“No. No. No.” She pounded her palms against her forehead. “There’s nothing wrong with you. But I said from day one this was temporary. I said we had to stay friends. And you agreed.”
“That was a lot of five-minute kisses ago.” He gripped the edge of the couch seat. Every breath sent a knife into his lungs. “Didn’t that mean anything to you? Anything at all?”
What was he doing, whining like a wimp? He’d done that before. When Allegra dumped him, he’d fallen to pieces.
Not this time. He grasped for a thread of anger, seized it and willed it to grow. I’ll never let a woman destroy my life again. If Ellery can turn off her feelings like this, she’s not the woman I thought she was.
“Do you care about me or not?” he demanded.
“I do, but—”
“Either you want to be with me or you don’t. It’s that simple.” He glared, holding onto his fury. “Make a choice.”
He watched as indecision flashed across her face. At last, her spine went as stiff as her jaw.
“You’re the one who doesn’t know what he wants.”
“I know what I want. I’ve never wavered.”
“Not yet, you haven’t.” She pushed to her feet and paced in front of him. “Because you haven’t seen another couch.”
He stared, trying to make sense of her words. “What?”
“You have to try other couches. Look at all their features. Do you like the recliners? The built-in chargers? Leather? Cloth?”
“I like leather.” He had no idea what she was talking about.
“Then get off your rear and go shopping.” She flung an arm toward the door. “Go to a showroom and sit on every one. Give it some real thought before you make a commitment. You can’t keep trading out couches every time a new one comes along.”
Whatever she was trying to communicate, she was passionate about it.
“You don’t like this couch?”
“Arghh!” She grabbed two handfuls of her hair at the scalp. “I’m talking about women! You need to date other women. To compare.”
“I don’t know any other women.”
“Exactly!” She threw her hands in the air. “You know two women. You lost Allegra and settled for me.”
“That’s not true.” He gritted his teeth so hard the enamel squeaked.
“Oh, yeah?” Her arms folded across her chest. “Prove it.”
“How am I supposed to do that? You don’t believe anything I say.”
“Call her. Talk to her. Spend time with her. Stay with her if you want to. Leave her if you don’t. Prove you don’t love her anymore.”
The dizzying silence in the room rang in his ears. Why was she pushing him to be with Allegra, knowing the woman had strung him along and shredded his heart? Why would Ellery want him to get hurt again? Was she that desperate to be rid of him?
“Logan, you can’t take home every stray you come across.”
Why would she say that? Did she think he’d treated her like a dog?
Her stern expression cracked, her lower lip trembling. She sank to the couch beside him and lifted a sad gaze.
“I do care about you.”
Was this an act to manipulate him? Who knew what was actually going on in her head?
She reached toward his hand, pulling back at the last second. “I was hoping we could still be friends. We just can’t kiss anymore. But we could talk on the phone. Send messages. Maybe I could come over sometimes. You could even… well… you could talk to me about Allegra. I could be your sounding board.”
She was bent on forcing him back with Allegra. And he was determined to find out why. Did this have something to do with Allegra’s phone call? If so, he would find out. He would never play the fool again. Never.
“I have no desire to be your friend, Ellery.” He stood, ignoring the crocodile tears glistening in her eyes. “You see, I’m not like you. I can’t turn off my feelings like a light switch.”
Chin held high, he strode down the hallway, escaping before she could see him fall apart.
But her soft retort carried after him. “You just did.”
CHAPTER 19
“Pull yourself together, man.” Josiah waved a hand around the living room, littered with dirty glasses and a week’s worth of pizza boxes.
“Go away.” Logan sat up and groaned at the ache in his back. He definitely needed a new couch if he was going to sleep on it. “Don’t you have some models you should be taking care of?”
“I’m not dignifying that with an answer. I’m taking care of my business just fine, unlike you.”
