Page 23 of Secret Baby with my Brother's Best Friend

I get that I hurt her when I left seven years ago, but it felt like too extreme of a punishment.

Still, I didn’t get to where I was in the business world by acting irrationally.

I needed to be reasonable and subtle.

Lull her into a sense of security, so she eventually gave me what I wanted.

“All right,” I said through gritted teeth. “Fine. I promise not to bring any of this up to Henry, but in exchange, you have to promise that we will have an actual conversation about this after Jason’s wedding. Deal?”

I watched her clench her jaw, and I could tell that she definitely didn’t want to agree to my condition.

I held her gaze, however, and wasn’t going to give her an inch.

If she couldn’t give me this one small assurance, I wasn’t going to bend over backward to accommodate her.

I didn’t want to do anything to potentially ruin Jason’s wedding, but I’d already lost so much time with Henry. I was not willing to lose anymore.

“This is nonnegotiable,” I warned her. “I’m serious, Sam. I’m not messing around.”

She glared at me before letting out a frustrated snarl.

“Fine,” she snapped. “We can talk about all this after the wedding. In the meantime, you keep your mouth shut.”

I nodded. “All right.”. We both fell into a heavy silence, and I didn’t know what I should say next. Now that the worst of my frustration was voiced, the guilt that I’d been suppressing came bubbling back up. Sucking in a breath, I murmured, “So, I owe you an explanation for…for that night…”

“No,” she said with a sharp shake of her head. “No, I don’t want to hear it. Not now. Maybe not ever.”

I took a step closer to her. “Sam, please…”

“No, Ryan,” she repeated in a firmer tone. “You just want to tell me so you feel better. I don’t care how you feel, all right?”

Harsh, but I supposed I could see her point. Still, I didn’t know how much more of this treatment I could take.

“That’s obvious,” I scoffed. “I don’t remember you being so cruel when you were younger.”

“I was stupid and naïve then,” she replied bluntly. “I suppose I should thank you for that. You taught me an important lesson about the world and how ruthless it can be.”

“Jesus Christ, Sam, I’m sorry!”

She held up her hand, her expression cold. “I don’t care. You know, it’s likely for the best that we just stay away from each other as much as possible over the next few days. There’s less of a chance that we’ll cause any drama that impacts the wedding that way.”

I gnashed my teeth, my patience running thin. “You’re really not the same girl you were, are you? You’re so bitter now. Callous. It’s sad to see.”

She released a humorless laugh. “And who do I have to thank for that? It doesn’t matter, though. I won’t make a mistake like that ever again, and once the wedding is over, you can go back to your new life and stay away from here for another seven years.”

I took another step toward her. She didn’t move to get away from me, and we were almost toe-to-toe.

“It seems like I was right to stay away from you,” I growled.

Her eyes flashed with rage. Her whole being seemed to buzz with it.

I was furious as well, but there was something else boiling within me as I stared down into her beautiful, burning gaze.

My eyes darted to her lips, so plump and pink, and the urge to kiss her suddenly struck me.

I wanted to grab her by the shoulders, yank her into my arms, and ravage her mouth, her body.

I still remembered what it was like to have her body pressed against mine. How soft and luscious she had been.

---