“So you cheated on me?” Dylan asked the minute Booth was gone.

“It’s not cheating if we’d broken up,” she snapped. “Isn’t there something in the law that talks about a person’s state of mind during the commission of a crime? Because as far as I was concerned, we were finished, for all the reasons I stated during that conversation. I have a clear conscience.”

He waved a hand in the air. “That’s neither here nor there.”

Typical Dylan behavior to ignore whatever he didn’t like.

“What I find ridiculous is that the minute you thought we were through, you turned around and hooked up with the first man you saw.”

Because I hadn’t had an orgasm since forever. But she didn’t say that. She wasn’t going to stoop that low.

“Did you call him right after hanging up on me?” Dylan asked.

“As a matter of fact, I didn’t call him at all. He found out I was coming here and he just showed up, but honestly, that’s not any of your business. I don’t want to see you anymore. I’m sorry.”

He changed tactics.

“Okay, I’m sorry. Babe, I’m sorry. I…I just hate the idea of you with someone else. Didn’t you like the show I put on for you? You have no idea what I had to go through to arrange it. I know how much you love Grease and I found a group of actors, convinced them to come here and perform so that I could ask you to make it official. I love you, babe. I need you in my life.” He pulled a ring box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal a spectacular ring. The solitary diamond had to be three carats and it dazzled with flashes of brilliant light.

He knelt. “Please, baby, please marry me. We could be so good together.”

As Jane looked down at him, he did look earnest and she truly believed he cared for her, but he wasn’t the man for her. She needed a man she could count on, a man who was generous with his time, not his wallet, a man who understood what she needed in bed and could give it to her. Life was too short to settle for less than she deserved.

She sighed heavily, regretting that she had to break his heart, but it wasn’t good for either of them to continue in a relationship that never should have gone on this long in the first place.

“Dylan, I’m so sorry, but I can’t marry you. We wouldn’t be good together. We never were. I’m really, really sorry.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment and she thought he was going to give it one last try, but he didn’t. Instead, his features flattened as he snapped the box shut and pocketed it.

“It’s just as well,” he said, standing up and heading for the door. “This is actually a relief. Now I can finally stop pretending.”

Pretending?

He went out onto the porch and she followed him. “Wait a second. What are you talking about?”

There were some people milling about, but Jane didn’t pay any attention to them.

“I never loved you, Jane. I only dated you to get ahead at the firm.” He smiled as what he was saying filtered through her shock. “Fortunately for me, I have a job offer from Crosby, Kane and Kane. After I tender my resignation on Monday, I will no longer have to kiss your dad’s ass. Yours either. Lucky me.”

It took a moment or two for the words to register.

I never loved you. Now I can stop pretending.

Fury like Jane had never known before flared. Her brain felt like it was going to explode even as dozens of little mysteries were suddenly solved. So much of what had been wrong between the two of them suddenly made sense. All those long nights at the office and the cancellations...had those been excuses so he didn’t have to spend time with her?

And—oh, God—the sex. Of course she hadn’t been able to come with him. He wasn’t attracted to her. He didn’t care about or want her. He never had. When she thought of all the times she’d thought something was wrong with her sex drive, all the times she’d blamed herself for not being sexy enough. Hell, she’d even hoped that starting the lingerie line would help. What a joke.

She looked up to see him smirking. Oh, how she wanted to smack that smirk off his face.

“Fine, great,” she said. “I’m happy to stop pretending too. No more fake orgasms for me.”

He stopped cold, then turned. “What did you say?”

“You stink in bed, Dylan,” she said, her entire body electrified. She had not wanted to stoop this low, but the occasion demanded it. Careful to enunciate each word, she said, “You’re a lousy lay.”

A look of disbelief on his face, he shook his head. “But you—”

“Faked it.”

Now he was the one getting hot under the collar. “You’re just saying that to get back at me.”

She said nothing.

“Well, it’s not my fault you’re revolting to look at,” he snapped. “Did you ever wonder why I always turned off all the lights, why I kept my eyes closed? It was so I could fantasize I was fucking someone else, anyone else. Jesus. I should have just gotten some Viagr—”

“You shut your motherfucking mouth.”

With a gasp, Jane turned to see Booth there beside her. She also caught sight of the Gaydies hurrying over.

Dylan quailed, but she had to give him credit. He stood his ground. “What if I don’t? It’s the truth. She’s a fat, disgusting—”

POW.

One moment Dylan was talking, the next Booth grabbed Dylan’s shirt and delivered two quick rabbit punches to his face. Jane shrieked as blood spurted. Dylan covered his face with his arms to protect himself, but Booth remained calm.

“Now, apologize to the lady,” he said in a voice that vibrated with fury. “Beg for forgiveness or I’m going to kick your ass all the way to Canada.”

Dylan mumbled something unintelligible. Booth shook him hard, causing Dylan to whimper. “Louder, asshole.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

“Not to me, dickbrain.” Booth let go of Dylan’s shirt, roughly turned him toward Jane. “To her.”

Booth put his big hands on the other man’s shoulders and forced him to his knees, causing another whimper to escape Dylan’s throat.

“I…p-please, Jane. I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

Dylan was a mess. His nose was bleeding. So was his lower lip. His shirt bore a starburst of wrinkles from where Booth had grabbed it. He might even be crying but she couldn’t tell.

Still in shock from the sudden violence, Jane nodded. “Okay,” she said meekly.

Booth met her gaze as if to ask, Is that enough? Are you good with that?

When she nodded again, Booth grunted and gave Dylan one last slap on the back of his head. “All right, douche mouth. Get up and get the fuck out of here. If I ever see you with Jane or hear that you’ve harassed her in any way, you’ll regret it.”

Dylan scrambled to his feet and got some distance away before turning and raising himself to his full height. Blood dripped from his chin onto his shirt, which he tucked back in. “You assaulted the wrong man, my friend. Did Jane mention that I’m an attorney? You’re going to be thrown in jail so fast, you won’t have time to shit your pants.”

“The fuck I am,” Booth said, taking a step forward.

Dylan reflexively retreated a little farther away but stubbornly kept his chin up.

Jane panicked. Dylan wasn’t a criminal lawyer, but he surely had friends who were. While she didn’t condone what Booth had done, she didn’t want him going to jail for it either. What she needed was some serious leverage, because there was no way Dylan was going to budge on this for anything less. His pride had taken too hard a hit. For what seemed like minutes, her brain struggled to find a solution. Then it came to her. It was a gamble, like pulling the goalie in the last minute of the game, but she had to try.

“Did you say that you have a job lined up with Crosby, Kane and Kane?” she asked.

This seemed to throw Dylan for a loop, but he said, “Yes, they’re a very prestigious firm. What of it?”

“Do Crosby, Kane or Kane have any daughters? Single daughters?” she asked.

“That’s it, Jane. You go, girl,” Tavi said in a low voice.

“Because if you’re planning to pull the same stunt, I guarantee you it won’t work. You want to call the police? Fine. I’ll be calling your new employers two seconds later. They might be interested to hear what you did to me.”

“Why should they believe you? I’ll just refute what you have to say. It’ll be your word against mine.”

“Fuck that, asshat. I have video.”

Jane whirled to see who had spoken and was surprised to see the woman who had harassed Booth during the dance lesson.

“I got the whole thing right here,” the woman said, holding up her phone. She turned to Jane. “You may have shitty taste in hockey teams, but what that guy did to you…” She shook her head. “We women have to stick together.”

Jane glanced back at Dylan, who was fuming. Fists clenched, he turned on his heel and stomped off. She looked over at Booth who looked like he was still on red alert. Even though she felt relieved, she still felt like she’d drunk ten thousand cups of coffee.

It was at that moment that Octavio actually started a slow clap, just like in the movies. Other people soon picked it up and before Dylan was out of sight, it had become a round of thunderous applause and cheering.