Page 12 of His Forever

“She’s not my type,” he called out as he strolled down the hallway, walking in the opposite direction of my room. His steps were easy and unhurried, like he knew exactly what I was thinking. He paused, turned on his heels, and met my gaze, his face unreadable. “And she’s still in love with some guy who doesn’t deserve her.”

His words hit like a sucker punch, but before I could respond, Sig turned back around and continued down the hall, his door shutting loudly behind him.

I stood there for a moment, absorbing what he’d said. Still in love with some guy? Was he talking about me? Could he be talking aboutme?

I stepped back into my room and closed the door behind me, trying to shake off the strange mix of feelings swirling in my chest. Leaning against the closed door, I let out a slow breath, rubbing the back of my neck. There was no reason for me to be upset. None. Brynn was free to do whatever the hell she wanted. She didn’t owe me anything.

But damn it, if the thought of her still holding onto something—ontome—didn’t stir something in me that I wasn’t ready to face.

Over twenty years. A whole lifetime had passed since I last saw her. We’d both moved on, made choices, lived our lives. She married someone else. I made sure to shut out any part of my past that involved her, but seeing her now... it was like none of that time had passed.

My mind kept drifting back to Sig’s words. “Still in love with some guy who doesn’t deserve her.” Was that really how she felt? Had I been wrong all this time to think she’d moved on without a second thought?

I threw myself into a chair by the window and stared out into the dark, trying to calm the mess of emotions running through me. There was a lot more at stake right now than old feelings. Brynn had power more than I could’ve ever imagined, and we were heading into a war with Candace that was going to end in bloodshed.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about it—about Brynn; about everything we never said to each other and everything we’d left unfinished.

I hadn’t even realized how tightly I was gripping the armrests until I forced myself to relax and flexed my hands. This wasn’t the time to be getting sentimental. Brynn wasn’t the same girl I used to know. She was a different woman now; a woman who had married the most dangerous man in the world and stepped into his empire.

I wasn’t sure where I fit into that picture.

The thought of Brynn still caring about me, even after everything, was something I couldn’t quite shake. But I had to be careful. I’d already lost her once, and I wasn’t sure if I could handle losing her again.

Sig’s words echoed in my head.Still in love with some guy who doesn’t deserve her.

I stood up abruptly, pacing the length of the room. Maybe he was right. Maybe I didn’t deserve her. But I wasn’t about to let that stop me from trying to fix what had been broken between us.

We had too much history to leave things where they were. And as much as I hated to admit it, seeing Sig walk out of her bedroom made me realize something I’d been trying to bury for two decades—I still cared about Brynn. Maybe more than I should.

I crossed the room, yanked the door open, and stepped back into the hallway, ready to head down to Brynn’s room and talk. To clear the air. But then I stopped, hesitating.

What the hell was I going to say? “Hey, Brynn, long time no see. Sorry for messing up your life, but by the way, I still have feelings for you?” Yeah, that would go over great.

I closed my door again, leaning against it once more. There was no use diving headfirst into this when we had so much else going on. The business with Candace had to come first. Whatever Brynn and I needed to figure out, it would have to wait.

But one thing was clear now more than ever. Whatever happened in the days ahead, Brynn wasn’t just someone from my past anymore. She was front and center in my life again, whether I was ready for it or not.

And no matter what, I wasn’t going to lose her a second time.

Chapter Six

Brynn

“This is nice,” Leo said as his eyes scanned the plush interior of the G280. The soft leather seats, the wood-paneled accents, the quiet hum of the jet engines—it was all a far cry from flying coach.

I glanced over at him and shrugged. “Thanks.”

“Seems like overkill for a trip to Wisconsin from South Carolina, though.”

I leveled a glare at him, one that probably carried more heat than necessary. “You have a problem being in a G280?”

He raised his hands in mock surrender, but there was a smirk on his lips. “I figured you’d have something smaller in your fleet to get us to Wisconsin.”

I couldn’t help but scoff. He wasn’t wrong. The G280 had a range of over four thousand miles, far more than we needed for this trip, and yeah, it was overkill. But I liked it. This plane was my favorite in Guy’s fleet—well, I guessmyfleet now.

“Guess you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, especially when you’re getting flown around in a private jet,” I said, my voice edged with sarcasm.

Leo chuckled softly and his gaze didn’t leave mine. He sat opposite me, facing forward with his face to the cockpit while I was seated with my back to the cockpit, watching him. Sig sat a few seats up, closer to the cockpit, quietly going over some details on his phone. Three other men I’d brought along—Jack, Don, and Clyde—occupied the back seats, their conversation low and unintrusive.

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