Chapter 50

Whether he denied it or not, Xavier was cruel. How could he just blurt out something like that and expect her to believe it? What was she supposed to do with that information?

Penny closed her eyes, fighting the tears that threatened to fall. She'd managed to hold herself together so far - she refused to cry in front of him now.

Even though she knew better than to believe him, his words had brought a whole swell of emotions up inside her - hope, anger, fear, joy, regret...and all of them were inconvenient.

It doesn't matter what you feel, she told herself. Your actions will be the same. He lied to you once about this very thing, and you're not falling for it again. The minute this is over, you tell him to walk away. He already promised to do so.

They rode in silence the rest of the way to Artist Point. She didn't trust herself to open her mouth, and Xavier wisely decided not to test her further.

By the time they reached the canyon, she'd more or less composed herself. The other tw