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James put his arm on Rich’s biceps. “Cool it.” He inclined his head at the two burly bodyguards standing next to the gallery entrance.
The door opened, and Dylan Nash walked out, giving an almost imperceptible nod to the bodyguards. Meghan was with him, her face paler than ever as her eyes met Rich’s.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She looked from him to Carlyn. “Yeah.” She nodded. “We’re just heading home.”
We?
Meghan glanced over at Dylan. He was talking rapidly to his bodyguards who nodded at him.
“The car’s here. Let’s go,” the biggest bodyguard said, touching his earpiece. “Miss, you need to come here now.”
“He wants to see pictures of Isla,” she said to Rich.
“Yeah.” His chest was so tight it felt as though it was going to burst.
“Um, I’ll call you later. Try to explain.”
It was weird how quickly the shutters went up. He could feel the distance between them growing. “It’s fine. Whenever. I need to go help Belle now.”
Meghan bit her lip. “Of course. Please tell her I’m sorry for leaving early.”
“I will.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Harper asked Meghan.
“No, it’s fine.” Her voice was tight. “This is something I need to do alone.”
Of course she did. It was nothing to do with him. He was only her neighbor. He wasn’t Isla’s father.
She already had one of those. A fucking drummer who’d come flanked by bodyguards ready to take what was his.
“Ma’am, we need to go.” The bodyguard touched Meghan’s arm lightly, and she jumped.
“Okay.” She took one last look at Rich. He swallowed hard, giving nothing away. Because right now he had nothing to give.
“Take it easy,” Harper said, her voice cutting through the silence. “Call me if you need anything. You have my number.”
“I will.”
Meghan turned, her beautiful auburn hair lifting with the breeze, as the bodyguard pressed his hand into her back. The next moment she was climbing into a black Lincoln, and the bodyguard closed the door behind her, sliding into the front seat as he spoke into his radio.
26
“I don’t understand.” Belle looked up at him, her eyes full of compassion. “Why would Carlyn do that?”
“Because she’s certifiable,” Harper said. “And for some reason she has this crazy attachment to your brother.”
“I guess there’s no accounting for taste.” James shook his head. “But seriously, this time you need to get that restraining order. No ifs, ands, or buts. This has gone far enough.”
Yeah, it had. And it was his fault. He’d thought he could solve it with a grown up conversation.
When the fact was, he just messed everything up. Screamed at the woman who was running Belle’s show. He could’ve endangered his sister’s career.
“I’m sorry about all this.” Rich shook his head as he looked at Belle. They were back at her cottage. James and Harper had followed them there. “I’ll speak to Carlyn, make sure she follows through on the sales.”
“I don’t care about the sales,” Belle said softly. “I care about you.”
