“So you’re admitting you were selfish?”
“Selfish?” The glow in his eyes was almost blinding, and his voice had a growl that hadn’t been there before. “You want the truth? Yes, her parents needed her, but she was already planning to leave because she hated my job. Thought it was too dangerous. Couldn’t stand the idea of worrying about whether or not I’d come home after every shift. So I let her go. Happy? Feel better now that you’ve gotten that out of me?”
Jenna sat there, mouth open, realizing how wrong she’d been about everything. About him especially.
He abruptly stood and climbed out of the hot tub, sending water splashing. Without another word, he went into the house, leaving her sitting alone.
She watched him go, the guilt at what she’d just done sinking in. Why on earth had she pushed him? It wasn’t his fault his engagement had been broken. She’d projected her own heartache onto him. Her own anger and disappointment. She was a terrible person.
Tessa was right. Titus wasn’t Eric. It wasn’t Titus’s fault that Eric had betrayed her and treated her heart like it was disposable.
Her throat ached, and her stomach felt worse. Neither one had anything to do with the spell they were under either.
She got out of the hot tub, dried herself off with the towel he’d kindly provided for her, and thought about how best to apologize. If he’d even talk to her.
And if he wouldn’t, well, she’d earned that.
She wrapped the towel around her body, went in through the sliders and down the hall to his door. She knocked softly. “Titus? I’m sorry. Please, can we talk?”
A whiny, grinding noise started up in the garage.
She tugged the towel a little tighter and headed in that direction. She opened the garage door.
Titus was in jeans, T-shirt, and safety goggles, sanding down a big hunk of wood, his back to her. Little bits of sawdust floated through the air, along with the scent of the wood he was working on.
She waited until he stopped sanding and she could be heard. “Titus?”
He straightened and slowly turned. He put the sander down and pushed the goggles onto his forehead. He didn’t say a word. Just stared at her, the weight of accusation heavy in his gaze.
But she already knew what she’d done. She hung her head. “I’m really sorry. For a lot of things. For saying you were to blame for your relationship ending. For saying you were selfish. For trying to make you mad on purpose. For making assumptions about you that I shouldn’t have. I was wrong about all of that. I don’t know why I…” She sighed. “That’s a lie. I know why.” She couldn’t bring herself to confess more. That part of her past hurt too much.
“You care to elaborate on that?”
She shook her head, unable to look at him as the knot returned to her throat. “I’m really sorry I was such a jerk to you. You’ve been nothing but nice to me. You didn’t deserve that.”
“Apology accepted.”
“Thank you.” She really needed to go to bed. This day had been enough already.
“Why were you trying to make me mad?”
“So the love spell wouldn’t work.” With nothing left to say, she turned, and her hand went to the knob. Was it any wonder she didn’t have anyone in her life? Who would want to be around her? Eric certainly hadn’t considered her worthy of his loyalty or respect.
“Jenna?”
Her name on his lips wasn’t what stopped her from leaving. It was the sympathetic tone in his voice. A tone she didn’t deserve. Not even with her apology.
“What did he do to you?”
The question almost undid her. As it was, a momentary wash of numbness went through her. She wanted to snap back at him, tell him that no one did anything to her. But the lie would be obvious.
More than that, Titus deserved her honest response. And her respect. After all, they’d said they’d be civil to each other, and so far, she was failing at that.
Besides, lying to herself that she was fine wasn’t helping one bit. It was time to come clean. With Titus. And with herself.
She turned back around and sat on the step. “He broke my heart. Then ruined my life. And I’m still not over it.”
“Of course you’re not.” Titus came over and sat next to her. Close enough that she could feel the heat emanating off him. It was nice being close to someone who was warm. And handsome. And forgiving. “Who was he?”
“Eric Peerson.” Just saying his full name took something out of her. She inhaled, but her breath caught and sounded more like the beginning of a sob. She hated how weak that made her seem. How affected by that stupid, stupid man. How pathetic she felt considering she was a valkyrie.
“Who was he?”
“My commanding officer. And the man…I thought I was going to marry.”
Titus sucked in a breath. “That doesn’t sound good at all.”
She shook her head. There was sawdust on his jeans. Was the spell making her notice such things about him? “It wasn’t.” She expected Titus to ask next what Eric had done. That’s what people always did. Asked for details about the really painful stuff.
But a long, quiet moment passed before he spoke, and that wasn’t what he said at all.
“If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here. You can yell, cry, scream, rant, whatever you need. I know firsthand how much someone you care about can turn your world upside down.”
She looked at him. Just a sideways glance through a few tendrils of loose hair, but it was enough to see how sincere he was. “I bet you do.”
He genuinely cared. Wasn’t mad—anymore—about what she’d said to him in the hot tub. Wasn’t holding a grudge. He just wanted her to know he was available if she needed someone to listen to
