Page 85 of The Billionaire Invitation

“No. He didn’t.”

Jaylyn sighed and then repeated, “So, do you? See what I see?”

Honesty figured there was no sense in arguing. Jaylyn was a dog with a bone when she didn’t have an agenda. If she was here and she’d brought this—well, she was more like a Kraken with a pirate ship.

“I see a woman who deluded herself into believing in second chances,” Honesty said. “And a man who never signed up for the all-inclusive experience.”

She held out the magazine for Jaylyn to take. Jaylyn folded her arms over her chest. “There’s no arguing with that photo. You’re looking at Dante like he’s the only focal point in a spinning room. You look completely, catastrophically in love with him.”

Honesty’s stomach flipped. But she tried lying anyway. “Well, I’m not.”

“That’s a shame.” Jaylyn took the magazine and studied the cover for a long moment. “Because that’s how he is looking at you.”

The words detonated like a grenade that left Honesty’s ears ringing from the blast. “You can’t know that. And you weren’t there last night when he walked out on me. No goodbye. He left and apparently climbed on a plane to fly home. How in love with me could he be?”

“Okay, I didn’t know that part.” Jaylyn sighed. “He didn’t say goodbye to me either. I called him as he was boarding the plane with his mom. That’s how I found out he was leaving.”

“His mind’s made up.”

Jaylyn’s chin wobbled.

Honesty felt for her. “I’m sorry he didn’t say goodbye to you. That was rude of him.”

“I didn’t come here for your sympathy,” Jaylyn snapped. Did all Cranes hide their real feelings behind anger? But then Jaylyn surprised her by saying, “Sorry. Now I’m being rude. I came here to tell you that he is in love with you and he’s not here because he’s scared.”

“Jaylyn, he’s not scared. He left because I told him I didn’t need him.”

“You what?”

“Not me. The nonprofit. I can handle it without him.”

“But he loves to be needed.”

“I know. But I love to be loved, and that’s where we don’t see eye to eye. Us together, as good as it was…” She trailed off, unsure what to say about them. “He cares about his foundation and my charity and that is admirable. We’re not dismantling any of that. Once he’s done being angry, I know he’ll return to being professional.”

“Professional?” Jaylyn choked on a laugh. “That’s boring.”

No kidding.

“Can I tell you something about my brother?” Jaylyn rolled the magazine between her hands. “He never talks about what he wants. He has built the habit of putting everyone else first.”

“Everyone except the woman he’s sleeping with,” Honesty muttered.

Jaylyn unrolled the magazine. “Maybe it’s time for both of us to give up on him, you know? He’s not going to stay here for me, either.”

“J, Dante loves his family first and foremost. He would do—and has done—anything for you guys. But his mom is his family too. I’m sure he’s had a hard time splitting those loyalties. When my brother died, I wasn’t thinking of anyone except my parents. I wanted to make sure they were okay. I wanted to be there if they needed me. There was no way I would have picked up and left them to grieve alone during that time…”

“You mean the way Dante stayed with his mom in her time of grief?” Jaylyn pinned her into place with that dark, good-witch gaze. “There was no way he would have left her alone then. Just like you.”

Honesty had inadvertently sided with Dante. “That’s not⁠—”

“You can’t give up on him. You love him. And he loves you. He’s been giving to everyone but himself.”

“A realization he needed to have last night.”

“That’s all I came to say.” Jaylyn stood from the chair.

“I appreciate it. I do. It’s complicated.” Honesty stood, rounding her desk to see the youngest Crane sibling out the door. Which she would lock once Jaylyn was on the other side of it.