Page 6 of One of Those Amnesia Stories

“Nothing.”

Even our silences had changed.

There had been a time when sitting beside Cassian without speaking felt like its own kind of conversation. We’d share the sofa with our books open in our laps, occasionally nudging each other’s feet beneath the blanket. Sometimes he’d reach for my hand without looking up. I’d rest my head against his shoulder, and neither of us would think twice about the silence stretching between us.

Now, it stretched for different reasons.

There were nights when we occupied the same room for hours, his attention fixed on a screen while mine kept drifting toward him, waiting for some small opening. A moment when he’d look up and actually see me. A question about my day. A reason to believe he had noticed I was there.

Anything that reminded me we were still two people sharing a life, rather than two schedules happening under the same roof.

I couldn’t remember the last time we’d simply been together without something waiting for him in the next room, without his phone buzzing between us, without his attention already belonging to something else.

I’d started missing him while he was sitting right beside me.

So I decided to take matters into my own hands.

He hadn’t asked for my help. He probably wouldn’t.

Fine.

If he wouldn’t ask, I’d find a way to help without making him say the words.

And what better way than putting every possible solution in the same room?

The guest list kept growing. One name became five, five became twenty, until the whole thing looked less like a birthday celebration and more like a networking event wearing a very expensive disguise.

One bad deal couldn’t erase everything he’d built. His name still meant something. His work still spoke for itself.

Tonight, I was putting an opportunity back within his reach.

All Cassian had to do was walk in and take it.

I pulled out my phone and called him again, pressing the device to my ear while my eyes swept over the room.

The ringing dragged on, long enough for my patience to wear thin, before his voicemail picked up.

My jaw tightened as I lowered the phone.

By now, I had probably called him a hundred times. Maybe more. Every call had gone straight to voicemail, leaving me with the same clipped message that he couldn’t take my call.

I’d told him about the party. Reminded him. Mentioned it often enough that even his half-listening had to register it. I’d even gone through Cassandra, his and Liam’s assistant, and made sure the damn thing was sitting on his calendar.

He’d had every possible reminder.

Apparently, none of them had been enough to get him through the door.

The worst part was, I couldn’t even say I was surprised.

Somewhere beneath all the optimism I’d been clinging to, I’d known there was a chance he’d do exactly this. Cassian had been disappearing into work for months. Why would tonight be any different?

Still, the thought of him missing the party had left a sour taste in my mouth.

Maybe that was why Cassandra had started getting under my skin.

Cassian and his best friend, Liam, had founded the company together. When Velaré Hotels took a massive hit, the cuts had come quickly. Senior employees were let go, departments were stripped down, and somewhere in the middle of the chaos, Cassandra had been brought in.

Liam’s sister.