Page 123 of Forgotten Promise

“Bullshit,” Benjamin said.

“A vacation and some sex doesn’t fix the problems.”

Benjamin sighed, exchanging a glance with Kailani. “We know that. To be perfectly honest, we hadn’t intended to lead with sex,” he insisted.

“We wanted to talk things out,” Kailani added. “To try to fix things between us.”

“So why didn’t we have that conversation?” John asked.

“The plan was to talk first, but you didn’t seem ready.” Kailani glanced at Benjamin.

“You were pissed,” Benjamin confirmed.

“Plus…” Kailani grinned. “How shallow does it make me sound if I admit it was because you both looked hot as shit in those tuxedos?”

John rolled his eyes, though he was amused. “I can’t call you shallow for that because I felt the same way. That dress, Kailani…you took my breath away.”

“Don’t leave, John,” Benjamin said, putting them back on topic. “Let’s make a list of the problems, find a way to fix them,” Benjamin said.

“I don’t know if…” John sighed. “You didn’t speak up. Neither of you said a damn word. You didn’t fight for us.”

“I should have,” Kailani admitted.

“I thought Kailani had asked Selene to dissolve the trinity,” Benjamin added.

“And rather than stick around and ask, you hopped on your jet and disappeared into the night. This,” John said, gesturing between them. “This is the problem. You both act on emotion, jump to conclusions, then cut and run without ever solving a goddamn thing.”

“You’re right,” Kailani agreed. “That’s exactly what we do. Benjamin and I are both stubborn, opinionated. We don’t work together.”

“Kailani,” Benjamin said, clearly ready to argue that point.

She lifted her hand. “We don’t work without you. John, Benjamin and I have talked more the past week and a half than we have in the decade before. All because you called us on our bullshit. I’m sorry,” she said. “So sorry for all of it. How I acted in Boston, then in Hawaii, after Selene dissolved the trinity.”

“I’m sorry too,” Benjamin added. “Cutting and running in Hawaii was the act of a coward.”

John scowled. “It was,” he said, aware that it was only Kailani who’d felt the full brunt of his anger in Hawaii.

Kailani reached over and took John’s hand. “We were both scared to say something, so we took the easy way out. And by doing that, we lost something important. Someone important.”

Benjamin placed his hand on John’s shoulder, squeezing it. “I regretted getting on that plane two seconds after it took off. I was wrong not to stay…to try to fix things.”

“You didn’t even say goodbye,” John said. “You just left.” That was the part that had truly hurt. That Benjamin didn’t even think he was worth the few minutes it would take to say goodbye.

“I know this isn’t a good enough excuse, but I was angry at Kailani, hurt that she would ask Selene to break our trinity.”

“I hate that you thought that,” Kailani whispered.

Benjamin bent forward to give her a kiss on the top of her head. “I dealt with both of those emotions poorly, and you got hurt for it, John. I’ll never forgive myself for that. All I can do is promise to do better in the future.”

John sighed heavily, refusing to be swayed by words when actions spoke louder.

Then he considered where they were, the great lengths Benjamin had gone to, in order to bring them all together here in Monte Carlo.

“John,” Kailani said. “You left too. When I woke up in Hawaii, and Oscar told me you were gone…I was devastated, and, well, pissed off.”

He wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Mainly because it was the truth. He’d known that night that she regretted not speaking up, that she was upset Benjamin had run away, and that she wanted to talk to him over breakfast the next morning. She’d said all of that, but he’d been so furious, so devastated, that he’d taken a page from their book, acting on emotion and running away instead of returning to face their issues head-on.

He looked at her, then Benjamin, swallowing hard to dislodge the lump forming there. He didn’t share his pain, ever, so it didn’t come naturally. It was why he’d spent years in therapy. But they were here now, and they were talking, and he…wanted to let them in. “I didn’t think you wanted me. You both gave up, and it took me back to a dark place, reminded me of when I was a kid, getting shuffled to the next foster home.”

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