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“Nothing...not a thing. But neither of us has spent much time deciding what we want out of life. It’s all been fun and games and not much of the nuts and bolts of being an adult. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but I started to get scared, scared that we both still have a lot of growing up to do. The one thing I know for sure is that I never want to lose you from my life, but I can’t be your husband.”
“I see.” She was a parrot. A clueless, pitiful parrot unable to speak more than the same two syllables.
“If you’re honest, and once you’ve had a few days to recover, I truly believe you’ll agree with everything I’ve said. I know this is damn hard. You were in an impossible situation. Your parents had spent a crap load of money on the social event of the season. It was unreasonable to expectyouto pull the plug. I had to be the one to do it, but I didn’t have the nerve. So I waited too damn long, and I hurt the woman I love dearly, and for that, I am deeply sorry. I’m going to repay your parents every cent of the money as soon as I can.”
For the first time, Harry spoke up. “I’ll take care of the money. I have an embarrassing abundance of it and no one to spend it on but me. Let me do this, Jason.”
The men were cousins. And more than that, friends. Cate shook her head vehemently. “That’s not necessary.”
Harry frowned. “This is between Jason and me.”
Cate sputtered and felt her face heat with frustration.
Jason shot him a glare. “Why do you go out of your way to rile her up?”
“Because she rises to the bait so beautifully.”
“Enough.” Cate stood on wobbly legs and wrapped her arms around her waist. Jason was blond and blue-eyed and so very dear. Harry was broad through the shoulders and dark-headed, a dangerous, overtly masculine beast with barely softened edges. “Thank you for coming, Jason,” she said quietly. “I’d like you to do one thing for me.”
“Anything,” he vowed. He stood as well, his body rigid.
Did he expect her to punish him somehow?
She swallowed her pride and her hurt feelings and did the only thing that made sense. “Get on that plane in the morning, Jason. Take a friend or fly alone. But go to Machu Picchu. Four weeks in Peru was your bucket list item. The wedding was mine. I don’t want you to miss it. And to be honest, I’d rather not have to worry about running into you for the next month. I need a breather fromus. Some time to know it’s over and to start again.”
He was so pale she thought he might collapse. The skin on his face was drawn tight. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is.”
“I’m sorry, Cate.”
She swallowed the urge to scream and throw a tantrum. Instead, she managed a weak smile. “Me, too. Go, Jason. Go find the life you deserve.”
He nodded curtly, strode across the room, walked out of the apartment and out of her life.
When the door slammed behind him, she choked out a sob and collapsed on the sofa, no longer caring that Harry watched. He had witnessed the most horrific moments of her life, and all in one day. He must think her an utter fool.
There was nothing she could do to stem the flow of tears. They came and they came and they came. Hot, wrenching and raw.
Harry picked her up and sat her in his lap, tucking her head against his hard shoulder and stroking her hair. “This is the worst, Cate. You survived. I’m proud of you.”
The unexpected words from her nemesis made her weep all the harder. But she made no move to escape his tight hold. His strong arms were the only thing keeping her from shattering into a million broken pieces. Her world had fallen apart around her. Harry, for better or for worse, and at least for the moment, was helping her survive.
She had no idea how long she sat in his embrace. The apartment was quiet. Part of her stood at a distance, wincing in embarrassment for the pitiful woman wallowing in her own misery.
Eventually, the tears dried up—though not before soaking the expensive fabric of Harry’s dress shirt. He had worn a bespoke suit to the wedding. After returning to the apartment, she’d watched him shed his jacket and kick off his shoes, but other than that, he was still dressed.
Now that she was numb and no longer crying, she realized her cheek was pressed right over his heart, unconsciously recording the steadyka-thudof each beat. She could feel the warmth of his skin through his shirt. The hard wall of his chest smelled faintly of what she assumed was his shower gel.
For the first time, his comfort made her uncomfortable.
Odd, but true.
She forced herself to get up. “I’m fine,” she lied. “But I think I’d like to go to my room now.” Even if itwasearly.
Harry stood as well, his narrow-eyed gaze cataloging her mental and physical state. “I’m sorry, Cate.” In his words, she heard genuine sympathy and concern.
“It is what it is,” she said, the words dull.
