Page 71 of Tempting Mr. Knightly

“I couldn’t call without telling you. And I couldn’t tell you over the phone.”

“You texted me. You said you were busy. You said you’d explain tomorrow.”

“I know.”

“You lied.”

“I delayed. I didn’t lie.”

Her jaw tightened. “Don’t parse words with me, Knox. Not tonight.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

She braced one hand against the doorframe, holding herself upright.

He stayed where he was, hands at his sides, no sudden movements, no reaching for her.

“When did you find out?” she asked. “Exactly.”

“Friday morning. Six-oh-seven AM.”

“You remember the exact time.”

“I remember everything about that morning. The light outside my window. The coffee I didn’t drink. What I felt when I saw my signature.”

“And you didn’t come to me.”

“I couldn’t.”

“Couldn’t or wouldn’t?”

“Couldn’t.” He held her gaze. “I needed more information.”

“So you stayed away.”

“Yes.”

“For days.”

“Yes.”

“While I sat in my bakery wondering what I’d done wrong. While I checked my phone every fifteen minutes. While I made excuses for you to Marco.”

His chest cracked open along a fault he didn’t know existed. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then why did you disappear?”

“Because I was afraid.” The words came out bare, none of the usual distance left in them. “Because I knew that once I told you, you would look at me the way you’re looking at me now. And I wanted one more day of being the man you believed I was.”

Lucy stared at him. The security light caught the tears on her lashes, not falling, not yet, but close.

“You were in my bed on Thursday night,” she said. “You held me. And you didn’t know.”

“I didn’t know.”

“Everything that happened between us that night was real.”

“Yes.”