Page 23 of The Keeper

My heart thundered against my chest, a mix of fear and something else I didn’t want to name coursing through me.

“Bullshit,” he growled, his face inches from mine. “You want to write it off as a mistake, fine. But don’t act like it didn’t mean anything because it did.”

I let out a bitter laugh, trying to mask the hurt his words stirred up. “Now, who’s bullshitting themselves?”

“I get you’re pissed, and you have every right to be. But give me a chance to explain.”

“Explain?” I scoffed, shaking my head. “Seems to be a pattern with you, doesn’t it? Always needing to explain yourself. Just stop with the excuses and call it what it was. A one-night stand.”

“You know it was more than that,” he argued, shaking my shoulder as if trying to force me to understand. “Jesus, Piper. I meant every word I said that night.”

My chest constricted at the raw desperation in his voice. I wanted to believe him, but the memory of waking up alone, sore, and confused was still too fresh.

“Then why’d you leave, huh?” I demanded, hating the way my voice cracked. Tears blurred my vision, and I blinked them back furiously. “Why take off without so much as a note if it meant so much to you?”

The shrill chime of my phone cut through the heavy silence, startling us both. I used the distraction to try to free myself from his iron grip.

“Let me go.” When he didn’t immediately release me, I planted my hand on his chest and pushed. “Move.”

Dane stepped back and dragged his hands through his hair in frustration while I checked my phone to find an automated text from a local boutique about a sale they were having. Hardly the lifeline I’d been hoping for.

I tucked it back into my purse, steeling myself against the anguished look in his eyes and the dark circles I’d missed before.

“I’ll tell you everything you want to know,” Dane said, his voice low and urgent. “Just not here.”

I rolled my eyes, already anticipating his next move. “Let me guess. You’re willing to do it over drinks or back in your hotel room,” I muttered, looking up at him with narrowed eyes. “No, thanks.”

He ran his tongue over his teeth with a cold chuckle before gritting out, “You want to do this right here? Fine. I left because my nephew, Levi…” His lips trembled, and he pressed them together before dropping his chin to his chest with a pained gasp.

My heart plummeted, the band around my chest tightening. “Dane, what happened?”

“He killed himself the night we were together,” he said, his voice little more than a whisper, his dark eyes staring into nothing.

Everything I thought I knew about that night turned on its head. All this time, I’d convinced myself he left because I meant nothing to him when the truth was far more devastating.

“I… I’m so sorry,” I managed to choke out, instinctively reaching for his hand before catching myself. The burning anger in my chest I’d carried for almost two years had been snuffed out and replaced by a hollow ache.

“Listen, I don’t want to keep you from the event,” Dane said, clearing his throat. “But I’d like to take you to dinner after.”

I hesitated, torn between the urge to comfort him and the secret still burning a hole in my chest. “I’m actually not staying at the hotel. I have somewhere I have to be as soon as this is over.”

Disappointment flashed in his eyes, followed by a resigned nod.

My throat tightened. A part of me wanted to offer some small comfort. But another part—the part that had been hurt and angry for so long—held me back.

“Actually,” I began hesitantly. “I’m free now if you want to grab a drink at the bar. I think we could both use one.”

He glanced back toward the ballroom with a frown. “You sure? What about your books?”

“I didn’t have any preorders,” I said, conveniently leaving out the part about how most of my discretionary income went to diapers these days.

Dane’s dark eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Really? Figured you’d have a whole stack waiting for you.”

I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “Not this year.”

He studied me for a long moment before nodding. “All right, darlin’. Let’s get you that drink then.”

His large hand found the small of my back as he guided me toward the elevators. Even in heels, he still towered over me, his broad frame radiating a sense of safety I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed until now. Despite the tumultuous churning in my stomach and my needingto remind myself to breathe, the weight of his palm felt oddly comforting against my skin.

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