Page 161 of Grand Love

“I fucked up—”

“Lance—”

“I watched it happen with Cara and I thought you were going to do it too. I-I—”

“Lance.” I stop him, moving to sit next to him on the sofa. “Stop.”

He turns his head, his hands falling from his face.

My body mirrors his on the sofa, but where his eyes burn into the side of my head, mine stay locked on the file. “You set him up, didn’t you,” I say in disbelief. “It was you.”

“You’d been together a couple of months. I didn’t think he was so deep and if I knew you were pregnant, Nina.”

I turn my head towards him, his eyes wide and unfocused. “Lance.”

“I’m so sorry, Nina. I couldn’t keep it from you and Mase anymore, it’s not right. I can’t live with it.”

I frown, shaking my head. “Did you plan it before hand? Did you plan it before Bora Bora?”

“I was off my face that night. It’s no excuse but Lowell was fucking all over the place for months. Everything came out about Marcus and Cara, and I felt like everything I spent the year burying was being dug up.”

“So after?” I ask, filling in the missing pieces. “You planned it after the holiday?”

“It was after you spoke to your mum on the phone. At the lodge. You told her you’d send her money and I read it all wrong. I read you so wrong, Nina, I’m so sorry.”

A tear rolls down my cheek as I look at him. Lance has been in my home, he’s spent hours and hours with my son, with me.

“You’re in love with Scarlet,” I say absentmindedly, my lip trembling. “What will she say? What will she do, Lance?”

He drops his head again, running his hands through his hair as he shakes his head no. “She told you about us?”

“No.” I snigger, wiping the tears from my face. “It’s painfully obvious though. It has been since Anthony passed away. I knew she wasn’t alone.”

“Does Mason know?” he questions.

“No. But it wouldn’t’ve been long. He heard you last night in the kitchen.”

He scrubs at his face, his body vibrating with pent-up energy. Mason will be home soon, and I have to tell him that Joey tried to kiss me. I have to tell him that the one thing I swore wouldn’t happen, that I called him out on, happened. I have to hurt him a little bit, knowing it’s the right thing to do so that we can take another step. A step towards our family.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry,” Lance repeats, swiping at the corner of his eye. My gaze catches on the tattoo that peeks out from his rolled-up sleeves. Lavender branches wrap around his forearm in a spiral, disappearing under his shirt. “I have it all here, every copy of everything that was sent to me. I will stay away from you, from Scarlet too, I won’t be around.”

“He’s your best friend.”

“I know.”

“She won’t forgive you.”

He grits his teeth as tears fall down his face that he refuses to wipe away. “I know.”

I run my hands through my hair then stand, gathering up the USB and file. “Go home, Lance.”

“I can’t,” he huffs. “It has to come from me.”

“No. Go home, Lance.”

“Nina.”

“GO HOME, LANCE!” I yell, my own tears prickling my eyes. “You’ve caused so much unnecessary pain. You’ve kept me from my family,” I cry. “But telling Mason that you did this won’t lessen it. It won’t change anything and it will break him. The boys too.” My tears fall, and my stomach dips. Do I really want to keep this from him? Will it protect him like I need it to? “I want my family back now. I want to stop hurting him. I want to see him happy. I need to see him happy.”

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