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My hands flew to my hips. “I don’t get how you can pretend to know so much about my motivations.”

He snorted. “Baby, I know every play you’ve ever made.”

My spine tingled. A shiver ran from one shoulder to the other. He had no idea what he was talking about. And I was just tipsy enough to tell him to get the hell of my porch.

“If you’re done lecturing me about the sanctity of the island, you can go. I don’t need this.”

“I’ll pay you for it.”

“What?” My eyes almost reeled back in my head.

“What do you want for the house? I’ll pay you cash.”

I shook my head. “You are not buying Aunt Lindy’s house.”

“Why not? You sure as hell don’t want it. You’ll take any excuse to get off this piece of sand.”

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it? Isn’t that what you did eight years ago?” His eyes bored into mine. “You ran. You took off. Let everyone down. And you never looked back. Don’t pretend you give a fuck now. I’ll buy the house and then we can make sure we never run into each other again. Deal?”

“Stop. Just stop it, Blake.”

“Why? Did I push you too hard toward the truth?” His lips formed a snarl.

The wine whirled through my empty stomach. “You want to know what happened? Is that what you want?” I baited him, when I knew I shouldn’t. But I was on a roll and couldn’t stop myself.

He chuckled. “I know exactly what happened. But sure, tell me.”

He mocked me. He belittled me. He pushed me to the edge and I came out swinging.

“I was pregnant, Blake. I was pregnant with your baby.” The words slipped from my lips and the porch was suddenly quiet. The only thing I could hear was my heart beating so loudly it filled my ears with the sounds of thumping blood.

“That’s a lie.”

I hung my head. One tear slipped and then another. I fell into the rocker. Eight years of hidden secrets and anguish came pouring out. Eight years of lies. Eight years of loneliness. The humiliation and the fear pooled in my stomach. I was twisted in knots of anguished emotion.

“It’s not a lie. It’s what happened. I was pregnant. We were going to have a baby.” My soft words lingered between us. “I left the island pregnant, Blake.”

I looked up into his gray-blue eyes. They were cloudy like the sea when rain washes over the waves.

“Sierra.” He dropped to his knees.

18

Blake

“Tell me. Tell me now,” I growled. My lungs pushed into my ribs, searching for room to breathe.

“It was right before we were supposed to leave for Saints College” She sniffed. “I took a test. Emily was there.”

“Emily? Emily Cornwell?”

She nodded. “That was back when we were inseparable. She knows the whole story. But that’s not really the point.” Sierra breathed heavily. “As soon as I knew it was positive I stuck it in a bag and drove over to your house. But you weren’t there.” She looked up at me, with tear-filled eyes. “Your dad was.”

“My dad?” I didn’t get it.

“He saw the test. He found out I was pregnant.”