Page 4 of Pretty Rings and Broken Things

My entire body trembles as I try to come up with how to respond. No excuse will be good enough for him. I don’t know if I have a good one anyway. I was blinded by something I believed to be love.

Blake waited patiently for us to sleep together.Sure, I could tell he was frustrated when I always found excuses to tell him no. But still, he waited. He was tender and thoughtful, and I believed he might love me.

I believedIwas falling for him.

“Last night was the first time we…” My words fall short. I don’t know why I’m embarrassed to tell him we had sex. Obviously, he knows since Blake sent him photos—and a video—of the experience.

My dad opens his mouth to speak, but he gets cut off by his office phone ringing.

“Hello?” he clips out, his eyebrows furrowed so intensely that two deep ripples appear on the center of his forehead. “Send him in,” he tells the other person on the line.

My stomach drops. Surely, he doesn’t mean Blake…

I’m about to ask him who he’s talking about, but I don’t get the chance. His focus moves from the phone to over my shoulder.

His office door opens, and I can barely hear anything over the rush of blood pumping in my ears.

I wasn’t expecting Blake to walk through the door. But I really wasn’t expecting the man who steps through the door.

His intense focus pinned straight on me.

CHAPTER 3

ARCHER

Our gazes collidethe moment I walk through the door. Winnie looks so afraid, sitting there in the large office chair perched in front of her father’s desk with her shoulders drawn inward as if she’s closing in on herself from shame.

“Good morning, Archer,” Spencer, Winnie’s father, says. Even though my focus is on her, I can see him stand up and come around his desk from the corner of my eye.

She stares at me, her full, pink lips parted in shock as she watches me closely. I force myself to rip my gaze from hers, knowing I have no business staring at her for longer than necessary.

My eyes meet the man I’ve been told was an enemy of my family my entire life. We’ve attended plenty of events together. We may run in the same circle, but the Moores and the Bishops avoid each other at all costs whenever possible.

Due to my great-grandfather being screwed over by Winnie’s great-grandfather in what was supposed to be a partnership, there’s been bad blood between the families. It’s a battle that’s still fought to this day, both Winnie’s and my father ensuring to fuel the grudge between us.

I’d feel bad for what my relatives did in retaliation for the betrayal, but I can’t quite bring myself to. It’s the reason the hotel empire my family has built is more successful than the Bishops’.

“Thank you for agreeing to finish our meeting in person,” Spencer continues, holding his hand out in front of him. I shake it, making sure to make it firm so he knows who holds all of the power in this situation. The slight frown to his lips tells me everything I need to know, regardless of the handshake. He knows who’s in charge. It isn’t him, and he hates it.

He’d called my father first thing this morning, needing help with the situation his family’s in. The last thing I expected was for my father to call me into his office and give me the news that Spencer Bishop needed our help. We’d spent over an hour talking to him over the phone before my dad sent me here to finish the agreement.

“I’ve got to get to another meeting in an hour,” I clip out, not wanting to beat around the bush.

“Take a seat,” Spencer offers, pointing to the chair next to Winnie’s.

Our gazes connect briefly before I sigh and pull out the chair next to hers. I make sure to pull it a little further away from where she sits so I’m not surrounded by her. Although I’m not sure how much distance it’d take for me not to smell the sweet, alluring scent of her perfume wafting around me.

It surrounds me as I unbutton my suit jacket and sit down.

“Winifred, as you know, this is Archer Moore. He’s come to help us with your horrible mistake.”

My teeth grind together at the tone he uses with his daughter. I wonder if he’s even noticed the slight tremble to her body. Or the way her shoulders hunch over with anxiety from his words. It’s as if she wants to curl into a ball to avoid his harsh tone and cold eyes.

“What do you mean?” she asks, her voice meek. My eyes bounce from her to her father. I don’t want to know how he talks to her behind closed doors if he’s so freely chastising her like this in front of someone new.

His face reddens with anger. “Our hands are tied because ofyou and your reckless decision to get involved with an employee.”

Winnie flinches at his words. “I never thought…”

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