Page 150 of Hunting Pretty

He didn’t want me to remember him asTybecause that person, the one I’d loved, no longer existed.

It wasn’t just about protecting me from the truth. It was about protecting himself.

Because if he had to face me as Ty, then he’d have to face everything that came with it. The guilt, the shame, the memories that had shattered him.

“We could go away,” he said as he straightened, a new energy lifting his voice.

I lifted my head from his chest. “What?”

“We could leave Dublin. Leave Ireland.” He shifted in the chair, his voice becoming animated as a lightness glowed within his eyes. “Think about it, Ava. We could just… leave.”

I shook my head, unable to understand what he was saying.

Justleave?

God, if only I could just leave everything behind. If I could just forget again. Pretend none of this ever happened.

What a wonderful dream. But it was just that—a dream.

“But I don’t have a job,” I argued, “I don’t even have a degree yet. I don’t have my own money or—”

“I have enough.”

His voice was so serious that I straightened, wiping my eyes of tears.

“How?”

“My father’s inheritance,” he said bitterly. “It’s enough that neither of us ever have to work again.”

The possibility hung heavy in the silence between us. He was offering to look after me forever.

That was crazy. I barely knew him.

No, that wasn’t true. Iknewhim. And he knew me. He was my foster brother, my childhood best friend, and he’d been watching over me for years.

Hesitation still coiled in my limbs. “But… what about Ebony, Lisa, my studies?”

“You could study somewhere else if you wanted to. America. Australia. Somewhere far away. But you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

He smiled and the sight was glorious as he began to weave a colorful tapestry before my eyes.

“We could buy a house on the beach. We could get a golden retriever named Salt and we’d throw sticks for him every day. You could work in a little bookshop. Hell, I’ll buy you a bookshop.”

I couldn’t help but laugh as excitement bubbled up in me and I found my feet kicking. It was nice to dream a little. It made the darkness in my body fade, at least for a little bit.

“You could learn to garden,” I said.

He made a face like he’d sucked on a lemon.

I laughed as I smoothed out his frown. “Okay, no gardening. You could… work on cars.”

“Computers,” he corrected.

I nodded. “Right. With all your hacking computery knowledge.”

He squeezed me. “We don’t need money though, remember? I’m rich as fuck.”

“Yeah, but you can’t just sit on the beach all day with me.”

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