Stacking the Deck (A Betting on Romance Novel Book 2)(97)

“What?” Liz stared at Carter’s retreating back in disbelief. “Carter, wait! Let me explain!”

He stopped, turned and raised one dark eyebrow. “What’s to explain, Liz? This isn’t hard to figure out. Christ! I’m not as stupid as you think.”

“What are you talking about? Who said you were stupid?”

“Stupid enough to believe we had something worthwhile going. But how could we, when nothing has changed? You still think you’re better than the rest of us schmucks who never left Sugar Falls.” He choked out a hard, humorless laugh. “I’m sorry I’m so far beneath you.”

“What? You were never beneath me!”

“Oh. Right. Except for that one time you were on top,” he murmured, and the cold innuendo coupled with the hurt look in his eyes had the blood rushing from her head.

He looked up and down her tattered dress and battered form. “I’m sorry I’m not good enough for the new and improved Liz Beacon. But you know what? This is me, Liz. I’m a college drop-out. I don’t care what other people think. I don’t wear fancy suits or eat organic crap or pre-plan my every move like one of your master plan to-do lists. This is who I am. And unlike some people, I’m not embarrassed by that.”

“I’m not embarrassed by… I admire you!”

“Bullshit. You tore them down! You caused the fire! And what’s worse is you were going to let everyone, including me, believe it was my fault!” He shook his head. “Fuck this. I’m sick of being everyone’s fall guy. You want me to live up to my potential? How is that even possible when the first suspect for every crime committed in this goddamn town is me?”

“Carter, I—”

“Save it. You’re no different than the rest of them.”

“How can you say that? When have I judged you that way?”

His lips were a taut line. “Did you hear I’d been kicked out of the fire department? The rumors about why?”

“Well, yes, Trish may have mentioned…”

“Did you believe the rumors were true?”

Her expression must have told him the truth, because he swore again under his breath and turned toward the door again. “To be fair,” she called after him, “you never did have a squeaky clean reputation. I mean, you were the high school bad boy! I saw you smoke cigarettes… You wore a leather jacket!”

He stopped, his back to her. “That was my father’s jacket,” he said so quietly she almost couldn’t hear. He turned. “And maybe my reputation was less about the truth and more about what other people wanted to believe.”

She shook her head. How dare he judge her this way! What had she done? “You told me yourself you used to go drinking at the quarry and skinny dipping in Miller Brook!”

“So did ninety-nine percent of the rest of the teenagers in this town.”

“But they outgrew it! They became responsible adults.” Okay, only some of them, but they weren’t talking about Dan or John… “You still have beer bottles on the floor of your pickup! I mean… Dammit! What am I supposed to think?”

“That I recycle?”

“You see? When you make jokes like that, I don’t think I even know you!” But then she watched him and realized with sickening awareness that he wasn’t joking at all. Oh my God. He wasn’t.

“No,” he said. “I don’t think you do.”

“Then help me,” she said, something hot and desperate firing inside her. “Don’t shut me out…”

“Liz, you took something I gave you and blew up your parents’ house with it. I think we’re done.”

“Done? Do you hear yourself? Carter, they were just lights…”

“And I’m just another guy that will never be perfect enough for the perfect Liz Beacon.”

“I never once said you weren’t perfect!”

“No, you said it in a hundred different ways. But don’t worry. I’m sure there’s a pill I can take to fix it.”

She stared at him in shock. This couldn’t be happening! “I never meant—”

“You know the ironic part of all this?” His mouth twisted in anything but humor. “I came to your house tonight to tell you… to tell you…”

She felt the blood rush from her head then roar back again. “That you love me?” she whispered.

She shivered, her emotions raw and exposed, battered and bruised, and the only man who had the power to make it all right stood before her. She waited and prayed he could see she wasn’t trying to be perfect, wasn’t trying to make him perfect. She was only ever trying to be good enough. But…

“Love you?” he asked. “Liz, love is going out of your way to make someone else happy no matter what it costs you. Love is going into a burning building knowing it might take your life, too.” And suddenly he grabbed her arms, his fingers tight and hot on her skin. “It’s throwing yourself over someone and begging a God you were never sure you believed in to protect that person, because now that you’ve finally found them—again!—you can’t bear to lose them…”

Tears began to slide down her face, and her bandaged eye started to ache. Her heart pounded hard and fast and eagerly inside her. He did love her!