Page 58 of When Dawn Breaks

“Ant, is he dating anyone?” She eyes me over her wine glass as she takes a drink.

“Dating, no, but I know there’s a girl he’s pretty interested in,” I say, taking a long gulp of wine to push down the bile rising in my throat at how disgusted I am with myself.

“Really? Do you know her?” She turns sideways on the couch and pulls her legs up in front of herself.

“No, he’s just mentioned her a few times. They’re just friends I think, but I get the impression he wants more.”

“So they’re not actually a thing yet, though?” She seems too excited by this news.

“Technically no, but I think it’s moving in that direction.” I try to discourage her, but I know it’s likely only fueling her fire. Courtney has always loved the thrill of the chase.

“Well, not if I have anything to say about it.” She smiles wide and wiggles her eyebrows before taking another drink of her wine.

I’m seconds away from saying something I probably shouldn’t when the doorbell rings.

“Ahhh!” Court squeals, jumping to her feet. She’s got the door open and Tess in her arms before I have even managed to stand from the couch.

Tess catches my gaze over Court’s shoulder and gives me a questioning look. I shake my head letting her know that no, I haven’t talked to Courtney about Ant. At this rate, I’m not sure I can.

I’m not sure if she’s actually interested in Ant still or if she’s just looking for a hook up with her hot ex. With Court, it’s hard to tell. And unfortunately, she has no idea that my heart kind of hangs in the balance.

I know it would be easier to just tell her the truth and be straight up with her, but sometimes it’s not always that simple. This is a delicate situation, and if I don’t handle it just right, I could end up losing Courtney and Anthony both. And that is a loss I honestly don’t think I could bear.

Courtney is my family, and Ant… Let’s just say I’ve never felt a fraction of what I feel for him for anyone else. I didn’t know what I had been missing—things that Tess and Sebastian fought years for—until Ant kissed me that first time.

And I now that I’ve had a taste, now that I know what love can feel like, I’m not sure I have it in me to let him go; no matter what the cost.

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