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“Baby,” I try, but she turns her back on me. “I’m doing this for your own good. Before was different—”
“Different how?” She turns back around and yells at me. “You broke my heart then and you’re doing it all over again.”
“You lied to me,” I bellow, letting my control slip.
I close my eyes as my jaw tics. I’ve been furious with her for years. The last time wasn’t on me. She was too young. There was nothing I could do.
“I knew it, I knew when I walked into that restaurant I should’ve run back out.” She shakes her head. “You came for me, Brodi. Why? Why come for me if you knew you couldn’t stay?”
“I had only planned to talk to you. To see how your life was,” I choke out.
“Yeah right, you found me, so you could fuck me. It was the one thing you never got to do. You needed to settle the score,” she hisses at me. “Hope it was worth it.”
I close the small distance between us so fast she jumps back, startled. I bend until we’re nose to nose. My chest heaves with my own anger.
“I’ve never fucked you,” I retort, placing my hands on her slim yet curvy hips. “Every time I touch you, I make love to you.”
I place my forehead to hers, trying to calm myself. I lick my lips, lifting my head once more. Her hazel eyes lock with mine and I hate what I see there. I move my hands to cup her pretty face, wanting nothing more than to get lost in kissing every single one of her freckles.
They’re so faint and uniquely hers. Like cinnamon dust was blown over her eyelids and just above her upper lip. I groan when my eyes fall to her full mouth.
I thought she was a knockout when I first met her at seventeen. Now, Chloe is drop-dead gorgeous. She commands a room when she enters.
“I promise, this time, I’ll stay away.” The words burn my tongue as they come out. “I leave the country tonight. I won’t drag you into my mess. I could lose everything. I have nothing to offer you. My brothers and I, we’re making a bold statement with our actions.” I pause and sigh. “I can’t protect you from my world like this.”
I hear the pain in my voice. It’s my job as her man to protect her. I can’t do that if I take this course. I just don’t know if I can guarantee it.
Chloe has done well for herself. The way her eyes light up when she talks about work, makes me so proud of her. I didn’t see that until this week.
I’d brought her here so I could spend time with her. I had every intention of asking her to start over with me but… I can’t.
Chloe has Ally to take care of. Her best friend Sidney means the world to her. She has a life outside of me. For once, I’m not being a selfish man. I’ve thought this through.
I don’t want to give Chloe up, but I can’t keep hurting her and she can’t just drop her life for me. I have too many unknown variables in my life. At thirty-three, I’m starting over.
I thought Clayton to be crazy when he suggested defying my father on such a level. Yet, I know if anyone could pull this off it would be Clayton. My little brother is one determined little SOB. Neither of us wants to live under our father’s thumb.
Cane, my youngest brother, is the good son. The one who listens and toes the line. Well, when it comes to what meets the eye.
Clayton and I know him better. We know the truth when it comes to Cane. He seeks the adrenaline rush that gives a sense of control. The Hennessey men are known for their control and their need for it.
It’s why I have to do this. I have to let Chloe go. I want to plead with her not to give up on me, not to let me go. I want to promise I’ll be back for her, but I don’t know that I can make that promise.
My father could make our lives hell, prevent us from making a way for ourselves. It’s the reason I choose to leave the country. Clayton will do what needs to be done here.
I’ll build our fortune overseas. It’s all a part of the plan. Chloe was never a part of the plan. I wasn’t supposed to go after her. I was supposed to leave her be.
“I don’t need protection from your world. I only need it from you,” she whispers, pulling from my hold on her face.
I let my hands fall and watch helplessly as she grabs her bags. When the week started, I hadn’t planned for her to leave with those bags without me. Had I made the choice to follow through with the plan, I had all intentions of boarding a plane with her by my side.
This is the right thing to do.
I keep telling myself that as the door slams shut behind her. I’m losing her again. I nearly fucked up my entire life the first time.
My father was furious with me. He couldn’t understand what triggered the mess I had become. He sent me off to stay with my ornery uncle.
Uncle Devin grunted at me for weeks about getting my life in order. His wife, Raven, spent most of her time trying to pull me out of my funk. Then, one night he found me drowning in my own sorrows. I spilled my guts without thinking.
