Page 41 of Stone Promises

“Never,” he whispers under his breath, looking at me in disbelief as the smile returns to his face.

“What about you?” I ask, not missing an opportunity to quid pro quo. “Who wasyourfirst?”

He closes his eyes and shakes his head. When he opens them, he looks directly at me, holding my stare with his like a tractor beam. I fear he’s going to tell me something I don’t want to hear because I see so much truth behind those blue eyes. He reaches over and puts his hand on top of mine. “Someone who should have been you.”

For the third time tonight, his words slay me and all I can do is stare at him. Take in his golden-blonde hair that is longer than he kept it when we were younger. Take in his handsome face that has grown more manly over the years. Take in his hand on top of mine and the intense feelings plowing through my body from his simple touch. And I realize in this moment that even though my mind is telling me it’s a bad idea—even though my heart may never survive another beating from him—even though all odds are against us, I know that I want this man more than I’ve ever wanted anything. And right here, right now, I decide that yes, maybe the boy I grew up with is worth everything I’ve endured and everything I’ll have to go through to get him. I blink, sending tears rolling down my cheeks.

He reads my bleeding eyes. He knows every thought that crosses behind them. He always has. He moves his chair closer to mine and wipes away my tears. “Mallory, I want this. I want to give this a chance. More than anything. But being with me comes at a price. One you might not want to pay. I need you to understand what you are in for.”

I nod, sniffing back more tears. “I know, Kendra told me.”

“Shewhat?”he raises his voice, clearly upset by the revelation.

“She came to see me yesterday.” Chad looks like he might blow a gasket so I quickly add, “Don’t be mad. She’s the reason I’m here. I wasn’t going to see you again, but she reminded me about all of your good qualities. I really like her.”

“I’m going to double her salary,” he jokes. “Seriously though, Kendra is great at what she does, but there is only so much she can bury. Eventually, this will come out. And probably sooner rather than later.” He nods to the kitchen where servers have been peeking out at us all night. “See them? They could be taking pictures or video. Even with the non-disclosure agreements I had them sign, things always get leaked.”

My jaw drops. “You had them sign non-disclosure agreements? Do you do that everywhere you go?”

“No, but I needed to tonight. I had to do everything I could to make sure your face didn’t get plastered across every news magazine. Because that’s what will happen, Mal. And it won’t be long before they find out your name. And then after that, reporters and paparazzi might show up at your house or your school. A lot of people will be nice about it, but there are always those who will hate you for being with me.” He takes the last swig of his champagne, looking pained. “There are so many reasons why you shouldn’t want to be with me. And every one of them is valid. But I’m asking you to be with me anyway. I’m asking you to risk everything to see if we can get back what we once had and more.”

I realize his hand hasn’t let go of mine, and now he’s threaded his fingers through my fingers. Our hands are entwined as if they were made to be this way. As if my hand was crafted solely and specifically to fit with his and no other.

He gives my hand a squeeze. “What do you say, Mal? Are you willing to risk it? For me? For us?”

His blue eyes sparkle as candlelight reflects off their glassy surface. He’s got tears in his eyes. Tears that mirror mine. He wants this as badly as I do. Maybe if we both want it so much, we can make it work. Even though everything is against us, maybe the ten years we spent together will trump the nine years we spent apart. Maybe the bond we made back then can’t be broken, just weakened. “I wasn’t,” I tell him. “I was ready to have you walk out of my life as quickly as you came back into it.”

“And now?” he asks, hopefully.

“You’ve been nothing but a gentleman, Chad. You’ve treated me like a queen, and I’m not talking about the money. I could care less about that, I hope you know that. I watched the person you became after you moved to L.A. and I see the person you are now—there is no comparison. I might be willing to give this a shot. But I can’t make any promises.”

“Well,Ican,” he says. “I promise I won’t let anyone hurt you, Mal. Including me.Especiallyme. Before, when I made you that promise, I was seven years old. I’m twenty-five now. My promises are worth more. The stakes are higher. And I’m telling you, you can count on me to be the best goddamn boyfriend anyone ever had.”

Boyfriend. Chad Stone could be my boyfriend. Never in a million years did I think I’d be in this position. It’s surreal. I find myself wanting to call Mel and Julian and tell them about it. But after all that’s happened, I’m not sure they will support me; not Julian anyway. And then I think that maybe they won’t fit into Chad’s world. Would he expect me to choose his friends over mine? Would he expect me to give up all the things that make me who I am?He’s a superstar, of course he would. My heart falls into the pit of my stomach and I feel sick.

“Mal? You’re starting to scare me.” He takes both of my hands in his. “If you have any reservations, just tell me. If you agree to be my girlfriend, none of that other shit matters. The only things that matter are what you and I want. Everything else will work out. Believe me.”

I nod reluctantly. “Okay,” I whisper.

“Okay?” he practically yells, his eyes full of joy like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Yes. Under one condition,” I say.

“Anything,” he says. “You can have anything you want.”

“I want you to meet with Julian.”

Chapter Thirteen

Chad

I feel like I’m auditioning for a part. To be Mallory’s boyfriend. And it might just be the most important audition of my life. Her friends are everything to her. I know that from firsthand experience.

I sit across the table from her two best friends. Melissa, whom I’ve just met; and the guy who was oncemybest friend. The third musketeer. My partner in crime during some damn good years. But now, it’s hard to see him as anything except the guy who stole my girl. Logically, I know that’s not true. In fact, I pretty much handed her to him on a silver fucking platter. But that doesn’t make it any easier to think of the two of them together. My only solace is he didn’t sleep with her. Thank God. I’m not sure I could sit here and play nice if he had.

When Julian walked into the small private dining room at The Waldorf, we sized each other up. I half expected us to circle around each other and then pounce, fighting to the death to defend what we think is ours. Instead, we both pasted on smiles, shaking hands, unsure of the feelings we have for the brothers we once were.

“What do you expect her to do when you leave?” Julian asks, pushing his salmon around on his plate. “Just sit back and watch as you parade around with other women?”

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