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Vivian set down her phone. Her heart hurt from all the painful lessons she had learned when men had failed her in the past. Could she trust Bryce? Or would she be forever waiting for the next heartbreak?
I just don’t know.
CHAPTERFIFTY-ONE
Bryce paced the floor of his ocean front villa like a tiger in a cage. He’d arrived at the White Foam Breakers almost five hours ago and since then he’d been waiting. Patience was not something he had much to spare today. On the three hour flight from Teterboro to Palm Beach, he had sat and struggled to put pen to paper.
Words were not normally a problem for him, he was used to writing and giving speeches. To sending clear instructions to his team throughout Europe and the UK. But nothing in his previous experience came close to the torture of trying to find the right words to express his emotions. To setting what was in his heart down on paper.
Things had gone wrong between them during the two previous occasions that he and Vivian had been together. He wasn’t going to risk an unlucky third. He had to get this right.
I can’t bear the thought of losing her. I just can’t.
He picked up his cell phone and hit recent. At the top of the list was a number he had already called four times.
You only called her a few minutes ago, give Mia time to find Vivian.
Bryce put the phone down. If things between them weren’t in such a precarious state, he wouldn’t have hesitated to go up to reception and ask for the phone number of Vivian’s room. He wasn’t going to do that, the risk was too great.
Mia, Grace, and even Sheila had made it clear any action on his part like that or of a similar nature would be seen as crossing the line they had drawn firmly in the sand. They were calling the shots, and he was going to have to do what he was told.
They would be the ones to inform Vivian of the situation in New York, as well as letting her know that Bryce had checked into the resort in Palm Beach. If Vivian wanted to see him, it was her decision.
If he attempted any form of stalking, their words not his, they would cease to assist. The cupid collective, as Bryce had privately dubbed them, would pack up their bows and arrows and he would be left on his own. Bryce, who was used to being the one in charge, found himself struggling with this arrangement.
He could understand their desire to protect their friend, and quietly respected them for it, but he couldn’t also stop thinking that there was a degree of punishment involved in their actions. Grace might not have told the other two what he had done with the millionaire love app, but it seemed to Bryce she was determined to extract her pound of his flesh in revenge.
His gaze went to the open door of his ocean front villa. The soft golden sand beckoned him to remove his socks and shoes and go dig his toes. He fought the temptation. The minute he heard from Vivian he would be heading up to the main resort building and knocking on her door.
For the twentieth time this hour, Bryce checked his watch. It was getting late. The sun had begun its slow descent into the Atlantic. Soon it would be dark.
Where are you? Come on, Vivian. Don’t give up on me.
Vivian had accepted his apology when they were in Galveston. They had parted with that brief, tender kiss.
Her note to him demanding that he leave her alone had been full of anger and pain. Trust wasn’t something she was able to easily give, he understood that now.
She’s not doing this to punish me.Hurt makes you wary.
“The girls said she was supposed to be doing a cruise out to the Bahamas today. Vivian might not even be back in the good old USA yet.” He gripped the ends of his hair in frustration. “Come on Vivian, please. I won’t ever fail you again.”
His cell buzzed, and Bryce quickly snatched it up. “What’s happening, Mia?”
“I have just spoken to Vivian. She’s read the full press release from Royal Resorts onLeisure Line. Vivian also knows what number villa you are staying in. What happens now is entirely up to her. But if she gives you another chance, don’t stuff it up.”
Bryce wasn’t used to other people telling him what to do, especially not his team members. Mia was treading the thin line between being Vivian’s loyal friend and angering her boss.
“I’m sorry if this is a difficult situation for you, Bryce. Did Vivian happen to mention anything about her last boyfriend?”
Bryce gritted his teeth. He would dearly love five minutes alone with that piece of shit. “Pete?”
“Yes, that’s him. Well according to Grace, he not only did a real number on Vivian’s credit card, but when he left, he took a huge chunk of her self-respect with him. Vivian has been burned and bruised.”
Don’t let her be too burned and bruised to let me in.
“I’m not him. You have to know that is not the sort of man I am.” He hoped the time that Mia and he had worked together in Italy had left a favorable impression.
“I think I know you, Bryce. And as I have already told Vivian, you’re a good man. But this isn’t about you, or me. It’s about Vivian. It’s about consent. Her choice is what matters.”
