Page 26 of Destined For Forever

Slight differences, really. But they would continue to pile up the longer she was away. Time would march on and they would get older and… she would miss those years with them.

Hollywood is where your career is. It’s what you’ve always wanted. You made the right decision.

Seeing everyone here now and being confronted with how much she’d sacrificed already, Lily suddenly wasn’t so sure.

9

Later that evening, after completing the ceremony rehearsal and consuming dinner, Sean stood in front of the fireplace in the inn’s lounge with a glass of whisky in his hand. The fire crackled and popped, and it reflected the glow in the deep amber shade of his beverage. Laughter filled the air. Everyone seemed to have finally relaxed after all the travel debacles.

Well, everyone except you.

It was hard to be relaxed while pretending to date Lily, because everything about that woman had his body on edge. She was like the perfect wave—curved and beautiful, frighteningly powerful, ready to toss him into oblivion if he didn’t keep control of his footing.

Sean’s gaze drifted across the room to where she was standing, drinking champagne and talking with Evie and Amelia. All three women were dressed up and looking glamorous. But Lily… well, she looked as though she’d stepped right out of his fantasies.

Her dress was black and fitted, with daring cut outs at the back, which accentuated her shape. It sent inappropriate images flashing through his mind about what it might be like to peel the fabric from her skin. He guessed she wasn’t wearing a bra underneath, based on the cut of the dress. A pair of black tights covered her legs, and she wore sexy ankle boots with gold, pencil-thin heels.

“Stop staring at your girlfriend for two minutes,” his sister, Zoey, teased as she walked up to him, nudging his arm with her elbow. She had a glass of champagne in one hand, and was also dressed sharply in all black, which allowed her brightly coloured blue, green, and purple hair to stand out. “I don’t think I’ve seen you so wrapped up in a woman in a long time.”

He lifted one shoulder into a shrug. “It’s nothing serious.”

That was the party line—nothing serious, keeping things casual, having fun.

All they wanted to do was take the heat off Lily’s embarrassing break up and, so far, it seemed to be working. What was also working, thankfully, was the fact that Zoey had been in his vicinity for a full three hours and hadn’t tried to set him up with anyone.

Sean called that a win.

“Nothing serious like you’re going to stay living in two different countries?” Zoey raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, this isn’t… forever, or anything. We don’t have any specific plans.” He made a snorting noise and sent up a plea to the heavens that he wasn’t as transparent as glass. Acting was part of Lily’s world, not his.

Zoey nodded, but her brows knitted into a frown. That’s when he realised—she was worried about him leaving Patterson’s Bluff. Again.

How had he not even considered that’s where her mind would go? Of course it would, because he’d left her all those years ago when she was still young and vulnerable. He’d walked away to the sound of her crying, and he’d shattered her teenage heart.

He’d abandoned the person he cared about most in the world.

Sean had been totally adrift at that point in his life. His father had stormed out of the house for the final time, and his mother had hurled abuse at Sean like it was all his fault. For a moment there, he wondered if it might be true. Maybe if he’d tried harder to keep the family together…

Could he have done more? Could he have saved them from falling apart? Would they all be better off without him?

The pressure had caused him to snap. So, he’d gone to stay with a friend who lived in the city. Sleeping on couches suited him fine and a few nights to lick his wounds had turned into a month. He’d gotten a job at a nightclub, serving drinks, and that month had turned into a year. A whole year that he’d left Zoey by herself. In hindsight, it hadn’t turned out too badly. Mack had stepped in to make sure she was okay, and now they were madly in love.

Still… Sean had promised himself that he would always put his family obligations first, no matter the cost. When he’d decided to fly to LA on a whim to see Lily face-to-face, it had been the only time he’d broken that commitment since.

And look how that turned out. You didn’t even get on the plane.

“I’m not leaving Patterson’s Bluff,” he said fiercely. “You know I won’t make that mistake again.”

Something flickered across Zoey’s face, but she hid it behind a bright smile. It was her go-to move. She was tough and independent, partially because she’d had no choice. “I support you no matter what, Sean.”

“The Bluff is my home.”

“I don’t want to feel like you’re giving up on something important for my sake. The way I acted when you left the first time…” She shook her head. “I acted like a baby.”

“You were a baby. You were seventeen! I left you even though I knew Mum and Dad weren’t capable of being the parents you needed.”

They weren’t the parents he’d needed, either. Years of listening to his mother drunkenly tell him he’d never amount to anything… well, he believed it. As for his father, the old man had stuck his head in the sand for years. Only now, after the damage had been done, had he finally admitted that he should’ve been around more.

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