She traced the lines of his stomach through his T-shirt, and he covered her hand with his, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. He’d kept his promise and hadn’t even tried to kiss her last night. She shifted so she could see his face, resting her chin on his chest. He looked exhausted, but his lips tipped up on one side in a crooked smile that tugged at her heartstrings.

“Did you sleep at all?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “With one eye open in case you left.”

“I wouldn’t have snuck out without saying goodbye.” The second the words were out, his smile faded, and she regretted saying it.

“I’m sorry, Mads.” He ran his hand through her hair. “I’m so fucking sorry for the way I left.”

“I didn’t mean that as a dig.”

“It’s okay if you did. I deserve it. You have every right to be angry. I wasn’t sure you’d ever want to see me again, and I appreciate you hearing me out.”

“I wasn’t sure, either. I felt betrayed, hearing about your past from my brothers. But you didn’t betray me. We agreed that we were just having fun, so that was on me, and part of the reason it hurt so much was that I was with someone who had secrets once, and when I found out, it broke me. Hearing yours from my brothers sent me right back there.”

His eyes narrowed. “The guy in Spain?”

She nodded. “What I didn’t tell you about him—and what nobody else knows—is that I fell for my professor, which is bad enough but not the worst of it. I didn’t know he was my professor at first, and when we realized I was going to be in his class, we knew we had to keep things on the down low. I didn’t mind, and he was really good at it, which should have clued me in. He knew where we could go without running into the people he worked with. He was several years older than me, handsome, smart, and so romantic. He had an apartment by the university, and he literally swept me off my feet, taking me to see the sights, to music festivals and soccer games. We spent lazy days at the beach and ate at amazing restaurants and cafés. I was drunk on the culture and high on him. And then one day I went exploring outside the city with my roommates, and I saw him holding an adorable baby and kissing a beautiful woman. They turned out to be his son and his wife. There was a reason he was adept at keeping our relationship a secret. His family lived outside the city in a nearby town. Who knows how many other students’ beds he’d charmed his way into.”

“Shit, Madigan. What did you do?”