don’t think so.” Miguel strode to his desk and made the leather chair squeak under his weight. “Are you aware of how much Josh told me about your situation?”
Her legs decided they didn’t want to support her anymore, so she rounded the chair and collapsed. Her brother wouldn’t have divulged everything.
The neatly trimmed goatee made a bristling sound as he rubbed it. “Josh mentioned you were at risk of losing the club you and Broderick had purchased together.” His eyes narrowed the slightest bit. “You helped him and his partner, Jordan, to purchase the club by allowing him to use your house as collateral.”
Was he judging her for wholeheartedly supporting her ex-husband’s dream?
His light gaze held hers. “Under Broderick’s management, The Palace thrived. I even went there a couple of times.”
Her jaw dropped open.
“Why are you so surprised? We were on the same football team in college.”
Her ex had kept a lot of things from her, but what did it matter if Miguel had come to the club? Maybe Broderick had remembered how she’d cried on his shoulder after Miguel had blatantly rejected her and didn’t want to dredge up the horrific memories. It wouldn’t have mattered because the memory was always a heartbeat away, tormenting her, even after all this time. She couldn’t figure out why she’d never been able to get Miguel out of her mind and had stopped fighting it. Ten years was too damn long to hold on to someone.
Miguel opened a folder to reveal a graph with colorful squiggly lines. He pointed to a low dip and tapped on it. “He’d kept the club in the black within four months of opening it and then six months ago things went south. What happened?”
Her gaze flittered to the hidden refrigerator as her mouth dried. Why hadn’t she said yes to the water he’d offered earlier instead of letting her pride direct her answer? She didn’t want anything from him, so if she could deny whatever he offered, other than his help to get her out of this muddle, then she’d decline.
May as well come clean about her shoddy ownership skills. Air filled her lungs with her deep inhale before she released it. “We got divorced and the club and house went to me.”
His brows crinkled together and his voice lost a bit of its bass when he asked, “Why?”
Was the question regarding the divorce or the settlement? Did she need this embarrassment? Walking out would be easier. If she ran fast enough, he wouldn’t be able to catch her, but she liked her home and wanted to continue living in it for the foreseeable future. “Because the house belonged to me. I had purchased it in my name long before we got married three years ago. When he wanted to start up the club, I believed in him and used the house as collateral.”
He flipped his large hands over. She remembered the heat they’d elicited in her as he’d caressed her skin that night back in college. She shoved the thought away. “I don’t understand. Couldn’t he have paid you off? Or at the very least, you could’ve sold the club and split the profits.”
Clasping her hands together until a knuckle cracked did nothing to remove the nervous flutter from her belly. What would he think of her? That she was a loser. A little white lie wouldn’t hurt. “He insisted I keep it.” Of course he’d said it in a sarcastic, challenging tone, but her prideful self had taken him up on it. It hadn’t helped that she’d wanted him to suffer for ruining her life the way he had. How hard could it be to run a business? Not difficult with a background in finance and marketing, and six years working as the manager of a thriving club in Boston. Broderick had that experience; unfortunately, she didn’t. Where he’d made their place fly, it was flopping under her incompetent control.
Miguel shook his head and narrowed his hazel eyes. “So you’re saying that even though he’d poured his heart and soul into the club, he was willing to give it to you straight out?”
She twirled the strap of her bag as she struggled to maintain eye contact. His steady gaze had been her undoing every time she’d tried to lie to him. It turned out his eyes still had the same power of drawing out the truth when it came to her, but if she could hold on for a few more seconds, then maybe he’d be willing to let it all go. Seconds passed before the words spewed out. “I fought him for the club. With the help of my parents and my brother, I paid off his business partner so I could own it outright when the judge awarded me with it.”
Before he could ask any more questions, she held up a hand. “It turns out that a woman can get almost anything she wants when her husband is unfaithful—” she paused for the dramatic effect the moment deserved “—with the man he divorces her for once he’s able to marry him.”
Her admission seemed to have knocked Miguel for a loop as he slammed his back into the seat and stared at her. Speechless.
At least she hadn’t been the only one fooled by her ex. He’d been a master at hiding his homosexuality. “Now he’s out of the closet and ecstatic. By the way, his business partner, now husband, is who I had to buy out and when I slid the check over to them, Broderick wished me the best of luck with a condescending ‘You’re going to fail big-time’ snarl. He didn’t think I could run the place. He’d told me so on numerous occasions throughout the divorce proceedings.” She crossed her arms over her chest. His attitude had irked her to the point of spite. Just because she hadn’t been able to keep him satisfied as a wife didn’t mean she’d fail at the venture, even though her heart wasn’t really in it. Pride was named one of the deadly sins for a reason. “I couldn’t have him take away my chance at a family along with bursting my ego, so I decided to prove him wrong.”
The room pulsed with the unstated words of her failure. To her revulsion, tears stung the backs of her eyes, and she tried to swallow the lump of disappointment, which had come from nowhere and refused to leave. She had to get out of there before she embarrassed herself even further. This time she didn’t speak as she jumped out the chair and ran toward the door. She knew for certain now that coming to the man who’d driven her into Broderick’s arms in the first place had been a colossal mistake.
Firm hands held her by the shoulders and turned her around before she could grip the handle of the door. When he pulled her in close, she pressed her hands against his chest and tried to push away. She really did, but ended up gripping the lapels of his suit jacket so she could rest her head against his broad chest.
For the first time since the night he’d destroyed her, she released the pain she’d been holding in. The sobs shook her body as he rubbed her back. She cried so hard that his words were lost on her, but the calming vibrations passing into her chest soothed. When the dam finally closed, she sniffled as the hiccups made their unfortunate appearance.
He released her and looked down into what must look like a monstrous mess of a face. Wiping the tears from her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs, her heart stilled when for the briefest of moments, he angled his head as if he was coming in for a kiss. Her captured breath burned within her lungs in anticipation, ready to relive his soft lips pressed to hers. Her nipples tightened at the prospect. Without warning, he stepped away.
Leading her to the couch, he sat her down and handed her a box of tissues. The unladylike sound that came when she blew her nose didn’t make her feel any more comfortable. He went to the refrigerator, took out a bottle of water and twisted off the cap before handing it to her.
Tanya gulped the liquid to reduce the flame of mortification heating her head while she avoided his gaze. Had she actually thought he’d kiss her? She may have lost weight and looked okay, but he could have any
