“Who told you?” She sat on the sofa, gesturing for Donovan to take the love seat.
“Does it matter?” Donovan folded his long, lean frame onto the black leather love seat.
“No, it doesn’t. I was just curious.”
“So am I.” Leaning forward, Donovan balanced his elbows on his thighs. “Why did you lie about attending your reunion?”
She didn’t want to lie to Donovan, but she didn’t want to tell him that she was afraid of falling in love with him, either. “I didn’t want you to feel obligated to attend the reunion with me. That’s why I told you that you’d fulfilled our business agreement.”
“Why wouldn’t you want me to attend the reunion with you?”
Because I didn’t want to see you flirt with my former classmates.
Rose looked into his troubled hazel eyes. She scanned the clean lines of his classically handsome sienna features. He made her heart jump. “I’m going to attend it alone. The lies were becoming too complicated.”
“But we’ve invested so much time and energy into developing our fake relationship.”
“Yes, and I’m sorry about that.” Though not completely. She regretted the heartache that was giving her sleepless nights, but she couldn’t regret the time she’d spent getting to know him.
“Then why are you leaving me behind? What have I done wrong?”
“You haven’t done anything wrong.” Rose rushed to reassure Donovan. “This isn’t about you.” Not exactly.
“Then what is it about?”
Rose stood and crossed to her fireplace. “It’s about me.” Her mind raced ahead for the explanation. “I didn’t want to hide behind one man to make another man jealous. That would be childish.”
“But it didn’t seem childish before?”
“No, it didn’t.” Rose rubbed her left shoulder, trying to ease the tension. “I guess the time we spent together helped me realize that.”
Donovan frowned. “You think I helped you see that?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Then why don’t you want to make our fake relationship real?”
She’d opened the door to that question, the only question she didn’t want him to ask her ever again. “We’re too different, Van.” Dear God, she wished they weren’t.
“How are we different?” Donovan stood, shoving his fists into the front pockets of his navy cargo shorts. “Is it my past? You told me it didn’t matter to you that I’d been homeless for a year and a half as a kid, but it does matter, doesn’t it?”
“No.” Rose wouldn’t allow him to think that of her or of himself. “How could you possibly think that of me? I told you that I was impressed by you and all you’ve accomplished. I lied about attending my reunion. That was wrong and I’m sorry. But I didn’t lie when I said I don’t think less of you because of your past.”
“If this doesn’t have anything to do with my past, then I don’t see how we’re that different.”
“Van, I wish you’d just accept my decision to end our relationship—all versions of it.” Rose wrapped her arms around her waist. “I don’t think it would work out between us. And that’s my decision.”
The silence was heavy between them. The tension built. Finally, Donovan nodded once. “All right, I’ll accept your decision. Goodbye, Rose.”
Rose swallowed the thick lump in her throat. “Goodbye, Van. And thank you for everything.”
“Of course.” His gaze lingered on her face a moment longer.
Rose watched as he turned to leave again; this time, for good. As her front door closed behind him, she let her tears flow.
* * *
“Earth to Van. Are you with us, pal?” Tyler’s teasing broke through Donovan’s consciousness.