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e they liked you or because they liked what you could do for them. He couldn’t blame her for doing everything she could to solve her mother’s murder and to regain her freedom.
When Annabelle spoke again, her voice was soft. “Did you and this Abbi get romantic?”
“Eventually. At the same time, she got nominated for a prestigious award for outstanding supporting actress. Her fame grew exponentially overnight. In the process, she gained what she called a superfan. I called him a stalker from the get-go, but she didn’t want to believe it.”
Annabelle remained quiet.
“Eventually, she told her agent and the studio where she was working on a new film. They hired her a bodyguard until they could do something about the stalker. And everything quieted down. No notes. No roses. No photos. Everyone assumed the guy had given up and moved on.” Grayson felt like such a fool for letting himself believe that someone that obsessed would just give up. If only he had done something different.
Grayson leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees. He stared straight ahead, but all he could see were flashbacks of the past. A nightmare that would never fully leave him.
“We felt suffocated and needed some time alone without any security watching Abbi’s every move. So we snuck off to the beach—alone.” The breath caught in the back of his throat as he recalled how things had gone from fun to downright deadly. “It...it was like something out of a real-life horror movie.” The pain and regret stabbed at him. He lowered his head into his hands. “I keep asking myself, what was I thinking?”
Annabelle didn’t say anything. Instead, she placed her hand on his back, letting him know she was there for him. The funny thing was that he was supposed to be here for her—to help her see reason. And yet here she was being supportive to him.
When he found his voice again, he said, “At first, I couldn’t even believe what was happening. At a red light on the way to the beach, gunshots rang out from the car beside us. The windows shattered.”
Annabelle let out a horrified gasp. “Were you hit?”
He shook his head. “I punched the gas and luckily didn’t hit anyone as we cleared the intersection. It turned into a high-speed chase, but I just couldn’t shake the guy. And then...”
The scenes unfolded before his eyes. To this day, he still kept thinking “what if?” scenarios. If only he’d made a different decision, Abbi might still be here.
He swallowed hard. “I came upon an intersection with heavy cross traffic. I stopped...the stalker didn’t. He...he plowed into the back of my car. It sent us airborne. I can’t remember anything other than Abbi’s scream. The rest is a blank. The first responders said that I was thrown free, but Abbi, she, uh, was pinned under the wreckage.”
“I’m so sorry.” While her one arm was still draped over his back, her other hand gripped his arm. “You don’t have to go into this—”
“Yes, I do. You have to understand.”
“Understand what?”
He had to keep going. He had to make Annabelle understand that risky decisions had major consequences. “Abbi died on the way to the hospital. And it was my fault.”
“No, it wasn’t.” Annabelle’s voice was soft and gentle like a balm on his scarred heart.
Grayson turned to face her. “I wish I could believe that. I really do. But it was my idea to go to the beach. It...it was my idea for us to spend some time alone. I just never thought that guy was still sticking around. I failed her.”
Annabelle pulled him close and held him. He knew he didn’t deserve her sympathy when he was sitting here while Abbi was gone. Life wasn’t fair. That’s one thing his father had taught him that had been right.
When he gathered himself, he pulled back. “The media, they got ahold of the story, and they told lie upon lie about me and about Abbi. It got so bad that I didn’t leave my house for a long time. I worked remotely. That’s when I started working on my plan to take the cafés global.”
“I’m very sorry that all of that happened to you, but why did you tell me?”
“Because I need you to take that note seriously. Abbi and I didn’t take her threat seriously enough and look what happened.”
Her gaze met his. “You are that worried about me?”
“Yes. I couldn’t stand for anything to happen to you.”
“It won’t.”
“Promise me that you’ll be careful.”
“I promise.”
And then he claimed her lips, needing to feel her closeness. Her touch was rejuvenating and eased away the painful memories. He’d never forget what happened, but he knew now that he had to keep going forward because his life’s journey wasn’t complete. Maybe he was meant to be here and keep Annabelle safe.
But as her lips moved beneath his, something very profound struck him. Here he was warning her about unknown dangers and yet, he was the one in imminent danger—of losing his heart, if he wasn’t careful.
