“Do you know who Rylee Lexington is?”
I nodded. “Everyone does. Her marriage to Stone Lexington was all over the place. You couldn’t escape it. And everyone knows who Stone is.”
“August has a thing for Rylee, and he seems to think that he still has a chance with her.”
My eyes were practically popping out of their sockets. “She’s married,” I drawled out. “And not only is she married, but she’s married toStone freakin’ Lexington.Is the boy crazy?”
He surprised me by nodding. “I think so,” he replied. “It’s the only reason I can think of for him to keep pursuing Rylee.”
The very idea that someone was that suicidal to lust after Stone’s wife was insane. Stone Lexington’s reputation wasn’t a pretty one. “Okay, but…what’s that have to do with you?”
“Stone and I are friends,” he started. “August doesn’t appreciate me having Stone’s back, and I don’t appreciate August chasing my friend’s wife.”
“So, coming up to me and pretending like you guys are friends is a…trap?”
Ross’ entire body stilled. “You talked to him?”
“Yeah, twice.”
“And you didn’t say anything?” he hissed. “After I told you to stay away from him, you didn’t say anything?”
My back stiffened quickly. “Do you really want to talk about the things we haven’t told each other, Ross?”
He looked like he wanted to yell at me but didn’t. Instead, he just said, “Fair point.”
“Okay, next question.” He just nodded for me to go on. “How do you know Kincaid Black?”
“She’s Saxton Voss’ best friend.”Wow.I hadn’t seen that coming. “When I started hanging out with Saxton, Kincaid came with the territory.”
“Do you know why she felt it necessary to talk to me about you?”
Surprise was etched all over his face at that one. “I have no idea,” he answered. “You’ll have to ask her that. Hell, I didn’t even know she spoke with you.”
I nodded. “Yeah, earlier today.”
“Well, I don’t know why she approached you.”
“Okay, so next question, yeah?” He just nodded again. “Why did you start talking to me again? I faded away with no drama after what you did to me. Why not just…go on with your life?”
“Because I never wanted to walk away from you in the first place,” he answered. “I knew the odds were slim to none that you’d forgive me, but I couldn’t not try.”
“And you walked away because you had a shift in your priorities, right?”
“No,” he denied. “You’ve always been my priority, that’s why I had to…take care of the other things that were distracting me.”
“And you chose ghosting as an acceptable way to do that, rather than just break up with me face-to-face?”
“The truth is that I didn’t think I was strong enough to break up with you face-to-face,” he replied, causing my heart to sink in misery because I wanted that to mean something. “It was cowardly, shitty, rude, and unforgivable to ghost you after all that time we spent together, but I felt like it was the only avenue I had open to me at the time.”
Staring at him, my next question was the obvious one, but the hardest to ask, even over him ghosting me. I wanted all the details about Jennifer Polk, but Kincaid’s words were stuck on replay in my head.Let him tell you his secrets because he trusts you with them, not because you don’t trust him.
Rubbing my hands on my thighs, against the rough denim of my jeans, I knew I was done questioning him. There were only two questions left anyways; why did he ghost me in the first place, and what was Jennifer to him that he had gifted her with a diamond pendant necklace.
I was stupid enough to admit that both answers worried me. If his reason for ghosting me wasn’t good enough in my eyes, then that would just make me feel doubly stupid for ever allowing him back in my bed. As for Jennifer, my brain was convinced that their families were friends, and they had some arranged marriage or something archaic that rich people do. While it sounded ridiculous, there had to be something very important there for her to have such an expensive and exquisite piece of jewelry.
“Well, I’m done here,” I told him as I stood up. “Thanks for humoring me.”
Ross immediately stood up, too. “Wait up. What do you mean, you’re done here?” he asked surprised. “That’s it? Those are all the questions you have for me?” He’d been expecting me to ask him about Jennifer.