Before the Sunset (Cottonwood Cove, #4)(23)

“Different how?”

He scrubbed a hand down his face. “I don’t know. Maybe you’re experiencing it, too. We’ve technically been broken up for a year, and I don’t know what you did when you were in London by yourself.”

“I didn’t do anything because I didn’t stop loving you, Carl. I just wanted to take a professional opportunity that had come my way. I wanted something for me to feel good about. I still wanted us to be together. But I’m guessing you’ve done plenty since I’ve been gone.” I braced myself for what he was going to tell me.

He refilled my wine glass, and his gaze locked with mine. “You and I were so young when we first met, Reese. I was your first… everything, and I think I just didn’t ever want to do anything to scare you off. Or hell, maybe I was the scared one. But my relationship with Christy is different than ours was,” he said, clearing his throat before letting out a long breath. “There’s more passion, physically, I guess. I don’t hold back with her because she’s more experienced than you were. But I don’t feel like it’s going to be a long-lasting thing, if I’m being honest, so I don’t think about every little thing when I’m with her. There are no rules. We don’t have the same emotional connection. Maybe this is what you and I needed. To experience something different.”

Oh my God.

Did he really just admit that he has good sex with his new girlfriend while our sex life was vanilla at best?

A dull ache settled in my chest.

“Wow. I did not see tonight going like this,” I said, reaching for my glass and taking a long sip, downing most of the liquid in one gulp.

“Come on, Reese. You can’t tell me you don’t agree.”

“Oh, I agree, Carl. But I was the one that always wanted to try things, and you were the one who kept throwing your medical background in my face when it came to our sex life.” I crossed my hands over my chest and leaned back in my chair.

“I just always looked at you as the woman I was going to marry. The future mother of my children. I didn’t want to tarnish that,” he said, his gaze searching mine.

“You didn’t want to tarnish our future with orgasms?” I hissed.

His eyes widened. “I’m guessing your relationship with Finn is also different. I’m assuming you’re sleeping with him?”

This was the moment of truth.

Come clean or keep the lie going.

But after hearing what he’d just shared, I wasn’t going to admit that I hadn’t had sex in over a year. Hadn’t had sex with anyone but him. That I’d waited for him while he was out having fabulous sex with Christy Rae Lovell.

If we were going to end up together, it wouldn’t be me begging him to come back. He would need to do the begging. He’s the one who ended things. He’s the one having all the good sex with someone else.

“Of course I am. He’s my boyfriend, after all. And obviously, he’s very experienced, so…” I chuckled as I reached for the bottle and filled my glass with what little was left in the bottle.

I was well on my way to drunk town, and I was going to let him know all the ways that Finn Reynolds was rocking my world.

He nodded. “I figured you were. I can’t lie, Reese. The thought of another man touching you makes me sick.”

“Well, the feeling is mutual. You jumped first, though, Carl. You can’t expect me to sit around and wait forever. And Finn and I—” I paused and looked toward the kitchen for dramatic effect. “We’re explosive together. I guess we’re both exploring new things, huh?”

His tongue swiped out to wet his lips, and I smiled because I knew the jealousy was eating him up.

“I miss you.” He shrugged. “But I guess we’ll just have to see where things go for both of us.”

My phone vibrated, and I glanced down to see a text from Finn.

Chewy



I can’t believe the dude went behind my back and took you to his house. I’m still pissed off. Miss you, Miney. It’s country night at Garrity’s. Hugh and Cage don’t want to go. You want me to wait for you? We’ll go dance our asses off?





Normally, I’d say no and stay here with Carl. But at the moment, I had a good buzz going, and the thought of dancing to some good country music with my best friend sounded a hell of a lot better than hearing about the great sex Carl was having with someone else.

Let’s do it. Heading home in five minutes.





“Well, I’m not sure where things are going for either of us in the future, aside from having lots of rocking good sex with other people,” I said. Were my words slurring? Was rocking good sex a real thing? “But my boyfriend wants to take me dancing, so I need to get home.”

He nodded. “I miss the nights we used to go dancing.”

“Yeah. Well, now we have new partners, Carl. And that was your doing.”

His eyes widened. He wasn’t used to me being so confrontational. But the new me was done being a doormat. If we were going to have a future together, things did need to change. He was right about that.

He’d have to make the effort if he wanted to get me back.

Right now, there was only one place that I wanted to be.

Dancing with my best friend—my fake boyfriend and the guy who would take my mind off the fact that the man I planned to marry had just shredded my heart.