There were a thousand questions Dalton wanted to ask Sierra, starting with why she’d left him the way she did, but he knew the situation had to be handled with kid gloves. If he pushed too hard, Sierra would clam up. The best way to navigate this was to remain nonchalant.

Sitting in the ER, for one blip of a second, he’d caught a look of longing on Sierra’s face as they locked eyes. It made him wonder if she still had feelings for him. The notion had kindled hope in his chest, but he snuffed it out. No way he was going down that road again. She’d hurt him so badly that it nearly destroyed him. It had taken all the grit he could muster to rebuild his life. He couldn’t go through that again.

Dalton pushed the key into the ignition and started the engine. Light from the nearby streetlamp flooded into the car. He glanced at Sierra, who had a stony expression. The words came out before he could process what he was saying. “Bennie’ll be okay. Wesley’s a good guy. He’ll take care of her.” For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why his first impulse was to jump in and ease Sierra’s fears. Pathetic, he knew, but he couldn’t seem to help himself.

She cocked her head. “How long have they been together?”

He backed out of the parking space and turned onto the main road. “Wesley and Bennie? I didn’t realize they were a couple.”

“I thought I saw a spark of something between them.”

He shrugged, thinking back to their interaction. The truth was, he’d been so consumed with Sierra that he hardly noticed what was taking place between Bennie and Wesley. “Could be. Wesley’s always hanging around.”

Silence hung like a dagger between them. Dalton tightened his hold on the steering wheel. At this rate, it was bound to be a long ride home. The essence of Sierra wafted through him, bringing with it a longing so swift it made him dizzy. This woman was doing things to his head. It was hard to be so close to her and not be able to take her in his arms, taste her tantalizing lips. Okay, enough already! He turned on the radio and flipped to find a decent station. He left it on classic rock. When a familiar song came on, he started singing along softly. It was nice to have something to divert his attention away from her.

“You sound good,” Sierra said when the song ended, “better than before.”

He laughed in surprise. “Thanks, I think.”

“You always had a wonderful voice, but it’s richer now … more defined.”

“Or older?”

She chuckled. “That too. Bennie talked about your performances. How long have you been doing that?”

“A couple of years. I started performing in Seattle. My girlfriend at the time was in a band. We used to play and sing together.” Now that they were on the road, it was too dark to make out Sierra’s expression, but he felt her surprise. He’d wanted to get that out there, so she’d know he was over her.

“What was her name?”

“Miranda.”

Long pause. “Why did the two of you break up?”

He let out a humorless laugh, casting a glance at her. “Do you really wanna do this, Sie? Start comparing notes about love interests?”

“I’m just trying to make polite conversation,” she snipped. “But if you don’t wanna talk, then fine. Have it your way.”

He tightened his hold on the steering wheel. “Okay, you wanna play? I’ll play. I’ll ask a question and you answer it. Then you can ask me one. And we’ll go back and forth. Deal?”

“Okay,” she said warily. “What do you want to know?”

Why did you leave me? How could you stay away all these years? Did I mean nothing to you? He tightened his jaw, trying to control his emotions. When he spoke, his voice was light. “What is it about your boyfriend that you find so attractive?”

“What? This is ridiculous!” she blustered.

A hard smile curled his lips. “You started it. Now answer the question.”

“Well, if you must know, he’s ambitious and sophisticated. Parker’s a superstar in the advertising world, owns one of the top agencies in the nation.”

He grunted. “Prestige was always important to you, wasn’t it? More important than people or commitments. The be-all, end-all.”

“That’s not fair. You make it sound so terrible that I wanted to make something out of myself.”

“Actually, I admire that quality about you.”

“You do?”

So much for kid gloves. This was going downhill fast. But now that Pandora’s Box was opened, there was no reeling his emotions back in. “Yeah, but what I can’t tolerate is you pretending to be something you’re not.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“I’m sure you’re real proud of yourself, Sie. Got yourself a city boy … your very own Mr. Darcy.” He grunted. “Congratulations. It’s what you’ve always wanted.”

The music on the radio got drowned out by the strangled sound of Sierra’s gasp. “You’re a mean, heartless jerk!”

“Yeah, well you’re a hoity-toity snob. You know what? I feel sorry for you, Sierra. You keep sitting up there in that glass castle trying to convince yourself that you’re happy, when you’re actually miserable. It’s written all over your face.”

“Shut up!” she snarled. “I am happy.”

He barked out a laugh. “You keep telling yourself that, darling.”

“Pull over!”

He looked at her. “What?”

“I said, pull over,” she yelled.

“Why?”

“Because I’m not riding in this car another second with you.”

His eyes narrowed. “I’m not pulling over. We’re on a deserted highway. And you don’t even have a cell phone.” She shoved him, jerking his hands, causing the car to weave. His stomach lurched as he felt the car slip out of his control. But then he corrected the error. “Are you trying to get us killed?”

“I hate you,” she muttered, folding her arms over her chest.

“Yeah, I figured that out the day you deserted me.” He couldn’t hide the quiver in his voice. It was all out in the open now.

He heard a gurgling sound and realized Sierra was crying. Curse the part of him that wanted to comfort her as he’d done so many times before. What was he supposed to say? I’m sorry I told the truth? No words could fix this. Sierra had brought it on herself.

“I’m sorry I hurt you,” she finally said.

He swallowed, not believing his ears. His blood pumped faster as he clutched the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the endless black ribbon of highway before them. “Why did you leave me?” He cringed at the vulnerable tone in his voice, grateful part of his pain remained hidden in the darkness.

“Please, let’s not do this.” Her voice sounded as haggard and weary as he felt. “I can’t,” she croaked. “Not now.”

Disgust rankled his gut. Of course she’d say that because she didn’t want to face it. It was convenient to stay hidden in New York with her perfect boyfriend. Well, he’d make it easier for her. “You know what, it’s okay.”

She jerked, turning to him. He glanced her direction and even in the near-darkness saw the confusion on her face. “What do you mean?” she asked carefully.

He shrugged, his voice going casual. “I was upset at first. But eventually, I came to realize that you did me a favor.”

“I did?” Her voice had a brittle edge to it.

“Yeah.” He forced a smile. “I was able to truly start living for myself, rather than feeling obligated to uphold some silly commitment we made as kids.”

“I—I see.”

He attempted a chuckle, but it came out dry and choked. “I would’ve told you this years ago. But well … seeing as this is the first time I’ve seen you … there you go.” He was met with a frosty silence that slithered like a python around his heart, but still his tongue wouldn’t stop talking. It was like the loose-tongued man on the way to the gallows, bearing his soul to anyone who’d listen. “I’ve been thinking about why you’ve been so irate with me.”

“I beg your pardon,” she said stiffly. “I have not been irate with you.” She punched out the words in short bursts.

“Oh, yes, you have. And I think I know why.” There was no way he was letting her wiggle out of this one.

She let out a harsh laugh. “Okay, wise guy. Why don’t you enlighten me?”

“You’re afraid that I’m still carrying a torch for you.”

Her voice trembled. “I just want you to be happy … find someone to live your life with, like I have.”

The hair on the back of his neck stood. Had she really just said that to him? Find someone like she had? How easily the words slipped through her lips. She might as well have been talking about switching to a new pair of shoes. “You don’t have to worry about that, darling. It’s already done.”

“What?”

He smiled a little at the shock in her voice. It felt good to give it back to her. “Yes, darling, I’m dating someone. So you have nothing to worry about.” Sierra would blow her cork when she realized who that girl was.

“Oh … good.” Long Pause. “Who are you dating?”

“Now, honey, you know I don’t kiss and tell,” he drawled.

He turned into the driveway of Bennie’s mansion and drove around to the back. Then he turned off the car. “I’m glad we had this little talk.”

“Yeah, me too.” She forced a smile. “Thanks for the ride back. And thanks again for helping Bennie.” Her voice had a false cheerfulness like she was talking to a stranger.

He nodded. “Anytime.”

They both got out of the car.

A crooked grin slid over his lips. “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it? It feels good to clear the air.”

“Yes,” she agreed, but didn’t look happy about it. She looked downright ticked. For someone who didn’t care a hoot about him, she certainly wasn’t acting like it. He got a perverse sense of satisfaction out of knowing she was jealous. It was nice to turn the tables for once.

“Here, catch.” He tossed her the keys. As they stood looking at each other, Dalton felt his heart whither—a lifetime of hopes and dreams crumbling to the ground like dust. How could it still hurt this bad … even after all these years? She was so beautiful—strong, yet fragile. How well he knew her face, the stubborn tilt of her chin, the purity in her liquid blue eyes.

Everything in him wanted to grab her and shake some sense into her, then kiss her senseless. He wanted to hold her close and never let her go. Before he’d fallen in love with Sierra, she was his best friend. He caught the wistful look in her eyes, could tell she was fighting a doozy of an inner battle. Why wouldn’t she let him in, so he could help her? The answer came lightning fast—because he was the battle, that’s why.

Somehow, he knew that if he went to her this moment, she wouldn’t be able to resist him. But where would that leave him? Because while she wouldn’t leave him today, she would eventually leave, just as she’d done before. Habit took over as Dalton did the one thing he knew would put space between them—the thing he needed to protect himself from doing something stupid. A cocky grin slid like molasses over his lips. “Do you need me to help you inside? Make sure the boogey man’s not hiding under the bed?” That was an inside joke between the two of them when they were growing up. Dalton used the boogey man as an excuse to come over and “keep her safe.”

Her head shot up, eyes blazing. “That won’t be necessary.”

“Yeah, it looks like you’ve done a pretty good job of fighting off the boogey man on your own.” He saluted. “See ya around, Sie.”

Before she could answer, he turned on his heel and strode away.