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“He said he loved me.”
One brow lifted, but Brielle didn’t say a word.
Eloise groaned. That probably didn’t sound bad at all.
“Let me get this straight. He invited you to his home—a place I haveneverbeen, by the way—made you dinner and told you he loves you, and you think that equates toterrible? Seriously, I think you need to break up.”
“None of that is the problem,” Eloise moaned. “I have this feeling that something isn’t right. He’s hiding our relationship from everyone. That can’t be normal. Guys aren’t supposed to do that.” She glanced up at her sister, finding Brielle’s unnerving gaze locked on her. “What?”
Brielle twisted her glass between both of her hands thoughtfully. “You know me. Gut feelings are usually something you should listen to.”
“I know! That’s why I can’t get over—”
“But coming from someone who dated Shane…” Her eyes flitted up to Eloise from her glass and stayed there. “I can tell you one thing. Shane is a good man.”
“You said he lied to you.”
Brielle shrugged. “Yeah, well, I didn’t tell him everything about my past either. I didn’t want him getting to know our family. I always kept him at arm’s length. I only realize now that he had been doing the same with me. And maybe he wasn’t lying so much as he was just trying to keep us safe while we were in a relationship. Maybe neither one of us was ready for anything that serious. But you are.”
Eloise snorted. “You don’t know that.”
“Sure I do. This ache you feel in your stomach, that feeling that something bad is going to happen—it’s because you’re happy when you’re with him. And maybe you’re terrified that it’s too good to be true.” Brielle sighed, her expression tinted with sadness. “Don’t let your fears hold you back from something great. I’ve been there. It doesn’t ever end well.”
Was she still harboring feelings for Shane? Eloise didn’t think she was the jealous type, but knowing that someone might want to take Shane out from under her tore at her heart. The relationship she had with Shane felt all too flimsy to allow these thoughts of doubt to tear it to shreds. At a moment’s notice, Shane could decide he didn’t have the patience for any of this.
It was time to commit or walk away.
And deep down, she had already made her decision.
19
Shane
Shane had thought keeping the secret about his cousins was bad, but this was worse. So much worse. Why had he let those words escape? He had probably scared Eloise off, and she would run right back into the arms of Marc.
His fingers curled into fists at that thought. Marc had been conveniently absent lately. He’d only had a few run-ins with Madeline, but even her torture had subsided. The threats still hung in the air, and the only way to solve this problem would be to keep Eloise safe from them.
Brielle wouldn’t lower herself to the level of dating Marc, so she was safe.
The funny thing was that this wasn’t simply about keeping Eloise out of Marc’s clutches. He’d been completely honest when he’d told her of his feelings—a fact that had shocked him more than he’d anticipated.
He loved her.
It hadn’t taken much to figure that out, but he cared about Eloise more than he cared about anyone. She was an amazing listener. She didn’t care about his wealth or his status. She spent time with him because she wanted to.
If he were honest with himself, he would have to admit that he hadn’t felt like a normal human being for years—not until they’d had their first date.
Shane couldn’t focus. The work he had to do mocked him as it sat on his desk. He hadn’t heard a peep from Eloise since their date last night, and he knew deep down he’d blown it. There was no coming back from telling a girl he loved her when she wasn’t ready to hear it. The worst part was that he couldn’t come up with a single plan to fix it.
All he could do was wait and hope that she would eventually be willing to talk to him.
As if that thought alone were enough to summon her, there was a knock at his door. He lifted his head, and the door opened to reveal the one person he wanted to see more than anyone in the world.
Shane rose from his desk, not brave enough to open his mouth and say something he would undoubtedly regret.
Eloise glanced at him, then shut the door and leaned against it. “Hey,” she murmured.
His pulse quickened. This was it. The moment of truth. She was going to tell him he was moving too fast and she needed space. As long as that didn’t mean they needed to break up, he could manage that, right?
