doesn’t even enter into it. You’re blindly striking out and trying to hurt whoever you can. Listen, if I had thought I could be up front with you from the first moment, I would have been. But I can see now that I was right. You wouldn’t have talked to me, and so I did the only thing I could to get near you. You have a closed mind. You want me out of your life? I’m out,” he stated coldly. He turned and left in long strides.
Sophia slammed her heavy door and sagged against it, sobbing and shaking. She hurt badly in every way.
Garrett had betrayed her—she couldn’t perceive anything else. Their lovemaking had simply been a means to an end, nothing more. When they had made love, he hadn’t been emotionally involved—he had been working. But as swiftly as that thought came, she replayed the pain in his voice as he confessed to her, and she believed his emotions were real.
Yet how could she trust him now?
She heard his car and then it was gone. And with that, Garrett vanished out of her life.
She sat on the nearest chair and cried. Hurt was overwhelming. Heartbroken, she hated herself for being duped just as much as she hated Garrett for deceiving her. How blind she had been to Garrett’s purpose.
His accusations echoed in her thoughts—you’re selfish; you’re blindly striking out and trying to hurt whoever you can.
Was he right? Was she being selfish?
He had not succeeded or even come close to getting her to consider meeting the Delaneys. So would Garrett continue trying, or was he giving up?
Would she ever see him again? And could she admit to herself that after everything he had done to her, after everything that had happened, the possibility of never seeing him was the worst part of all of this?
Garrett slid behind the wheel and took deep breaths. Desperate at the thought of losing Sophia, he had been tempted to just grasp her shoulders and force her to talk to him. But where the Delaneys were concerned, Sophia had shut off reason.
Her actions shocked him even though he had known about her feeling rejected beforehand, and had heard her bitterness when she talked about the Delaneys, particularly her father.
Anger churned his insides. Along with fury was an uncustomary hurt. He had enjoyed being with her more than any other woman he had known. He wasn’t ready for the hurt of losing her. He wasn’t ready for the fallout from telling the truth, yet he had been compelled to do so. How could she be so stubborn?
Clenching his teeth until his jaw hurt, he drove home, charging into the empty house and tossing down his keys. Yanking off his jacket as he headed to his room, he tried to compose his thoughts and get a grip on his stormy emotions.
He’d always thought Will was the most stubborn Delaney—until now. Sophia was more stubborn than Will because Will would at least listen to reason and if you got through to him, he would cooperate. Sophia, on the other hand, turned deaf ears to his arguments.
He thought about the night and her passion. It was as if he had been with a different woman when they had made love. A warm, loving, passionate woman. He hurt and hurt for her.
He swore quietly, pacing his room, glaring at the phone. He needed to break the news to Will, but he wasn’t ready yet.
Would she ever give him another chance to talk to her about the Delaneys—or to make it up to her? He doubted it and he didn’t care to hang around with unreasonable expectations.
He went to the kitchen to get a cold beer. Reeling with anger and frustration, Garrett popped the top and took a drink, feeling the cold liquid wash down his throat.
Procrastinating, Garrett stared at the window. He did not want to call Will or any other Delaney. Yet he had to. What would he do if he were in Will’s place? What could he suggest Will and his brothers do now? In future years, after the inheritances were dispersed to other places and no longer an issue, then would she meet with the Delaneys? The brothers truly wanted to know their sister, and Garrett knew they wouldn’t stop trying. Surely then she would think more rationally about them and give them a chance.
But would she ever give him another chance?
Garrett paced the floor and sipped his beer while he thought. All the time he had argued with her, he had wanted to just wrap his arms around her and ask her to forgive him, believe him and go back to the way things had been. He knew that was unrealistic, but he wanted her badly and he hurt now in a manner he had never hurt before in his life.
Reluctantly, he picked up the phone. Will answered on the second ring.
“Will, it’s Garrett.”
“You’re running true to schedule, waking me in the wee hours of the morning. What’s the deal?”
“Here’s the latest,” he said, pausing. This was the second-hardest thing he had ever had to tell someone. “I did what I could for you with Sophia.”
“Whoa, Garrett. You told her who you are?”
“Yes, I did. I had to. I think waiting longer would have made it worse and it’s bad enough anyway.”
“Go ahead,” Will said, his voice becoming gruff, the disappointment showing. “I’m not sure I want to hear, but I know I have to. This doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s not,” Garrett declared. “She’s adamant about her decision. She still won’t meet with any of you,” he said, pain rippling through him as he remembered her cold remarks to him.
“Dammit, I thought you were getting close to her—I thought this would work.”
“I did get damn close to her, but the instant she learned the truth … You can’t imagine her fury. She doesn’t want anything to do with me or any Delaney. Will, I did my damnedest with her.”
“I’m sure you did. I’m disappointed, but not with you. You always give a job your best.”
“We were getting along great and I thought I could safely tell her. I was wrong, but I don’t think she would have been any different if I had waited a year. She won’t listen to reason. She’s stubborn, determined and filled with hate for Argus. Because of that, Sophia will pass up the inheritance and hurt herself along with all of you. I’ve been shocked by the depth of her anger toward your dad. It’s monumental.”
“Garrett, I gotta ask,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about you giving up your pay for this. Do you care about her?”
Silence stretched between them. Garrett didn’t want to answer Will, but he knew his silence was telling.
“Dammit,” Will said. “We didn’t want you getting hurt in the cross fire.”
“Forget it, Will. None of us—not any of you, Sophia or even I—expected us to get involved. That’s beside the point here.”
“Sorry. That’s bad news. When the time is up on the inheritances, and we still want to meet her, do you think she’ll at least meet us and let us try to be a family?”
“I can’t answer that.”
“We all want to know her. You liked her, so in the right circumstances, I suppose
