Two to Tangle

Chapter 6

The mattress beneath her groaned. He was leaving her again. Candy drew a frustrated breath. She was sick and tired of lying silently in her bed while he crept from her apartment. She wanted more than secret late-night liaisons. She wanted the real thing. This time she couldn't wait in bed and pretend to sleep.

"Come back to bed, baby." Candy rolled onto her side. The covers remained tucked firmly under her armpits, hiding her nudity from Logan's view.

"I have a meeting in the morning." Logan shrugged into his shirt. He met her gaze with determination as he.

"And?" she asked, a frown creasing her brow. "We work at the same place."

Just that morning, he threatened to carry her out of the office if she didn't go to lunch with him. It stood to reason arriving to work roughly around the same time would raise significantly fewer eyebrows.

"I left some files in my home office. It's easier to leave from my place."

"If you say so." Candy shrugged. She'd heard the excuses before. There was always some reason or another for why he couldn't stay over.

"This arrangement isn't working for me anymore," he said abruptly. His voice was grim but held a note of finality.

"You can't be serious?" Candy shot up from her resting position, clutching the cover in a tight fist at her chest. "Was this one last fuck before ending our affair?" her voice quivered.

"Calm down! That wasn't what this was, and you know it."

"No, I know you just had to have one last fuck before dumping me." Candy sniffed angrily, swiping away an errant tear. Inwardly she swore she wouldn't let another drop fall in front of him.

"We had a good time, but it's over now." Logan shrugged, stepping into his shoes.

"An arrangement and a good time?" Candy shook her head. "Nice choice of words."

"What do you want me to say?" he asked, raising a dark brow.

"I don't know, maybe that you fell and bumped your head, and you're not thinking straight." She gave a half shrug. "You owe me a real explanation."

"I owed you pleasure, and I've given you that and more during our time together."

"You're an ass! Thanks for reminding me of how foolish I've been jumping in bed with a married man." Heartbroken, the tears swimming in her eyes threatened to spill down her cheeks. She hated crying. Widening her eyelids, she hoped the air in the room would dry her tears. When that failed, she took several deep, unsteady breaths to keep the flood at bay.

"There's no need for name calling. You knew this would end at some point."

"I don't want it to end. I love you?" Her eyes flew wide. She slapped her hands across her mouth. She never meant for the words to slip out.

Candy needn't have bothered. Logan continued as though she hadn't spoken. "You were right. We should have kept it professional between us."

"Don't give me that," she sputtered. How dare he toss her aside like she was some random floozy from off the streets. "I've been saying from the beginning of our relationship that we need to be discrete. I've damn near begged you to get a divorce. I don't understand why you can't get a divorce so that we can be together?"

"It's complicated." Finished dressing, he moved towards the door.

"What's so complicated? People get divorced every day." Candy pressed. She was like a dog with a bone, refusing to let it go until he gave her a real answer.