Summer Secrets - Barbara Freethy [41]
"I'm sure they're proud of you."
"How could they be? I dropped out of college halfway through. I've changed jobs as often as I've changed my shirt. I've been drifting. And when they asked me to come back and work in the family business, I said no. Believe me, they're nowhere near proud."
"You're just figuring out what you want to do. There's no crime in that."
"Then why are you trying to stop me from racing?"
"Because I don't think you'll find what you want to do out on the ocean. It's a hard life, and it's lonely. And you've never liked being stuck in small spaces."
"How would you know what I like anymore?"
She looked into his eyes and saw anger, but also truth. Some of the things they knew about each other would never change. "You don't have to prove anything, Sean."
"Don't I?" He paused. "I know why you broke up with me when you got back. You'd had all these incredible adventures, and I was just the small-town guy you'd left behind, who'd never understand what you'd seen, what you'd done. That's why you blew me off."
Ashley tucked her hair behind her ear as she looked away from him. It was all so much more complicated than he realized. "I didn't come back to town thinking any less of you. It was me. I was different. I was the one who had changed, who had done things I wasn't proud of."
"I don't understand."
"I kissed someone else," she said impulsively, not really meaning to say the words, but there they were.
He stared at her in bemusement. "What?"
"I kissed someone else while I was away on that trip."
He cleared his throat. "Okay, well ... You were young. We were apart for a long time. Why didn't you tell me? We could have started over. I can't believe you broke up with me because you kissed another guy, someone you were probably never going to see again. Why didn't you trust me?"
She took a deep breath. "It was Jeremy." She looked him straight in the, eye so there could be no mistake. "I kissed Jeremy."
*
Tyler sat back in his chair as the waiter filled their coffee cups. Dinner with Kate had gone surprisingly well. In light of her edgy state, he'd chosen a non-combative approach. They'd discussed the weather, local sports teams, the latest bestsellers, and finally the quality of the Italian pasta they'd just consumed, at a tiny restaurant named Piccolo's hidden on one of Castleton's backstreets. He'd enjoyed getting to know her better, which only made his job that much more difficult. He had to start asking questions, but he selfishly didn't want to raise the wall back between them, which in turn made him feel guilty.
He had no business liking Kate. His brother's family was at stake. Kate could be Amelia's mother. She could be the one hunting down his brother, threatening the life Mark had built with his daughter. And even if she wasn't the mother, she was the sister. She'd support Ashley or Caroline to the bitter end. And he'd support Mark. They'd never be on the same side. Never.
Kate set her spoon on the table. "It's time, isn't it?"
"Excuse me?"
"To discuss what you really want to discuss. Despite the fact you've stuffed me full of tortellini, I'm still not interested in an interview. I don't trust you. I don't think you're being completely up front about your intentions."
"I don't trust you, either," Tyler said with a smile. While he didn't trust her, he did admire her spirit. He liked being with a woman who gave as good as she got, who could keep up with the conversation, anticipate the twists and turns before he did. He'd always liked a challenging puzzle, and Kate was certainly that. He still didn't know