Page 43 of Ignacio

He had given her the stone when they were both fifteen, telling her it came from a river in Colombia near his mother’s home. He said it stood out from the other jagged rocks and gravel around it, and because of that, he thought of her—strong and beautiful, standing out from the crowd. No matter how rough the waters of the music industry became, he believed she would always endure.

“I rub it before live performances,” she admitted in a low voice. “And I carry it everywhere. In a way, I feel like it keeps me safe. The one time I didn’t have it…” She couldn’t finish.

“What happened?”

“Something bad.” Unable to look at him, she extended her hand again.

“What happened, Delta?”

“Give it to me, Ignacio. Please.” She lifted her gaze, her eyes turning watery.

“If someone hurt you?—”

She snatched the rock and walked away. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want to hear the answer to,” she said, and raced up the stairs.

Chapter Sixteen

Ignacio couldn’t let it go.

He couldn’t forget what Delta had said or the look on her face when she saidSomething bad.

A heaviness rested in his stomach—one he couldn’t shake because he knew what had happened to her was worse than bad, more than likely terrible. The way she ran away from him proved it.

He took the box of cigarettes from the shelf in the kitchen cabinet and tapped one out.

No.

The stress of dealing with Delta and wanting to control his emotions was driving him to smoke again. Of course, if he really wanted to stop, he wouldn’t have them in the house.

He shoved the cigarette back into the box and tossed the box on the shelf. He then took two stairs at a time to the second floor and pushed his way inside their bedroom. Delta was coming out of the bathroom and pulled up short.

“We need to talk,” he said.

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“You dropped a bombshell on me. You can’t expect me to go to sleep and pretend our conversation didn’t happen.”

She sighed wearily, tucking some of her long hair behind her ear. “Why not?”

“Because I won’t be able to rest until you tell me what you’re keeping from me.”

“We’re not really in a relationship, so you don’t have to pretend?—”

“You think I’m pretending to be concerned? I’m not fucking pretending, Delta!” He dragged a hand down his face, fighting to harness his emotions.This damn woman. “You want to know something embarrassing? For the past eleven years, I’ve stalked your social media. In my head, I’ve punched my fist through the face of every man you’ve walked the red carpet with or smiled at in a photo. This isn’t fake! I wanted to forget about you—us—everything we meant to each other and I can’t. My heart won’t let me. I can’t fit anyone else in here”—his fist hit his chest—“because you take up all the goddamn space!”

He hadn’t expected such passionate words to spill from his mouth, and clearly neither had Delta. She stared at him in shock, temporarily speechless. “I—I didn’t know you felt that way,” she said quietly.

“You weren’t supposed to.” He spoke in a low, tired tone, but a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “I can’t deny the truth anymore. Losing you—destroyed me.”

Her lips parted as tears sprang to her eyes. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Why did you send your father to see me? We were supposed to get married. I had a ring, I—” He broke off in frustration.

“I know. I know, but I had responsibilities. My family was depending on me, and you—you were blowing up. I was blowing up, too, and I had so much work to do.”

“We were supposed to grow together and share in each other’s success. That’s what we discussed.”

“I know, I remember.” She swallowed. “But it’s not as if you hung around for very long.”

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