Page 107 of Perfect Pursuit

I what my mother had. It may not have lasted forever, but what she felt for my father was worth every emotion she buried with him.

Fallon:

What? Nothing to say?

Ethan:

I’m trying to rationalize if that kind of love exists.

Fallon:

That’s your problem.

Ethan:

Problem?

Fallon:

Love isn’t rational. Neither is what you’ll do to keep it.

“Christ, I had the answer the whole fucking time.” My phone drops out of my hands and clatters to the floor, unharmed. I let out a scream of primal rage, my fury at myself so encompassing I can’t believe I didn’t put the pieces together.

Something’s happened and Fallon’s trying to protect someone she loves. That’s why she took the job at Devil’s Lair. Swooping down, I frantically text Thorn only to receive a bunch of applause emojis in response.

Thorn:

Now, if only you’d thought like this before you made an unmitigated ass of yourself.

Ethan:

Fuck you, Thorn. Tell me what happened.

Fallon wants exactly one thing and it has nothing to do with the gross accusations I flung at her in the parking lot of Devil’s Lair. She wants love. Because of my knee-jerk reaction, I’ve sentenced myself to hell—a life without Fallon in it in any capacity.

Knowing my demands are likely to go unanswered, I try to call my niece. Then, on a Hail Mary attempt, I call my sister. Both of them ignore me—par for the course the last few days. I’m about to call Paige’s husband when I realize the whole family will be here in a matter of hours to celebrate my father’s birthday.

That will be soon enough.

I hope.

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

Conversation starter: Does some food taste better the next day?

—Fab and Delish

The moment I enter the room, the female contingency of my family—my sister and niece—proceed to sharpen their emotional claws against my heart by talking nonstop about their time this past week with Fallon in Seven Virtues.

“What the hell do you mean, you’ve been in Seven Virtues?”

Austyn, never one to watch her smart mouth, snarks, “Have you ever heard of the feature called ‘Find My’? We do share a family plan. If you were so determined to locate where I was, you could have found me at any time.”

Fuck, if she doesn’t have me by the short hairs. While I’m stewing in my own incompetence, Austyn has the audacity to show photos to everyone, but she snagged her phone back before it reached me.

Sending me a vicious smile, something I’d have attributed to her father, except her mother’s wearing one just like it, Austyn drawls, “You don’t want to see photos of Mama and me hanging around with a stupid kid who makes stupid choices. Wouldn’t want to waste your time, Uncle E.”

As much as part of me wants to strangle her, the other part of me can’t help the surge of gratefulness she flew to see Fallon. Still, if Austyn’s trying to wound me, she can’t. She has no idea of the level of pain I’m in.

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