Page 70 of Her Every Fantasy

It also kept me from losing my shit every time Dan smirked at me from across the room. He’d managed to corner me for half a minute backstage and attempted to land a few mind-fucking blows but they’d bounced off me. And while the confirmation that he no longer had an emotional hold on me made me glad, he represented a long, deeply regrettable stretch of a life spent without Bryce.

The man I loved.

The man who’d walked away from me. Again.

I’d expected him to leave but he was still here, probably because he didn’t want to be alone with his sister.

No longer my problem.

The thought hurt more than I anticipated, giving me a glimpse of the hellish heartache facing me, especially when I caught his hazel eyes on me.

Eventually, the investors left, happy that the launch had been a success and initial orders for the collection were already surpassing expectations.

Every single thing had gone off without a hitch. The icing on the cake would’ve been Bryce.

Anguish raked through me, overwhelming me with a rush of tears.

I needed to get out of here.

About to do just that, I caught a glimpse of Graciela. As much as I wanted to put all things Mortimer behind me as quickly as possible, I couldn’t leave without some acknowledgement of her presence. Heart lurching, I approached where she stood alone near the bar.

But she wasn’t alone. At the last moment, I saw Bryce, half concealedby a stage prop.

Walk away...

‘Tell me what was in your letter,’ Graciela demanded.

I froze.

‘You go first,’ Bryce responded.

Several expressions passed over Graciela’s face before her lips set in a mutinous line and she looked away from him.

‘Yeah, I thought so. What good will rehashing all of it do, Gracie?’

Bleakness turned her eyes dark. ‘I don’t know but I feel I have to...try.’

He said nothing. After a moment, she swallowed. ‘Do you think we’ll ever be able to get past it?’

I held my breath, realising the answer was as important to me as it was to Graciela.

‘For like...half a second, I thought I would. Not any more.’

His sister’s gaze probed his for several heartbeats. Then she sighed. ‘You think you can ever forgive me...for my monumental stupidity?’ Her voice was ravaged with pain.

He didn’t answer for the longest time. Then he grabbed her and pulled her into a bear hug. For a moment she remained stiff and unyielding. Then, with a hoarse little sob, she wrapped her arms around his waist.

‘It wasn’t stupid but I would’ve preferred to have lived in blissful ignorance for a while longer. Or for ever, actually. Because, really, who the bloody hell wants to find out they don’t have what it takes to sustain a relationship, never mind a family, no matter how accurate that assessment turns out to be?’

Graciela pulled away from him. ‘You don’t really believe that, do you? That we’rethatfucked up?’ Despair wove through her voice.

Bryce stared down at her with hard sympathy. ‘I think the evidence speaks for itself, don’t you?’

‘Then what are you doing here with Savvie?’ she pressed.

Again my heart caught as I listened, knowing I needed to walk away.

‘We had unfinished business.’

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