Page 158 of I Was Always Yours (RCA: Royal Crown Academy)

“I survived his death, but I wouldn’t survive yours, wild girl. That, I have no problem admitting.”

His words are barely anything more than a whisper, but they land in my ears and heart with the roar of a thunderclap.

“Unlock the door.”

He frowns, pulling away. “Let me carry you inside.”

“Unlock the door, Phoenix.” I repeat, insistent.

Silently, he does as I say and I get out of the car. When he sees me walk around the front of the car to the driver’s side, he opens his own door and gets out.

I throw myself into his arms and he catches me with a relieved groan, his arms wrapping my legs around his waist for me.

“Thank you for opening up.” I say, before I bring my mouth down on his in a passionate kiss. I pull back seconds later, my breathing still not fully restored, and place my forehead against his. “Wait until I tell the girls that you’re a closet romantic.”

He gives my ass a sharp slap.

“You’ll do no such thing. I have a reputation to uphold.”

I giggle as he carries me upstairs and straight to bed where he falls asleep curled around me, with his hand clasped possessively around my middle and his soft breaths hitting my neck.

***

After my hospital stay, we enter a new phase of our relationship, one that’s so comfortable it lulls me into a false sense of security.

Phoenix is more open and vulnerable than he has been since I’ve known him, and slowly we get even closer. He opens up about Astor when I least expect it; as we’re cooking dinner or while playing COD. Out of nowhere he’ll launch into a story about him and catch me off guard, but I’m always ready to talk about it with him.

The more time passes, the more I’m sure that we’re soulmates. I don’t tell him that I love him because I don’t know if he’s ready to hear it. I’m not even really sure where he stands, but I know that he cares about me. That much is clear based on the way he took care of me after my allergic reaction and how he’s subsequently refused to let me eat anything without first taste-testing it himself since.

Equally as attractive, he refuses to let Claire apologize to me for something she didn’t know about. Phoenix and I had mostly hung out at my place up until the barbecue so I’d never had a chance to tell her about my peanut allergy.

It’s impossible not to love him when he peels back the layers and lets me in like he has been. I think the only person who doubts his lovability, is him. Having witnessed the way his parents treated him and how his brother’s death affected him, I can understand why he thinks that.

It’s part of what makes me want to grab my courage with both hands and finally tell him the truth of my feelings.

When he announces a week and a half after the barbecue that he has to go back to Korea for a week, my first reaction is to be disappointed.

I’ve gotten used to spending every waking and sleeping moment together and I don’t want to be away with him. I think part of me senses that something’s about to change and desperately wants to hold on.

It’s eight am on the day he leaves for Korea when it all falls apart. I’m lounging at home in my bed and he’s in the bathroom showering and getting ready for his flight in a few hours.

Still half asleep, I groan when my phone dings and blindly reach for it. For a few moments, I stare at the screen unseeing, drowsiness blurring my vision still. I blink a few times and focus on the screen, reading the email.

Mr. Sinclair,

In lieu of the meeting that was supposed to take place a few weeks ago, I wanted to provide an email update as to the current balance of your account.

Progress continues to go as expected and we’ve now gathered just overtwo point five million eurosout of your father’s accounts and into yours.

My eyes immediately go to the bolded sentence and I frown, confused. It’s only when I see who the email is addressed to that I realize I’m holding Phoenix’s phone and not my own.

But it’s too late. My interest is piqued and I keep reading.

We are still on track to hit the eight million euro goal a few weeks before your anticipated June wedding, which should leave you plenty of time to break off your engagement before any contracts are signed.

Cordially,

J. Bachmann

---