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“Well, I disagree.”
I finished my tankard and set it on the bar. “Well, do you think you’ll see Ethan again?” My eyes took a quick scan of the bar, seeing all the villagers enjoying their pints after a long day in the fields and the shops. My eyes scanned over someone I recognized, but it took me a second to react.
“I don’t know. The sex was good, but the aftermath kinda sucked.”
My eyes locked on his, eyes that I used to stare into most nights. We would hide away in the loft above his studio, the winter chill frosting the corners of the window. His body used to keep me warm, and the fire in his eyes used to burn me.
Brianna noticed my distraction and followed my gaze, watching Ethan sit alone in the corner, staring me down. “Well, this is awkward.”
I broke contact first and looked away.
“I think he wants to talk to you. Maybe sleeping with him was a bad idea.” She finished the rest of her drink and left her empty tankard next to mine. “I’ll let you two chat.” She walked out of the bar, leaving the stool empty beside me.
Ethan crossed the bar, dressed in all black, and took the stool next to me. Muscles stretched the fabric of his shirt. His pretty eyes were hollow with loss. His intensity was always profound, one of the reasons I’d wanted him in the first place. Now he stared, anger and sadness swirling together like a hurricane in his eyes. “I’m dying inside, and you’re perfectly fine.”
“Well, you fucked my friend—”
“And you don’t care. At all.”
“Ethan—”
“Harlow.” His tone deepened. “You’re just going to throw this away?”
“Ethan—”
“I fucking love you—”
“Stop.” I held up my hand because I didn’t want to hear another declaration. “My father threatened to kill you if you bothered me again.”
“And he’s not here, is he?”
“But when he comes back—”
“I’ll deal with it then.”
He was so lucky that I wouldn’t rat him out to my father.
“I’ve seen you sneak into the castle late at night.” His eyes questioned me with their hostility, searching for the answer he already had.
I stayed quiet, refusing to answer the question he wouldn’t ask. “You want me to tell you the honest truth, Ethan?”
“Yes.”
“It’ll hurt.”
He stilled, his breathing slightly deeper. “I want to know.”
“I always knew you weren’t going to be my husband.” I yanked the gauze off the wound, and now everything was exposed to the cold air. I felt the sting of my words, and I knew he felt it too.
He gave no reaction, but I knew he was hurt. “If that’s true, why did you stay so long?”
“Because it was fun and easy. I didn’t want the relationship to end, but I knew we didn’t have a future.”
“I could be your husband if you gave me a chance—”
“It’s one of those things that you just know. Whatever you’re supposed to feel when you fall in love…I’ve never felt that. Ethan, you’re such a great guy, and you deserve a woman who wants you with the same intensity as you want her. Would you really want to be with me if you had to talk me into it?”
His stare continued.
