Page 333 of The Christmas Wife

Unmoored, I left everything behind. I travelled until I managed to ground myself. And by the time I returned? It was too late. She had turned to Baron. And they were—they are—happy together. And me?

The empty shell that constitutes me, Edward Chase, lives from moment-to-moment, not quite sure what I wanted out of life. I feel un-needed, unwanted, useless to everyone, even myself. Maybe, that’s why I grasped onto Grandfather's ask. Maybe, I could be of help to someone, after all.

I don’t need a shrink to tell me I'm going about this all wrong. I don’t need a shrink to tell me the person I see when I look in the mirror is not the person I was. Or the person I want to be. I don’t need my friends to point out I'm on a one-way trip to a crisis again. Hell, I'm living from one crisis to another internally. Every minute I get through without doing something I'll regret is a win. As is the deal I made with my grandfather. It gives me a reason to…keep going.

I sit up, then reach for my bottle of water and chug from it. I lower it and raise a shoulder. "I’ll live."

"For how long?" he asks softly.

"For however long it takes, I assume."

He searches my features. "I’m worried about you."

I bark out a laugh. "Since when did you start going soft?" I raise a hand. "Forget I said that. All six of you are married, and most of you with kids… Who’d have thought?"

His mouth curves in a smile, the kind I never thought I’d see on Sinclair fucking Sterling’s face. The meaner they are, the harder they fall, apparently. The seven of us are united by an incident that changed our lives forever. And each of my friends went through their journey and found their soulmates. That's not my path, and that's okay. I'm happy they're happy. All of them. Including Baron. He makes her happy, and in her happiness is mine.

"Speaking of,"—he tilts his head—"what time is your girl coming to the office?"

"Not my girl, merely a?—"

"Cog in the wheel?" His smile grows sly. "A piece in the puzzle. A?—"

"Stepping stone to my larger plan? Yes," I say dryly.

"Hmm." He snatches up a bottle of water, twists open the cap and chugs from it.

"The fuck does that mean?"

"Nothing. Why should it mean something?"

I frown. "No, of course not, but if you have something to say?—"

He caps the bottle, then wipes his hand over his face. When he lowers his arm, his eyes gleam. "It would be lost on you. Ergo, you need to learn your lessons yourself."

"Thanks. And to think, I’m the one who gave the sermons."

"You know what they say? Even a doctor needs another when he’s unwell."

I lower my eyebrows. "Are you saying?—"

"Nothing. You do you, Ed. Find your way. I have every confidence that you will."

I snort. "What-fucking-ever."

He laughs. "The classic rejoinder of a man who’s at a loss for words. Also,"—he nods toward the clock on the wall—"you need to rush if you don't want to be late."

Iamlate but not for the meeting with her. I left instructions with my HR manager to get her settled in. I'm on my way to a much more important meeting. When I walk into the conference room adjoining my new office, the five men in the room turn to glare at me. Once again, I'm the outsider, but I prefer it this way.They're brothers. Some of their blood runs through me, but I’ve never met them before today.

"Knox." I jerk my chin toward the man standing in the far corner. The sunlight streaming in casts his face in shadows. The other four are at strategic positions around the conference room. None of them are seated. And I’m sure their locations weren’t chosen by chance. These five are united in a way that tells me I am the opposition. The enemy. The one who came in from the cold to take over their business. The one chosen by their grandfather to take over as the CEO of their company.

"Edward." Knox tips up his chin. "Or should I call you Priest?"

There’s a challenge in his tone—one I don’t rise to. I’ve come across enough men who’ve decided it’s best to go on the offensive when they’re backed into a corner, as my half-brothers, no doubt, are at this moment.

"I prefer Priest."

"Yet, you left the church?" This from Ryot who’s standing closest to me.

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