Page 66 of Nothing to Tell

There was nothing to say.

This was it.Over.

TWENTY-FOUR

Bastian

“OVER?”

His mom had said the word five times.Every time it twisted a knife in his gut.

“Yes, Mom,” Bastian said.

Without speaking to another soul, he’d suffered through another half hour of the party.Now at his limit, he was ready to leave.That meant saying goodnight to his mother.

And, of course, she’d asked to say goodnight to Harper too…

Nothing else to do but tell the truth.

Yes.It was over.

After confessing, his mother hustled him into a drawing room.Standing there alone together, witnessing her shock wasn’t pleasant.Dealing with anyone else’s emotions with finesse was a stretch too far.His had just been through the wringer.

Carolyn managed to close her mouth, eventually, but her eyes were still wide.

“Why?Harper was so good for you.What on earth happened?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said.“Explaining the process doesn’t change the outcome.”

There was too much his mother didn’t know.He wasn’t ready to give the full story voice.He’d disappointed her enough tonight.

“She hurt you?”Carolyn said, trying to take his hand.Contact would only reignite his frustrations, so he backed off.“Did she share herself with another man?”

As if he didn’t have enough going on in his head, he didn’t need that picture too.

“What?No.Harper would never do that.”

“Then what—”

“It doesn’t matter what happened.”

“It does matter,” Carolyn said.“You’re upset.You care for her.Whatever happened, you can fix it.”

“No, I can’t,” he said.

“If you explain to her—”

“Explain what?”he snapped.“You don’t know what went on between us.”

Much as his mother didn’t like him snapping, it didn’t put her off interfering.Carolyn didn’t have time to be offended when she was busy looking out for his best interests.

“She made you happy, sweetheart,” Carolyn said.Sympathy made way for the solemn truth.“Love is not something you can buy.Happiness can’t be found through mergers and acquisitions.You’re good at business, you always were, you’ve got a good head for it.But every woman you’ve brought to us has been sub-par and you know it.That’s why you get frustrated.Other successful men are happy with their models and trophy wives; you are not one of those men.You want a connection with your partner, you have to feel something more than a physical attraction.Something like what you felt for Harper.”

That she was right only enhanced his dejection.

“I appreciate your insight.But she’s gone so—”

“You let her go?”