“Thanks for dancing with me, Bryce.”

She looked over at him, wanting to say he didn’t have to thank her and that was what friends were for, when she remembered she’d told him they weren’t friends anymore. She had truly accepted his apology, but he hadn’t regained his friendship status with her. Her trust, once broken, was a hard thing to regain, and she didn’t think she would survive if Kaegan broke it again. “You’re welcome, Kaegan.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment as they continued to walk around the flower garden. She had a feeling that he had something on his mind. Knowing she wouldn’t be fully prepared for whatever it was, she was about to suggest they go back inside, when he said, “More than anything, I’d like for us to get back together, Bryce.”

She stopped walking and stared at him, not believing he would say such a thing. One dance where she’d foolishly lost herself in the moment, where she’d obviously sent out unintentional vibes, and he thought that was all it would take for a comeback. Okay, she would even admit for a moment she had enjoyed being in his arms a little too much. Four years without male contact could probably do that to you. However, with that being said, she felt it was time to reiterate her position.

“That is something that won’t happen, Kaegan. We had our time, but forever wasn’t in our future like we’d thought. Accept it and move on, like I have.”

He stared at her and then said, “Couples have problems, Bryce. Not making light of ours, but the key is they try and work things out.”

She shook her head. “There is nothing to work out. Some things that are broken can’t be repaired, Kaegan.”

“Why are you willing to give up on us so easily?”

His question made something inside her snap. Ten years of hurt and anger came shooting out and she couldn’t hold back her emotions. “You want to accuse me of giving up so easily? Well, let me tell you a thing or two, Kaegan. I had ten years to feel the hurt and pain of knowing the man I’d loved thought I was nothing but a slut. You were so convinced you had caught me red-handed with another guy. It was as if you wanted your father to be right about something, after years of being wrong. And you allowed him to use me to do it. Did you know he even called me a slut once to my face?”

She saw the stricken look that suddenly appeared on his face, but she didn’t care. She felt tears trying to fall but refused to let them. “You gave Mr. Chambray that power because of your mistreatment of me. You’d conveniently forgotten about all those times I was there for you when he treated you like crap. Yet you allowed his lies and what you thought you saw that night to come between us and destroy what we had.”