Chapter 160

He turned to her, his face partially doused in shadow, wearing that crooked grin. “No, you don’t.”

Damn him. He still knew exactly which buttons to push. But she wasn’t going to take the bait. She was going to stay calm. “Yes, I do.”

“We have some catching up to do,”

His eyes strayed to the front of the threadbare, oversize shirt and the grin went from amused to carnal. Exactly what kind of catching up did he think they would be doing?

“I love how you like to wear T-shirts to bed. Usually mine a few weeks ago.” He hooked his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans and something dangerously hot flickered in his eyes. “You said you liked them cause they smelled like me.”

She crossed her arms and shot him a chilling look. Undaunted, his eyes wandered over her.

“And I see that as usual, you are waiting until your hair is dry to brush it.”

She hated that he knew her so well. “You need to leave,” she said. “I have work to finish.”

He didn’t move. “I guess you got that e-mail you were waiting for, huh?”

“That’s right,” she fibbed. “I’m incredibly busy right now.”

“Why don’t I believe you?” He eased away from the ledge, and she resisted the urge to step back. “You know, I can always tell when you were lying.”

“I guess it takes one to know one,” she snapped.

The humor slipped from his face, and she could see that she’d hit a nerve. Well, good. He had it coming. Then why did she feel like such a louse?

He took another step closer. “I never lied to you, Lexi,”

“I am not doing this.” She turned and walked to the closet. She flung the door open and snatched her robe from the hanger. “I refuse to get sucked into a conversation about a relationship that basically never happened. You asked me to leave. I did. End of story.”

She thrust her arms through the sleeves and bound the belt securely at her waist. She swung around and nearly plowed into him. He was right behind her.

“You know it's true, Lexi,” Every trace of playful cockiness had disappeared from his voice. “Did I ever once lie to you?”

Her heart rattled around in her chest. “I don’t owe you a thing.”

He stepped closer, his eyes locked on her face, and every cell in her body went on full alert, every neuron in her brain lit off like fireworks. “Did I ever lie to you?”

Don’t do it, she warned her traitorous subconscious. Don’t you dare say what you’re thinking. It doesn’t matter anymore. It will only make things worse.

Don’t say a word.

He stepped closer, until he was only inches away. His hair was a little windblown from his walk along the beach, and she could smell the scent of the ocean on his skin and clothes. Green eyes bore through her, stripping her bare, and her feet felt cemented to the floor.

She couldn’t move.

“Lexi?”

“No!” she shrieked, no longer able to contain the anger and frustration and hurt that had been festering for far too long. “You never lied to me, Tyler. All you did was walk away when you had absolutely no reason to,”

She regretted the words the instant they left her mouth, but it was too late to take them back. She was still bitter and hurt and now he knew it. For several long seconds he just stared at her, his expression impossible to decipher.

Finally, his voice neither warm nor cold, he said, “I'm sorry, Lexi. I really am,”

His words surprised her and almost knocked her back a step. So Lily was right then?

“Good night, Lexi.” He turned and left, closing the door quietly behind him.

And for some stupid reason after she got back into bed, she cried herself to sleep.

—----------

“Hurry up and get back here!” I need you to look at these arrangements with me,” Lily said and hung up the phone.

Beside her, Tyler, who'd just walked in five minutes ago asked, “Was that Lexi?”

Lily physically drew back, her eyebrows shooting up faster than a rocket. “Yeah, it was. Why do you want to know? You're the reason she's been completely different for weeks now,”

Tyler realised the question had been too abrupt, “I heard you talking and thought I caught a mention of her name, and I've tried to talk to her, okay? I think she is still really mad at me.”

Lily made a face and sighed heavily. “She went out into town to get some medication. She was supposed to help me figure out the sitting arrangements, but she isn’t feeling well again. She's been that way for about two weeks now and even though she says she's alright I know she's not. And with all the work that has to be done, I think it's starting to get to her. You know how uptight she gets sometimes,”

Yeah, he knew. But stressed or not, the thought of Lexi being sick, and had been for a while now bothered him. It was the reason why he had gone up to see her last night, but in the mood she'd been in, he doubted she would have told him anything. If only she'd open up to him again. Clearly his tactics of trying to get her to warm up to him again weren't working. Couldn’t they approach their issues like two adults?

Dream on, loser. You screwed up and you know it. You had a chance with her and you blew it.

But still, he missed her. He missed his best friend, and he wanted her back in his life. Even if it meant finally standing up to Lord Fuckface, who was thankfully not at the villa, but would be arriving on the day of the wedding according to what Lily had told him.

He shook his head. “Did she say what time she'd be back?”

“No, but she said soon. Weren't you supposed to talk to her last night?”

“Yeah, but it turns out it wasn't a very good time,” he sighed and turned to Lily,” I don't know if she's ever going to stop being mad at me,”

Lily gave him a curious glance before her curiosity got the best of her, “What the hell did you say to her anyways?” she asked.

“None of what I should have said, and everything I shouldn't have,”