“I ate at the diner,” she said.

He made a sound of exasperation. “Like that’s supposed to make me feel any better? Why didn’t you use the money? You could have finished college. You could have lived for a long time to come without ever having to work.”

“I have pride. It took a beating but it’s still intact. I guess if I hadn’t been able to find a job and the choice was between starving or taking money that made me feel dirty, I would have sucked it up and done it anyway.”

“Did you hate me so much?” he asked hoarsely. “That you would rather work in such deplorable conditions than accept anything from me?”

She leveled a stare at him. “Don’t ask questions you aren’t prepared to hear the answers to.”

He closed his eyes. “That’s answer enough, I suppose.”

She shrugged. “You hated me, too.”

He shook his head and her eyes widened. “No? Ryan, you said and did some terrible things. Not the least of which was tossing that check at me with so much disdain that I can still remember the way I felt.”

“What did you expect?” he asked. “For God’s sake, Kelly, I’d just found out you slept with my brother. You had my ring on your finger, we were planning our wedding and you slept with my brother.”

“And of course he’s blameless in the whole thing,” she said scornfully. “Tell me, Ryan, how long did it take you to forgive him? How long before he was coming back over and you were having family dinners at your mother’s?”

His face flushed a dull red and then he dragged a hand raggedly through his hair. “It took a while, all right? I was furious with him—and you. I had to decide whether to allow what happened to ruin our relationship. He’s family. He’s my brother.”

She leaned forward, forgetting their vow not to dredge up the past. “And I was the woman you were supposed to marry, Ryan. Didn’t I deserve anything from you? Besides a payoff and a get-the-hell-out-of-my-life?”

“I’m here now,” he said quietly. “I was angry. I had a right to be. I won’t apologize for that. But I’m here now and I want us to try again. We both made mistakes.”

She had to let go of the resentment and anger that still bubbled up every time they spoke of the past. She had to put it away because there was no way for her to win.

She leaned back again and wiggled her foot in his hand to hint for him to continue his massage.

“So where are we going to drive tomorrow? Should I wear one of those scarves and huge sunglasses so I look chic?”

He relaxed, relief stark in his eyes that she was letting the matter drop.

“Wear that very sexy sundress that Jansen bought you.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Which one? He bought several.”

“Clearly you haven’t seen the one then. Or you’d know what I was talking about. It’s red. Perfect with your coloring. Strapless, clingy in all the right places. Just make sure to bring something to protect your head from the sun.”