It was while I was emptying out the cupboards in the bathroom that he approached me. He leaned his giant body against the doorframe and crossed his arms, watching me intently like I was doing some magic trick he was trying to figure out.

Instantly my body heated. I trembled a little as I put my make-up away, and waited for him to say something. When I glanced at the mirror briefly, I found his eyes travelling down my body in a heated sort of way, and as always, I felt my belly flip-flop and my sex clench. Just envisioning what it was like with him was a turn on, but the way he looked hungry for me was a trigger I felt deep in my bones. It turned me to mush. Made me feel sexy and desirable, regardless of our troubles.

“I’ve got a fight tonight,” he finally said.

I tensed a little at his words – half of me wondering if it was another lie – before I shrugged. “Okay.”

He didn’t leave. He just continued to watch me in that addictive way I loved. Half of me sort of prayed he’d just nail me against the wall, while the other logical, boring part of me remembered the lies.

Not a doormat, Allie. I reminded myself over and over again.

“I’m being serious,” he then added solemnly. “I really am fighting.”

“Okay,” I repeated absently.

“Come with me.”

I froze and looked up at his reflection in the mirror again and really took his appearance in. His dark eyes met my own, and they finally looked soft and inviting. The scratches were long gone, but his cheeks were filled with stubble now, and his hair fell over the top of his forehead. He looked so freaking raw and unkempt, and I couldn’t imagine a different look that might suit him better.

“I can’t,” I replied. “I’ve got Kayden –”

“Call your mom,” he interrupted, like he already had all the answers. “Tell her I’ll give her some money for it. She can come and look after him. It’s about time we pay her for babysitting him anyway.”            

When I didn’t reply right away, he pushed off the doorframe and moved closer to me. His front pushed against my back and his fingers combed through strands of my hair from top to bottom.

“Allison, I don’t want to fight with you.”

Allison. I longed for him to call me that, the way it rolled off his tongue with affection.

“I love you too much to keep this up,” he continued soothingly. “We’re wasting time fighting, and it’s not worth it. We’re better than that.”

I wanted to stop feeling this way, but all it took was reliving his lie and feeling like I was being laughed at in public to worsen it.

“I thought we were better than that too,” I replied in a hard tone. “I thought you were different. But all it takes to really know what you’re like is walking the streets and hearing people talk.”

His face twisted to confusion. “Hearing people talk?”

“You’re lying to me, but they seem to think they know what you’re up to when you disappear.”

His expression turned grave as he replied, “What do you mean?”

I turned around and faced him. I felt like I’d swallowed a gulf ball when I managed out, “They say you’re with other girls.”

The grave look immediately disappeared and turned to irritation. “Fucking hell, Allie –”

“You tell me you’re not out there fucking other girls, but I’m hearing a shit load of Trudy in these rumours.”

Now there was nothing but shock in his eyes. “Trudy?”

“Yes, Trudy.”

I felt a little dumb mentioning her. His reaction spoke surprise on a nuclear level. I was pretty sure I was trying to find something to argue about. All that frustration needed a way to be vented out, and I’d just walked into the dumbest argument of all.

“Yeah, well, Trudy’s probably the one starting those rumours,” he said to me.

“What a convenient time for Trudy to start them,” I sarcastically replied, pushing past him. He followed me into the half-full bedroom and stood by the bed next to me as I packed the clothes into the opened suitcase on the mattress.

“Look,” he said tensely, “if it wasn’t for you calling Matt and asking him where I was, then she probably wouldn’t have opened her ugly mouth in the first place.”

I shot him a strange look. “What does calling Matt have anything to do with Trudy?”

“Because he’s the one that called her! Asked her if she was spending time in bed with me, for fuck’s sake.”

I stared at him for a moment, the shirt in my hand half folded. What the hell did he just admit to me right now? My heart picked up pace.

“How do you even know he called her?” I demanded, feeling like I’d just caught him.

He sighed and shook his head. “Why the fuck do you have to think the worst in me? The reason I know isn’t because I was actually in her bed, Allie. It’s because she told me as I went into the building that night.”

“How convenient again that she’s there to tell you that,” I muttered under my breath, grabbing at another shirt to fold away.

“It wasn’t the first time,” he replied hesitantly. “I caught her drunk and passed out next to the elevators. I took her to her apartment –”

“What?” I cut in. “You took her to her apartment?!”

He gritted his teeth as he stared hard at me. “Allie, I didn’t fucking do anything! Don’t you dare give me that look like I did –”

“Well, you’re not entirely forthcoming with information anymore, Heath! So I think I’m entitled to give you any kind of look I want.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped himself and whipped away from me. Dragging his fingers through his hair, he hurried out of the room and left me alone. Usually, I’d take this time to calm down, but I felt too angry to look past everything. And now on top of everything else, I had to imagine him touching Trudy and taking her to her apartment. Really? How could I be understanding of my man taking a girl he’s bedded in this very fucking apartment to hers?

I was shaking with anger by the time he returned. His chest was rising and falling fast as he stopped beside me.

“We’ve taken this too far now,” he said. “Fighting isn’t us. Please, let’s drop it.”