She poked her tongue into her cheek and nodded. “It’s a chance I’m willing to take.”
Jason frowned. “I don’t like this.”
“I’m fine. Open the door.”
With a heavy sigh, Jason unlocked the door. Kyle charged into the room, still naked.
“I’ll be next door if you need me,” her brother said.
“I won’t. Take the dog. He needs a walk.” Laina gave Milo a silent command to go with Jason.
With one last warning glance in her direction, her brother disappeared into the hall with the mastiff by his side.
Kyle closed and locked the bedroom door behind him. Hands up and open, he approached her as if she had a gun pointed at his heart. “I know this is difficult. I wanted to warn you, but I didn’t have a chance.”
“I don’t think we should see each other anymore, Kyle,” she said through her teeth. He balked as though she’d yanked the trigger on that metaphorical gun. His body jolted from the impact of her words. “This is never going to work.”
“Don’t do this. You knew this was part of my job.”
“I’m not the kind of person who can share, even for pretend.”
“You don’t have to share. This isn’t real.”
“It looks real.”
“If it upsets you this much, I’ll tell them to go.”
“For now,” she growled. “But there will be other photo shoots. Other women. It’s yourbrand.” She spat the word like a curse.
“Laina…”
“It’s better ifIgo.” She eyed the door. “I have a life and a career in Carlton City. This was never supposed to be long-term. I’ll go, and you can move on with your life.”
“I don’t want that.”
“What do you want, Kyle? You hate what Nate makes you do. You feel trapped in your own life. You keep a secret hobby out of fear of upsetting the applecart. How can I have a relationship with someone who lets his work rule his life?”
With his next inhale, something changed. Tiny muscles in his torso flexed, his jaw set, and his eyes narrowed on her. As if someone had flipped a switch, Kyle appeared bigger, taller, and more powerful than she’d ever seen him. He swaggered toward her, an imposing figure that made her wolf whimper in her head. “How can I be with someone who allows her family to rule hers?”
The verbal blow knocked her off-balance, and she steadied herself on the nightstand.
“You want me to end this? I’ll end this.” He turned on his heel and strode from the room, slamming the door behind him.
* * *
Laina wanted to be strong.Her head told her that this was inevitable and things with Kyle weren’t meant to be permanent. But her heart wouldn’t listen. She cried longer and harder than should have been necessary. She cried until the tears gouged out her innards and left her a hollow, empty shell. She cried like she had the day she’d learned her parents had been killed.
And then she stopped crying, and a drill sergeant voice inside her head bellowed, “Get up. Keep going.” She’d heard that voice before. It was her soul, that fire within that refused to be snuffed out. Dr. Laina Flynn did not allow a man, any man, to ruin her. She would sweep up the pieces of her broken heart and build a beautiful mosaic in her chest. And she would guard that work of art from this day forward.
Like a machine, she searched out her duffel from the closet and started packing her things. It didn’t take long. She hadn’t brought much to begin with. But after all the drawers and hangers were empty, she noticed one outfit was missing. After a moment, she remembered that Gerty had collected laundry the day before. No matter how many times she protested and said she’d do her own, the good woman had insisted on washing her clothing.
Splashing cold water on her face, Laina tried her best to calm the puffy red blotches that marred the skin under her eyes. Once she was reasonably presentable, she headed for the laundry room, noticing there was not a trace of the camera crew that had been in the hall hours ago. No trace of Kyle either. She hurried, hoping she could retrieve her items without running into him. But when she reached her destination, she found her things were in the washer, midcycle. She plopped down on one of the chairs next to the folding table and waited.
“There’s a black cloud above your head,” Gerty said.When had she entered the room?
“Oh Gerty, I’m just sad. It’s time for me to go back home. Milo is trained.” She nodded. “We all knew this day would come. I just wasn’t ready for it.”
“What about you and Kyle?”
