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Yet again, Madeline was the problem. She wouldn’t hesitate a single second to take advantage of him if he were to become inebriated. He could ask himself if there was anything more she could take from him, but he knew the answer to that question already.
She could always take more. That was Madeline’s specialty.
“Mind if I join you?”
Shane’s narrowed eyes landed on Marc, and he sneered at him. “What? Are you here to rub it in? Let me guess. You’ve come to gloat about Madeline getting what she always wanted and now you can swoop in and take Eloise. Well, she’s smarter than that. She’s—”
“I know.”
He snapped his mouth shut. What did Marc mean by that?
Marc eyed his glass. “Can I have one of those?”
Shane glanced down at the whiskey in his hand and then shoved it toward his cousin. “I probably shouldn’t be drinking anyway.”
Marc lifted the tumbler before taking a swig. “Eloiseissomething else. She’s more of a person than I will ever deserve to have as a friend.”
Shane scoffed. “She’s more of a person than any of us deserve.”
“No argument there.”
“Then why aren’t you leaving her alone?”
Marc was quiet for longer than Shane anticipated. The more seconds that ticked by, the more antsy he became. He itched to grab his cousin and throw him to the ground. That would be just the thing to get some of the fury out of his system. Only he couldn’t do that. This was his business. It had his name on it. He couldn’t exactly start a brawl where everyone would see and inevitably wonder if they should continue to support him.
Shane shook his head. “Forget it. You’re just like your sister.”
“I’m nothing like her!”
He snorted. “You’re more like her than you might want to admit.” Shane moved to walk away in search of yet another place where he could hide, but Marc’s hand on his shoulder stopped him.
“I’mnotlike Madeline,” he repeated. “She’s…” He shook his head. Conflicting emotions crossed over Marc’s face. Anger, sadness, and fear. “Maybe you’re right.” His voice sounded so disheartened that Shane nearly felt bad for him.
That was ridiculous. The only thing that made sense was that Marc wasinon this whole thing. He waspartof the problem. “I don’t have the energy to fight you, Marc. If you’re here to spy on me, you can tell Madeline—”
“I’m not.”
Once again, Shane didn’t know what to say.
“I’m just… maybe I’m tired of Madeline’s shenanigans too.”
“I doubt that,” Shane huffed.
“You don’t have to believe me. I wouldn’t expect you to. I’m… I’m sorry that I played a part in any of this.”
Shane moved out from under his cousin’s grasp. “Enjoy your drink.” He turned around and blindly made his way toward his office. He couldn’t stand being in here pretending that everything was going well when he felt his life crumbling around him.
He collided with someone, and instinctively his hands shot out to grab onto her to prevent her from falling backward.
Big mistake.
Eloise peered up at him, surprise and pain emanating from her eyes. If he could have been struck down by some invisible force, he would have chosen this exact moment to pray it would happen.
“Eloise…”
She held up a hand, shaking her head. “I don’t want to hear it. I don’t even know why I came. Brielle convinced me I should, and this… this was a big mistake.”
He grasped her wrist, tugging it down so he could get a better view of her face. “Eloise, I want to explain.”
