Exposed: New Adult Sport Romance (The Boys of Winter Book 5) by Violet Vaughn Read Free Book Online Page A

daughter up for adoption.”
    He whispers, “Daughter?”
    Damn it. My eyes well up with tears, and I bite my lower lip to keep them from falling. I whisper back, “I’m the one that’s sorry. I should have told you years ago. You had a right to know and have say in what I did. I was so scared, and when you cheated I couldn’t face you.”
    Trevor opens his mouth to speak a couple of times, looking like a fish gasping for air, until he finally says, “I don’t know what you want me to say, or what you want.”
    “I don’t want anything, and you don’t need to say something. I just thought you should know.”
    He nods. “Okay. Yeah.”
    His numb reaction is the best I had hoped for, and I focus on getting him out of my car before he gets mad. “I know this is a shock. Take time to process it, and contact me if you want to know more.”
    “Okay.” His hand is on the handle to leave, and I think he’s going to say something, but instead he shakes his head.
    “I work at Rhinestone Cowgirl. You can get in touch with me there.”
    The door creaks open, and he says, “Got it.”
    After the door slams I’m tempted to watch him walk off. Instead I pick up my phone and check e-mails—most of which are most likely junk—just so I don’t have to drive by him. For a long time I thought hurting Trevor would feel good. It doesn’t.

Chapter 9

    Even though Trevor is probably back at the bar by now, I get caught up in a link to an article Neal sent me about boutique shops in Aspen and decide to read it before leaving. Anything to get the hurt look on Trevor’s face out of my mind.
    I jump when the passenger door opens abruptly. Trevor slides inside and yanks it shut with a slam, and there’s fire in his eyes. “How the fuck could you not tell me, Ruby?”
    Shit. My stomach clenches again. “I was young. Stupid and afraid. I kept hoping I would miscarry and the problem would go away.”
    He’s shaking his head. “I loved you. I would have done the right thing. Shit, I would have done whatever you wanted to do. How could you not know that about me? How could you be so selfish?”
    Trevor’s voice has gotten loud and defensiveness surges in me as I say, “You cheated on me. I didn’t need you to spell out the fact we were over. And even if we had gotten back together, what do you think would have happened?” I pause, and his mouth is tight, as though he’s holding back evil words. “You would have gone off to the races and screwed the bunnies that wanted to be with a racer while I was home with our baby. You proved it the one night I didn’t go to a party with you.”
    “Damn it, you’re the one that pushed me away. Don’t you remember how you stopped wanting to hang out? You stopped kissing me and telling me you loved me. What was I supposed to think? You’d dumped me weeks before I let Cara blow me.”
    I stare in shock. I did push him away. I avoided him because I was wracked with guilt. My secret was eating me up, and I couldn’t face him. Tears well up in my eyes. “I’m so sorry. God, I’m so sorry.” Hot moisture rolls down my cheeks.
    Trevor sighs. “Aw, man. I didn’t mean to yell at you.” He lifts my chin up with a finger. “It still doesn’t make what I did right. I’ve been beating myself up over it for years. I’m sorry. Please stop crying.”
    I wave my hand and whisper, “I can’t.”
    He reaches around my shoulders and pulls me against his chest. “Okay, then let it out.”
    And I do. I cry because I was so stupid and should have told him when I first knew. I did what I’d always done, kept my fears inside. I cry because if I had told him, he probably would have stood by me. My life may have been very different. And I cry because maybe, just maybe, I would be playing with my little girl right now.
    When I stop I pull back and sniff. Glancing into Trevor’s face I notice it’s tear-stained too. I reach up and wipe one from his cheek. “I used to fantasize that you would