginning of summer after my first year of law school. We were supposed to get all summer together. I got home early and came searching for you. I found you—in the arms of another guy.”

Grace’s eyes flooded with tears, but she managed to push them back before she let them fall. What good was it to rehash this? Why were they doing this to each other?

“You told me you were staying there that summer to work,” she said instead of asking all the questions she wanted to ask.

“After finding my girlfriend making out with another guy, I wanted to be as far from this farm as possible, so I went back and worked all summer near campus.”

“Why didn’t you say anything to me?” she asked.

“I was young and stupid—and ticked off,” he said, his voice draining of anger. “Look, I told myself this didn’t matter, that I wasn’t going to dredge up the past, but I was just so angry . . .” He took a breath. “Seeing Jimmy just brought out the worst in me. I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t cheat on you. I didn’t even entertain the idea of doing such a thing.”

“Grace!” he shouted, then stopped. When he spoke again, he was more in control. “I saw you kissing him.”

She had to think for a minute to remember that summer. Jimmy had kissed her. But it hadn’t been a wanted kiss and she’d immediately pushed him away.

“I didn’t date Jimmy until I knew you were gone, until you dumped me on the phone and then I heard rumors of all the girls you were dating. Then I only dated him because I was lonely . . .” Her voice trailed off. This hurt so much more than she wanted to admit, even to herself.

“No . . .” He stopped again. “The kiss . . .”

“If it was at the beginning of summer, he did kiss me, and I stopped him. I didn’t want it,” she told him. “But then you came back . . .”

“I was pissed and I wanted to prove something.” Cam hung his head in shame.

They were both silent for several more minutes. Then Grace had to say something. “We had sex, and I thought everything was fixed and then you were supposed to come back in a couple of months for the dance. But I didn’t hear from you again.”