There was no tension on my key as I turned it. I knew I’d locked it before going out last night, and I’d only ever given one person a key. Which meant I just might find Lane in my bed like I had when I got back from L.A. But this time she’d be naked.

Excellent. I headed straight for my bedroom, flinching when I saw her walking out of the kitchen doorway, completely dressed and looking as if she was leaving. That wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. After the horror of last night, I needed a warm body to remind me there was still good in the world. Her warm body.

“Is that for me?” I nodded to the coffee and bag she held.

“Yours is on the counter.” She stood to the side so I could pass.

“Much appreciated. And much necessary.”

“How was last night?” she asked quietly.

“Meh. The place was really loud and overcrowded. I’m already getting too old for that kind of shit.” I leaned against the counter and took the cover off my coffee to blow on it. “It’s sad actually. I think Hillary may have done some kind of voodoo spell on me because the best moment of the night was when I left the place.”

“You left early?”

That’s when I noticed the tension in her voice, the discomfort in her body. It was so obvious, I was surprised I hadn’t noticed before.

“Is something going on that I should know about?” I asked.

“No. I’m just curious.”

“Okay,” I said slowly, having a tough time believing that. “Yeah, I left a little early. I’m not sure how it happened, but Marcus got so wasted he could barely stand. I had to hold his hand and listen to him whine about his ex all the way to his place.” God help me if I ever got that stupid over a woman. “I crashed on his couch.”

“Oh.”

I watched her for a minute, not understanding why she was being so weird. Only one way I was going to find out:

“Why are you being so weird?”

“I’m not,” she said quickly, trying to move her arms into a defensive position that was thwarted by the stuff she held.

“Yeah, you are. And I can’t help feeling like it has something to do with me which doesn’t make sense because that’s not what we do.”

“What do we do, Carson?” she snapped. “We fuck, we talk, we hang out. But evidently we aren’t as honest as I thought we were.”

Whoa. She’d completely lost me. “We are honest with each other. Aren’t we?”

“Well…you were honest when you said you were a prick and selfish and didn’t commit to anyone. But you also told me you weren’t a liar.”

I drew back, confused. Where the fuck was this coming from? “What are you talking about?”

“You’re just as bad as the rest of them.”

“Yeah.” What the fuck happened in the last twelve hours? “I told you I was. The first time we met, I told you who I am.”

“You also told me that you couldn’t sleep with anyone in your bed and that you didn’t apologize or open doors or a bunch of other things.”

“I wasn’t lying then. I didn’t do any of that stuff.” And I hadn’t really thought too much about why I was doing all of it now. Frustration filled my voice, something that happens when you find yourself in a fight about something you’re not privy to.

“How am I supposed to know which ones are true and which ones aren’t?” She tossed her bag onto the counter and threw up her hand. “I don’t know about you, but I can’t keep track of it all.”

“Tell me what the fuck you think I lied about, Lane. Right now.”

Since when did I care more about what she thought of me than my pride? And why was I so fucking angry right now? If anyone else yelled at me like that…

“What the fuck is going on?”

“You said if we were going to sleep with someone else, we would tell the other person.” When her eyes filled with water, she looked away. “Because that was fair. That’s what you said. Because you knew…you knew how scared I was it would happen again. Why did you lie? I thought we were good for each other.”

“We are good for each other. And I didn’t— I’m not sleeping with anyone else. I didn’t lie. Jesus, Lane. I didn’t lie.” I backed up a few steps, needing the space.

That was all bullshit. She wasn’t upset because I lied—which I didn’t—she was upset because she thought I’d screwed someone else. And that upset her because she didn’t want me to be with anyone else. Just like I didn’t want her to be with anyone else. Just like I didn’t want anyone other than her in my bed and my mind and my life.

Oh fuck. I needed to get out of this. Right now. But I couldn’t, not while she looked so hurt, so damaged by something she thought I did. I couldn’t leave her just like all the other assholes had, especially because it wasn’t true.

“Lane, I didn’t—”

“Stop lying to me!” She threw her cup into the sink. The top came off and coffee splashed everywhere, but she didn’t even flinch. She put her hands on her hips, as if that gave her more strength. More strength to do what? “I heard what you were doing at the club last night.”

“What? What was I doing at the club?” I’d spent the night leaning on a table, milking a beer, listening to Marcus bitch about his ex, and watching my other friends talk to women they didn’t give a shit about and whose names they would forget in less than forty-eight hours. Probably a lot less. Just like I used to do.

“It’s not about you fucking someone else, Carson. It’s that you lied. Lying is disrespectful—like you think I’m too stupid to catch on.” She threw her hands up in the air. “Shit, maybe I am. Maybe I am too stupid. I mean I’ve fallen for it lots of other times. But I thought…this was different. I thought you were different and I was safe because you wouldn’t lie to me. But you’re exactly the same.”

No. No, I wasn’t. “Stop comparing me to those other guys!” Even though I’d done it myself a minute ago, it had suddenly become very important that she not group me with the other assholes she’d been with. “I don’t lie to you, Lane. Ever.”

“Maybe you didn’t use to but—” Her mouth stayed open while she backed up a step. “Oh my god, I did it again. I turned you into a frog.”

“Enough with the stupid frog thing. I’m not another one of your frogs, and I’m not lying. I don’t know where you’re getting your info but it’s wrong.” Shit. I shut my eyes. There was only one person I knew who could and would lie that well. “It was Anna, wasn’t it? Anna told you whatever she told you, and you decided to believe her instead of me.”

“It’s happened so many times, Carson.” Her tears came on so fast, she couldn’t catch them until they were at her jaw. “You don’t know how humiliating it is. I just started to trust my own judgment again. Please”—her jaw was shaking, softening her voice, weakening it—“if you are, then just please tell me the truth. I won’t be mad. I promise.”

When I saw the disappointment and doubt on her face, it felt like I’d been stabbed in the gut. I’d done that. By bringing Anna into her life, by making Lane trust me, I’d made her feel like that. So I was the one who had to stop her from feeling like that.

“I am not sleeping with anyone else, Lane.” Each word was clipped, severe, and totally fucking honest. “I won’t lie to you. I won’t.” Most of the room was still between us, her pulling away and me not being brave enough to move forward.

It felt like shit that she believed Anna more than me. Lane knew me better than anyone, so if she didn’t trust me, what other good did I have? I didn’t know that meant anything to me until now.

I gathered up enough courage to take one step. “Please stop doubting someone who respects the fuck out of you and who couldn’t—not wouldn’t—couldn’t do that to you. Ever. Because I would rather see the moon fall than see you cry.”

Her arms were crossed, and she wouldn’t look at me. How could I convince her I was telling the truth?

I swallowed, my throat dry and tight. “Think about it—why would I lie? Why would I need to lie? We’ve talked about it and we’re not together, so how could I possibly benefit by lying? Why would I risk a really fucking good thing to lie about something I didn’t need to lie about?”

I didn’t tell her that I was having the best sex I’d ever had, so I didn’t want to go anywhere else. A one-night hook up with someone who didn’t know what I liked, might be a disaster in the sack, and who I’d want to get away from as soon as we both came. Versus someone I knew was incredible in bed, I actually liked talking to, and I could have in the middle of the night and the next morning if she was up to it.

Did she think I was a moron?

“Anna’s messed up—her dad was even worse than mine.” She’d never said anything, but I was pretty sure the asshole used more than his fists on her. Fucking pervert. “It’s not an excuse, but it’s a reason. She’s worried”—and scared shitless—“I won’t be there to catch her next time she fucks something up or someone fucks her up. She lied so this would happen. This exact thing we’re doing right now. You know how she is—you’ve seen her try to screw with us before.

“I’m not her, Lane. I don’t want to screw this up.” I was practically shaking, waiting for her to say something like ‘I believe you’ or ‘I trust you’ or ‘You’re not a horrible person for bringing this into my life.’

She shrugged, hopefully a sign I was getting through to her, past the bullshit Anna had piled onto a woman who deserved so much better than me and my fucked-up family. But who I didn’t want to let go of yet.

“Nothing is worth fucking this up for,” I said. “So have a little faith. Please.”

She studied me for a while without moving. Maybe even without breathing. I was jittery as hell, amped up by anger, betrayal, and anxiety.

“I’ll try,” she said quietly. “But if you…”

“Yes. Yes, I will tell you. Before anything happens. And you’ll do the same.” I took a deep breath to let go of some of my unease. It didn’t work. “So you believe me?”

“Yeah.”

“Then we’re done talking about it.” I stared at her for a long couple of minutes, trying to figure out what to do. “I’m really fucking pissed off right now, Lane.”

“I know.”

“I’m pissed off and I want you. Hard. You got a problem with that?”

She shook her head.

“Then take off your fucking clothes.”