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She watched as he started to walk away from her, tears rolling down her cheeks. She’d thought for sure she was cried out, but the humiliation opened something new inside her. They were only words, but she couldn’t help the hollow they unlocked inside her. She would have bet the world he couldn’t be that cruel to her.
A sob began but she cut it off, clapping a hand over her mouth so he wouldn’t hear her.
Maybe she should let him win tonight. On shaky feet she stood, trying to hold it in. She was going for a robe when a strong arm wrapped around her waist, hauling her back against him.
“I promised,” he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her. “I promised I would hold you when you cry. Even if I’m the reason for it. I promised.”
She turned in his arms. The day had been awful, and all she’d wanted was to be right here.
He picked her up as she cried and carried her to bed, and she held him, hoping she never had to let go.
* * * *
Dare came out of the best dream of his life into the harsh light of morning.
In the dream he and Tasha were married and his brother and sister were happy and fulfilled. He strangely worked for her father, having destroyed everything his own father had built. He’d given the money to his siblings and then burned the fucker down. He’d happily taken over running part of Tasha’s father’s business.
They’d been happy. So fucking happy.
And now he was awake and she wasn’t even in bed with him. Now he was awake and yesterday flooded into his system.
She’d lied to him. She’d fucked him over and then begged him to forgive her and he couldn’t.
Except when he’d realized the shitty things that had come out of his mouth the night before, he’d come back to apologize and she’d been crying. She’d been trying so hard to hold it in, but her shoulders had shook and he’d known he’d devastated her. It wasn’t an act. If it had been an act, she would have cried openly to get his attention. His words had struck and hard. He’d wanted to hurt her and he had, and then he’d given into instinct. He’d wrapped his arms around her and made good on his promise.
Because I love you, Dare. Because I screwed up, but I won’t let that stop me from fighting for us.
He wanted to believe her.
“Do you want some coffee?”
He practically bounced out of bed because that hadn’t been Tasha. He pulled the sheet around his mostly naked body. He’d shoved himself into boxers the night before hoping that would keep him from going back on his promise to not stick his dick in her. Now he realized how dumb that had been because if she’d been in bed with him, that thin material wouldn’t have been a deterrent. The extra person in the room totally was. “What the hell are you doing here? Whichever one you are.”
One of Tasha’s pink-haired sisters was sitting in the chair near the desk. She was dressed down in jeans and a plain T-shirt, all that cotton candy hair in a ponytail on her head. “Can you guess?”
From the way her eyes flared with mischief and the lack of threat in her tone, he could. “Kenzie.”
She grinned. “Bingo. You’re already good at this. Though you should know I do a mean Kala. If I hadn’t wanted you to know, you wouldn’t. Or I could be Kala and I’m tricking you because I do such a good Kenzie.”
The weirdness never stopped with this one. “Aren’t you supposed to be hiding somewhere?”
She nodded and gestured around the room. “No one will look for me here.”
He moved toward the dresser where Tasha had folded and placed his slacks. “I think Ben could come through here at any moment.”
“I’m sure he will, but he won’t find me. After all, you didn’t know I was here. I’m excellent at hiding. Lou came over to bring Tasha some things, so I hopped a ride. She does know I’m here, but Nate doesn’t. I snuck in through the ceiling in your bathroom. It’s easily accessible from the staff room.”
“Staff room?” He wasn’t aware there was one. The suite was big, but he was pretty sure he hadn’t missed a whole room.
“Yes. How do you think they service this floor?” Kenzie asked as though it should be apparent. “They don’t come up the pretty elevator, and they don’t store things on another floor. Rich people want their mineral water replaced right away. And their fancy towels. There’s a whole cabinet of fancy towels. I know because I climbed it to get to the ceiling.”
He was so confused. “Why didn’t you come through the door with Lou?”
