“Jesus.” A shiver ricochets from the base of my spine and up to my neck. “That’s conniving.”

“See why I don’t trust her?” She shakes her head. “Connor and I? We were played. Sabrina’s a fucking genius when it comes to playing people. But Sam was always above it somehow. That’s why I can’t figure out this engagement.”

My stomach churns when I think about him being in that hotel room with her. He’s made his own decisions when it comes to Sabrina and the tape, but what if he’s being played? What if he truly can’t remember that night with her because someone doesn’t want him to remember? What if George is right, and someone in the campaign tampered with it to make it look recent? And what if that person was Sabrina?

* * *

I’m locking my apartment the next morning when I see Connor standing in the hall. “What are you doing here?”

“Can we talk?”

He shrugs. “Della kicked me out and Mr. Bradshaw fired me. Not sure where else I should be.”

“I don’t know, Connor, but the answer isn’t with me.”

“I don’t mean it like that.” He runs a hand through his hair and sighs. “I want to do something right for once.”

“I don’t know what you mean by that, but I need to get to work.”

“I wouldn’t believe everything you see in the gossip magazines.”

My stomach hitches at the reminder of the pictures of Sam and Sabrina. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you do. You’re in love with Sam,” Connor says. “And Sabrina did exactly what she had to do to take him away from you. She ruins lives. It’s her specialty.”

“Sabrina ruins lives? What about you? You betrayed Sam. You took his child from him.”

He grimaces. “I was doing Sabrina’s bidding, but I know that doesn’t make it right. That’s something I have to live with.”

“And that’s why you took me home last summer too, isn’t it? I never put two and two together, but I remember a redhead at Brady’s that night. That was her, wasn’t it? She wanted to make sure you got me to go home with you.”

“It wasn’t a hardship, Liz. I didn’t know Della was pregnant and Sabrina knew I was in love with you and—”

“In love with me? That’s not love, Connor. That’s sick. Seducing someone to manipulate someone else is disgusting and low.”

“Sabrina was blackmailing me,” he says. His face is bleak, defeated. “Still is, which is why I’ve been spying on Sam, but Della kicked me out and I figure I don’t have anything left to lose so I’m done letting her control me.”

I fold my arms. “How is she blackmailing you?”

“I’m not a good person. I did shitty things that no one was ever supposed to find out about, and she dug them up and used them to get me to do more shitty things.” He gives a sad smile. “You know what’s crazy? She was so damn good at convincing me I was doing something good. With Asia, she convinced me I was protecting Sam. And when she called that night last summer to let me know that you were at the bar and upset, Della had just left and I thought, ‘Hey, funny how things work out.’ It wasn’t until months later that I learned she was the reason Della left that night. But this time with the tape and Sam . . . she’s transparent to me now.”

“What is she after?” I ask.

“All she wants is Sam. That’s all she’s ever wanted, and for once I want to be on the other side of things. I can’t stand being part of that evil bitch’s plotting anymore.”

My mind is spinning. This is too much to take in at once. “Slow down. You admit you were the one who made Asia lie to Sam about the baby? His dad wasn’t behind it?”

“I’m not a good person,” he repeats. “But I wanted to believe she wasn’t just manipulating me—that I wasn’t just her puppet. But then I watched Sam get pulled into her snare and I knew you’d end up hurt. I can’t fix what I’ve done, but I can tell you that Sam has loved you for years, and I don’t believe for a second he would risk a chance to have you back in his life for a night in her bed.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I whisper, giving up the pretense that I don’t know the engagement is a sham. “I won’t be his dirty secret anymore.”

“Be careful,” he says, picking up a suitcase I didn’t notice before.

“Where are you going?”

“Back home. It’s time I face my past.”

Chapter 26

Liz

My phone buzzes in my purse and I pull it out to see another missed call from Sam. I send it to voicemail and close my eyes, trying to remember how to breathe. I gave him an ultimatum, and no matter how much I miss him, I need to stand by it.

Everyone is supposed to clear out of headquarters by four p.m. today so the party planners and the tech and light crew can set up for tonight, but I was so busy working on paperwork, I totally lost track of time.

My phone buzzes again. This time with a text.

Sam: I need to talk to you before tonight.

It hurts to ignore the message, but I make myself. He knows what he has to do if he wants to make this work. I stack my papers and shut down the computer. It’s four fifteen, and the place is eerily quiet. It’s never quiet. I grab my purse and head for the door.

“We were supposed to get married,” someone says from Erin McDaniel’s office.