Page 184 of Charming Deception

“She’s not some business to be managed.” I push off the desk, clawing a hand through my hair. “You knew Granddad best. He had to have left me a loophole here.”

My brother studies me, sitting back in his chair. “He left us to play the game. That’s how he wanted it. And his only part in it is what he left us in black and white.”

I start pacing in front of his desk. “So there’s no way around it.” I wonder if I look as unraveled as I feel. I run a hand down the front of my shirt. I’m pretty sure I buttoned it straight.

“I’d tell her for you myself,” he says, “but the rule is clear. None of us can talk about it.”

“So no one can tell her. Ever.” My voice cracks.

Then I stop dead. Savannah’s voice is suddenly in my head.

Have you ever considered, Jamie, that maybe he’s just trying to protect you? From getting your heart broken.

I point at Graysen accusingly. “You knew this would happen. You know that I’m all soft and fucking broken inside, and when I fall it’ll be forever. And you knew this would happen.”

My brother’s eyebrow raises. “I knew that what would happen, Jamie?”

I can’t even say it. Can’t admit how I feel about her out loud.

Maybe he didn’t know. Maybe I’m just going crazy with the thought of losing her, and want someone else to blame for the mess of shit I’m feeling.

He watches me pace as I unravel some more.

“I had an interesting chat with Damian last night,” he says after a moment. “He said he pressed Megan on her loyalty.”

I turn to stare at him. Damian did what now? When?

When I was in the men’s room at Gravity?

“He could sense that the situation was getting real for you,” Graysen says. “We all can.”

I stare at my brother for a long, painful minute as he stares back calmly. Situation. When did my love life and my engagement become a situation?

This is Megan we’re talking about.

My life.

And very possibly my future wife.

“So,” he says, “are you telling me it’s real?”

Rivers of blood pound through my ears and my heart strains in my rib cage under the pressure of all those arrows. It feels like a dam about to blow in there. There are way too many fucking holes.

“Are you sure it’s as real for her as it is for you?” he presses.

I turn and walk out without answering him.

Fuck him.

I pull out my phone and dial Megan, because she’s the only one I need to talk to. My family doesn’t have answers. Granddad fucked me with this game, and even he can’t take it back. The man is gone and I’m fucking falling in love with my fiancée, and if Megan is ever going to trust me enough to love me, I’ll have to make that happen myself.

Somehow.

She’s been at Nicole’s all damn day, though.

I need her.

I just have to see her tonight, convince her somehow that I’m trustworthy. That we can just bury this stupid little secret that doesn’t mean anything anyway, put it in the past, and forget about it.

---