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As I’m about to knock on the door, a man’s voice halts my hand. “I made the biggest mistake of my life letting you go, Bianca. When I set out to find myself, it was because I was young and foolish. I didn’t know what I needed.”
“I’ve been doing a lot of self-discovery too. I guess it’s what we do at our age.”
“I’m sorry I let you go. It turns out that when I looked for myself, I couldn’t find me. There is no me without you. Bianca, please forgive me for whatever pain I’ve caused you.” This dude must be her ex.
There’s no me without you. That’s pretty good, but I won’t stand by without a fight. I bang on the door so hard the windows rattle. The whole fucking apartment might shake. We’ve got to get her out of this place. This isn’t the kind of life she deserves.
“Open the door, Bianca.”
“Go away. You’re supposed to be at the Christmas party,” she yells to us.
“Who is it?” he asks.
“My stepbrothers.”
Carl angry-whispers, “She told him where she was, but not us.”
That’s not helping my irritation issues. “Open the door. We’re here to take care of you.”
The lock on the door clicks but the swing of the door is caught by the chain, after a few inches.
“Let us in, Bianca,” I keep my voice low.
“Don’t cause a scene.”
Sean says, “You belong with us.”
Idiot ex has the balls to say, “If she wanted to be with you, she would.”
The hair on the back of my neck prickles, and not just because I’m getting covered in snow. If it was possible for me to go into Hulk mode, I’d knock the door down.
Carl says, “Your choice, Bianca… We can have this conversation in front of your ex who foolishly chose to dump you, or we can have it in private.”
“Give me a minute.”
“Now.” I’ve lost my patience.
“Damon, you better go. We’ll talk later.”
“I’ll stay. I’m here for you, B.” Damon doesn’t know how close I am to strangling him. His use of a nickname makes it more likely. And when Bianca steps out of sight, the rope holding my restraint in check, frays within a strand of snapping.
“Let him leave peacefully.” Bianca eyes us through the slim opening.
A strand of relief fortifies my restraint. I hate to back away even an inch, but I do, and sure enough, she slides the chain off to fully open the door, and her ex, who looks like a decent guy, is standing beside her.
His eyes go wide when he sees the three of us. “Those are your stepbrothers?”
“Yeah.”
I swear he shrinks several inches as he tries to slip between us, which is fine.
Bianca ushers us in, and we do our best to shake the snow off rather than track it inside. Keeping us at arm’s length, she asks me, “Aren’t you supposed to be in Poland.”
“I canceled the trip because I was worried about you.”
“No need to be so dramatic. I’m fine. Better than ever.” Her expression softens.
“Then you didn’t show up for the holiday dinner…”
