Read Online Almost Perfect by Julie Ortolon - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Julie Ortolon
Tags: Humor, Romance, Literature & Fiction, Contemporary, series, Military, Romantic Comedy, Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary Women, Women's Fiction, Single Women, Domestic Life
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you, Maddy, but I got over you years ago. I've been a little too busy living my life since then for it to even be a factor. So, in case you're worried, let me assure you, I'm perfectly capable of working with you through the summer—at the end of which you'll do me the favor of leaving. Now if you don't mind, I have work to do."
Maddy watched as he bent over the canoe again. As uncomfortable as she felt with his anger pushing her toward the door like a physical force, she couldn't leave. Somehow she had to find a way to get through to him. Unfortunately, with Joe, sometimes prodding his temper was the only way to get him talking. She took a deep breath and braced herself. "Actually, I do mind. Because I don't think you are over it. Otherwise you wouldn't be this upset."
"But then whether I'm upset or not really isn't your business, is it? You made your choice years ago, and it wasn't me." The planes of his face hardened as he went back to work.
She thought for a moment that he'd leave it at that, that she'd never get him to open up, but then he surprised her by straightening.
"Although, for the record," he said, "I never asked you to choose. I never said you can marry me or you can be an artist but you can't do both."
"Joe…" She blinked, dumbfounded. "You asked me to marry you and move onto an Army base halfway across the country knowing I'd just won a full scholarship to UT."
"We could have worked around that, if I'd had some advance warning you even wanted to go to college. But no"—he tossed his rag onto the worktable—"I didn't have time to factor that in before I proposed, because you dropped that bombshell on me out of the blue."
Her own anger rose hot and fast. "Well, you didn't have to freak out about it."
A muscle in his jaw ticked as he spaced his words out. "I did not freak out."
"You panicked, then."
"I was angry." Echoes of the emotion flashed in his dark eyes. "Because you never shared any of that with me. I thought we were moving in one direction, only to learn you were making completely different plans behind my back ."
"You make it sound like I was cheating on you."
"That's pretty much how it felt!" He took a deep, chest-expanding breath and let it out slowly in a visible effort to control his temper. "Maddy, we'd been dating seriously for nearly two years. Even when I went into the Army, we stayed together. We'd been talking about getting married and having kids for months."
"No, you talked about getting married and having kids. I just sat there trying not to freak."
"What are you saying?" Her words seemed to knock the wind out of him. "That the whole time we were together, you were never serious? Christ,
Maddy, what were you doing? Using me for sex?" He laughed harshly. "I can't believe I said that. But it's true, isn't it? Shit!"
"No—"
"You were getting off screwing the school troublemaker, running with the bad crowd, pretending to be one of us and all the while you were top of the class."
"I wasn't 'top of the class.' "
"Damn near." He shook his head in disgust. "Oh, the media had a field day with you. Daughter of an underpaid cop, with a stay-at-home mother and four siblings, has little chance of paying for college until lo and behold, she wins a full scholarship from the Lone Star Arts League, has her work displayed in the capitol, gets her picture taken with the flippin' governor. And if all that isn't enough, gee whiz, folks, she's not just pretty and talented, she's running neck and neck on her GPA with the saluta-fucking-torian!"
Maddy cringed, seeing in retrospect the shock he must have felt at Airhead Maddy making good grades.
"You never even told me you'd entered that competition."
"Because… what if I hadn't won?"
"Do you think I would have cared?" Hurt replaced the anger in his eyes. "I was in love with you. We were practically engaged. Don't you think I had a right to know you were working your ass off, trying to make something of your life? Don't you think I
Maddy watched as he bent over the canoe again. As uncomfortable as she felt with his anger pushing her toward the door like a physical force, she couldn't leave. Somehow she had to find a way to get through to him. Unfortunately, with Joe, sometimes prodding his temper was the only way to get him talking. She took a deep breath and braced herself. "Actually, I do mind. Because I don't think you are over it. Otherwise you wouldn't be this upset."
"But then whether I'm upset or not really isn't your business, is it? You made your choice years ago, and it wasn't me." The planes of his face hardened as he went back to work.
She thought for a moment that he'd leave it at that, that she'd never get him to open up, but then he surprised her by straightening.
"Although, for the record," he said, "I never asked you to choose. I never said you can marry me or you can be an artist but you can't do both."
"Joe…" She blinked, dumbfounded. "You asked me to marry you and move onto an Army base halfway across the country knowing I'd just won a full scholarship to UT."
"We could have worked around that, if I'd had some advance warning you even wanted to go to college. But no"—he tossed his rag onto the worktable—"I didn't have time to factor that in before I proposed, because you dropped that bombshell on me out of the blue."
Her own anger rose hot and fast. "Well, you didn't have to freak out about it."
A muscle in his jaw ticked as he spaced his words out. "I did not freak out."
"You panicked, then."
"I was angry." Echoes of the emotion flashed in his dark eyes. "Because you never shared any of that with me. I thought we were moving in one direction, only to learn you were making completely different plans behind my back ."
"You make it sound like I was cheating on you."
"That's pretty much how it felt!" He took a deep, chest-expanding breath and let it out slowly in a visible effort to control his temper. "Maddy, we'd been dating seriously for nearly two years. Even when I went into the Army, we stayed together. We'd been talking about getting married and having kids for months."
"No, you talked about getting married and having kids. I just sat there trying not to freak."
"What are you saying?" Her words seemed to knock the wind out of him. "That the whole time we were together, you were never serious? Christ,
Maddy, what were you doing? Using me for sex?" He laughed harshly. "I can't believe I said that. But it's true, isn't it? Shit!"
"No—"
"You were getting off screwing the school troublemaker, running with the bad crowd, pretending to be one of us and all the while you were top of the class."
"I wasn't 'top of the class.' "
"Damn near." He shook his head in disgust. "Oh, the media had a field day with you. Daughter of an underpaid cop, with a stay-at-home mother and four siblings, has little chance of paying for college until lo and behold, she wins a full scholarship from the Lone Star Arts League, has her work displayed in the capitol, gets her picture taken with the flippin' governor. And if all that isn't enough, gee whiz, folks, she's not just pretty and talented, she's running neck and neck on her GPA with the saluta-fucking-torian!"
Maddy cringed, seeing in retrospect the shock he must have felt at Airhead Maddy making good grades.
"You never even told me you'd entered that competition."
"Because… what if I hadn't won?"
"Do you think I would have cared?" Hurt replaced the anger in his eyes. "I was in love with you. We were practically engaged. Don't you think I had a right to know you were working your ass off, trying to make something of your life? Don't you think I
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