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He took a step toward her, wishing she’d turn around and meet his gaze but also dreading that moment at the same time. There was so much he wanted to say to her and ask her. It felt like an eternity since their last dinner. And ever since Brielle had told him that Constance knew he’d been involved with her, he had this gut feeling that Constance wasn’t going to be very open to discussing much of anything.
Clearing his throat, he said, “Can we talk?”
She hugged herself, her shoulders tight, but she still didn’t face him. “Unless this is about work, I don’t have anything I need to speak to you about.”
Her words hurt more than he’d anticipated. A sharp pain sliced through his insides, and he winced. “Brielle came to see me.”
She stiffened, then whirled around. Her accusatory eyes flashed with pain. “Do you want her back? Are you two finally rekindling whatever love affair you once had?”
His head reared back and irritation flickered to life deep down in his stomach. “Of course not. We dated inhigh school. I haven’t been interested in her for a long time.”
Constance snorted. “Really? Because it sure looked like you were still interested a few months ago when you started seeing Clio.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m not blind. I could see it so clearly.”
“Then why did we even start dating?” he shot back at her. Her words had managed to make him far more uncomfortable than he’d been prepared for. This mess could have been avoided if he’d only told her about Brielle in the beginning, but he’d listened to her sister rather than really considering what the consequences could be.
“Maybe I was just in deep denial.” She folded her arms and looked away, her voice softening. “I had this crush on you since we were younger. I never even looked at anyone else. I knew in my heart that you were the kind of guy I wanted to be with.”
James took another step toward her. “Then what are we doing this for? Why break it off with me?”
The anger returned to her gaze as she lifted her face, and the light from the building reflected off her pale skin. She glowered at him. “You lied to me.”
“I didn’tlie. I did tell you I had a small crush on Brielle. I just never told you we dated.” Even as the words left his lips, he knew that was the wrong thing to say. He grimaced, bracing himself for her reaction.
“Omission is a kind of lying, James,” she spat. “I can’t ask about something I don’t know about.”
“She was an ex. Since when do couples discuss exes?”
“She is mysister. Don’t you think that would bother me? I know Brielle. I know how often she used to sneak out just to be with the newest flavor of the month. For all I know, you two were far more intimate than you should have ever been.” Her face flushed and she shook her head. “Whywouldn’tthat bother me? Every time I close my eyes, I see you kissingher. I don’t know if I can get over that.”
He clenched his jaw; the irritation inside him had mutated into something ugly—something desperate. The fact that she was insinuating he’d been inappropriate with Brielle had wounded his pride. “If you think that my character is so tarnished, then why bother dating me? Oh, that’s right. Because I was so good at lying to you and keeping secrets. Maybe I’m just damaged goods.”
She pressed her lips into a thin line, her eyes never leaving his face.
“But you know what? If I’m damaged, then you have a lot of growing up to do. Not only that, but if you cared about me as much as you said you do, you’d be willing to risk making your father angry.”
Her eyes widened and she dropped her arms to her sides.
James continued even though there was a small part of his brain that told him he needed to cool it. He could fix this if he’d just take a deep breath and appeal to her softer side. But he didn’t. He opened his big mouth and just kept talking. “You insist on staying under your father’s thumb because he needs to feel secure, and you don’t want to hurt him. But you want to know what I think? You’re just terrified that if you step across that line he’s drawn in the sand, you’ll actually find happiness.”
“Why would that scare me? Everyone wants to be happy,” she shot back.
He closed the distance between them, his voice lowering to a sharp, husky whisper. “Because if you find happiness—true happiness—then you have to actually work to keep it. You have to dig your nails into it and clutch it so it doesn’t slip through your fingers. Once you have found that happiness, you know deep down that losing it might be the end of you. You know that your heart won’t be able to take returning to what used to be normal.” His voice broke and he hooked his finger under her chin to lift her face toward him. “That kind of love, that kind of happiness is rare. Once you’ve tasted it, there’s no going back.”
She didn’t pull away from him. They stood like that, staring into each other’s eyes as if the world had stopped spinning. It was almost like his words had made a difference. Was it possible? Was he going to win her back? His heart pounded a little harder and he leaned closer, dipping his head toward her.
Ever since their dinner, he’d suffered withdrawal simply because he hadn’t been able to drink in her beauty or caress her skin with his touch. He’d experienced the kind of happiness he’d spoken to her about. He knew right to his core that if the roles were reversed, he would have defied the rules her father had made right from the beginning.
Especially after he’d experienced the love he had for Constance.
She blinked and in a heart-wrenching second, Constance stepped back, shaking her head. “It’s not just the lies, James,” she murmured.
“Then what is it?”
Constance brushed at her face and turned to walk away, but he reached out and grasped her wrist, forcing her to turn and face him.
