“Yes.” The word was dragged from his throat. He saw the hurt flash in her brown eyes and wished he could take it back. He couldn’t. It was the truth. “But I found out quickly that you didn’t know about it. I thought you were the only one who could have taken it, but the more I got to know you, the more I realized you couldn’t have done it.”
“If that’s the case, why did you stay?”
“I wanted to be with you, but I had to find the emerald.” Travis’s shoulders sagged. He knew he had to tell her the rest. “I was about to leave when Faye’s bracelet disappeared. Two valuables were gone when you were around...”
She tossed her hands in the air. “And despite everything you knew about me, you decided that I was some master jewel thief?”
“No,” he said as he noticed an elderly gentleman in a beige trench coat holding a bright yellow umbrella slowly walking past them, not even trying to hide his curiosity. “But you have to look at it from my point of view. I thought there was a pattern.”
“Why did you come up to me in the casino?” she asked. “Was it because of the emerald?”
He gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to tell her. It would taint the way she looked at their relationship. “I knew you didn’t have it then.”
“Travis,” she warned.
He sighed and raked his hands in his wet hair. “There were two men who were looking for the emerald. You noticed them at the nightclub,” he reminded her. “But they had been following my friend Aaron and me all night. He’d asked me to look after the emerald. They were at the casino when I met you.”
“Why did you drag me into it?” she asked.
“I needed to blend in. Make them think I was a tourist looking for a good time.”
Christine’s face paled. “So that’s why you offered to be my guide,” she whispered. “I thought it was strange that you offered your services for free.”
“Hey, I never pretended to be interested in you,” he said. “I was blown away when I first saw you walk into the casino. You can ask Aaron. He saw how my eyes bugged out and told me that you were way out of my league.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sure he did.”
“I enjoyed Vegas with you and if we didn’t have two guys following us, I would have considered that the perfect weekend,” he said. “I didn’t want it to end. Don’t you remember how I encouraged you to extend your vacation?”
“And what about the sex?” she said in a hard, cold tone. “Did you need a one-night stand to get away from those guys?”
“That night meant something to me, Christine.” His throat tightened as he choked back the hurt. “What we did that night had nothing to do with the emerald.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” She took a step back and looked away. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Christine.” He reached out for her.
She held up her hand to ward him off. “All this time I thought I had misled you. I felt guilty for pretending to be mysterious and sophisticated. But that wasn’t what interested you.”
“I knew you were pretending,” he admitted.
She pressed her lips together and nodded. “Of course you did. You knew how to read the signs because you were pretending with me.”
“Stop it,” he said. “I was with you because I wanted to be with you. The real you.”
“You weren’t interested in me,” Christine said. “You just wanted to know all about me because you thought I’d stolen your precious emerald.” She stared at him, unable to hide the hurt that shimmered from her eyes. “I shared everything with you. You shared nothing with me.”
“That’s not true.” He’d told her things he’d never admitted to anyone. She knew what drove him and what made him vulnerable.
“I used to feel half alive until I met you,” she said. She flattened her hand against her chest. “You made me believe that I was exciting and sexy. That you wanted me for me.”
“I do want you.” He wanted to be with Christine more than anything. He was willing to risk it all if it meant building a life with her. Now it was slipping away and he was scared. He didn’t know how to fix this, how to save what they had.
“You were fine sharing my bed while you were looking for the emerald,” she said, her voice echoing in the quiet street. “You had sex with me to pass the time.”
“That isn’t what happened.”
“Everyone knew something was off.” She slowly turned around and gestured at the people who were watching. “I thought so, too, at first. But I didn’t want to believe it. You knew what you were doing. You knew how to make me feel special and loved. You had that routine down pat.”