“You don’t love me.” She held a hand over his mouth when he started to protest. “You just feel responsible for me. The truth is that you and I, we just got caught up in the magic. You were there for me during one of the most intense times in my life and I’ll never forget that. But it’s time for us to stop fooling ourselves.”

They both turned at the sound of an engine. He walked to the window and cursed. “They’re here. They must have called me while they were on the road.”

She was crying and the sight ripped at his heart. He looked down. It wouldn’t surprise him to see a gaping hole in his chest.

“What am I supposed to do?”

Jackson pulled out his wallet and peeled off a few bills. It was ridiculous, trying to give her money when she’d already taken so much from him. Fifty thousand to be exact. But he couldn’t just send her out there with nothing. He tried to hand it to her but she yanked her hand back.

“I don’t want your money!” Ridley spat.

“Just take it. You need to go. Hide out. Eli said the FBI has a whole case file on you. This is so much bigger than the money you took from me.”

“I’m going to prove I didn’t do this. And after I do, I never want to see you again.” She said it with such sad finality that it hurt to hear it.

As time stretched between them, a litany of things hung in the air unsaid. He wanted to rage at her, punish her, make her hurt the way he was hurting. He also wanted to tell her that he was worried about her. Worst of all, he wanted to tell her that he didn’t care about the money.

He wanted to beg her to stay.

Jackson shook his head. “You know what the most pathetic part is? I would have just given you the money if you’d asked. I loved you that much. I would have given you anything.”

Tears shimmered in her eyes. “You can’t give me the one thing I need right now. Your trust.”

She walked out and left him standing alone.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

RIDLEY GLANCED BEHIND her as she crossed the yard to her sister’s house. She’d left through the back door and hadn’t bothered to rush. Anger made her bold. She almost wished Eli or Nick would try to stop her when she was in this mood.

After punching in the security code, she pushed open the door to her sister’s house for the second time that week. After her argument with Jackson, the quiet in the house was unnerving. The air in the kitchen smelled a little stale so she crossed to one of the windows and pried it open. The breeze was a little too warm to be refreshing but at least it would air things out a bit.

The back edge of the property was dotted with chrysanthemums and there was a pitiful clutch of tulips in a circular bed in the middle of the yard. She smiled to herself at the sight of the tulips. Raina knew they were one of her favorite flowers.

Planting flowers had always been one of the first things Ridley did when they moved to a new place. They’d usually been in small apartments or sharing space in someone else’s home but even the smallest place had room for a window box. Staying in Florida while she finished her master’s had been easier than she’d thought due to the beautiful weather and her part-time job at the local nursery. 

Just one more thing in her life she’d been forced to leave behind.

I should just go back, she thought, as she stood at the window. I should leave now before I get in any deeper.

It hurt, being in love with someone who clearly didn’t trust her, much more than she could have ever guessed it would. You’d think after being lied to and stolen from by David, that this wouldn’t even register. But somehow it was worse with Jackson, more personal.

Because you thought he felt the same way you did, you idiot.

Raina’s house was done in a clean, modern country style, similar to what Ridley herself would have picked out. She settled at one of the oak chairs at the long farmer’s table in the kitchen and looked out the floor to ceiling windows into the backyard. It was already close to dusk and it was more than a little weird to think that people outside could look in and see her.

A prickle of awareness made the hair on her neck stand up. If she lived here full-time, she’d definitely get window treatments first thing. It would obscure some of the view but at least she could sit on the main level at night without feeling like she was in a fishbowl.

She needed to call Raina. Her sister was going to be pissed but she also had resources that could be extremely helpful. Whatever other “proof” Elliott had found was clearly damaging. Raina’s security team could probably get access to it.

You’ll also need a lawyer.

She shuddered. It was crazy that the thought of hiring a lawyer was the final straw that broke her. She swiped at her cheeks angrily. The past month had been overwhelming and instead of things being better they were worse than when she’d started. Crying hadn’t solved anything. Running hadn’t solved anything either.

“It’s time to stop running and start fighting.”

She thought of everything she’d experienced in the past week. Images of Mara holding up the sheer nightgowns at the mall merged with images of discussing business ideas with Katie and digging in the dirt with the kids. She’d finally found something worth fighting for. Friends. Community. Love.

And she wasn’t giving it up.

She had friends here now. Her sister was here. Those were good reasons to stay. But most importantly she liked it here. It would be difficult to be so close to Jackson. It would be difficult to be near him and not be with him. Not love him.