“It is not pretense. Never was. She looked at me in surprise. - Not for me. There is something between us. You are the most special person I have ever met.
Rylee studied me silently for a moment, as if probing the veracity of my words.
“So special that, at the first opportunity, you treat me with the same judgment that the people of this damned town have treated me my whole life.
I tried to take her hand with mine, but Rylee pulled it away, sharply.
“I want to apologize to you for that. I shouldn't have thought you'd sleep with that guy. The truth is, I was mad with jealousy when the security guard told me you'd met him at the hotel, hinting at what you were doing there.
“And because I am the daughter of a woman like my mother, you did not even give me a chance to doubt it.
“This has
