There’s a knock on the front door, a quick rap against the wood.
I consider ignoring it, taking another gulp of coffee. There’s no way in hell someone got through our security gate and up to the front door of our compound unless they’re meant to be here.Which means it’s one of my brothers, finally coming home, or someone on the staff.
But they knock again. Louder.
Tossing my paper down in irritation and leaving my coffee on the kitchen table, I make my way over to the door.
“For fucks sake, Ash,” I grumble. “I’m not making you another set of keys. You have to keep an eye on your?—”
The words die in my throat the moment the door swings open.
Sydney. She’s standing there in the doorway, hands clasped behind her, staring at me.
“Hi,” she says, and the sound of her voice cuts through me like a knife.
I can’t speak. I just stand there, staring at her like I’ve seen a ghost. She shouldn’t be here. She shouldn't be anywhere near me. And yet…here she is.
“Well, I’m coming in,” Sydney says, pushing past me. She slips through the door and into the antechamber, moving through the entryway of our mansion like she belongs here. I don’t try to stop her. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. My eyes follow her every step.
She belongs here, surrounded by luxury. She fits, like I made this home just for her, without realizing it.
“Holy shit!” Sydney gives a little laugh as she spins, staring at the compound around us, eyes trailing over the leather furniture and dark wood accents. “I mean, holy shit! I don’t even…Wow!” She looks at everything, awestruck, her lips parting as she wanders through the hall. She steps past the kitchen, into our sitting room, eyes wide as she takes in the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the valley and, in the distance, the entire city skyline stretching out below us. The low lighting lets us see the entire cityscape, spanning as far as the eye can see.
Her astonishment is genuine, and it guts me. Because I’ve never let her see this side of me—never let her in.
“This might be the most beautiful view I’ve ever seen. I’m speechless, I can’t believe you’ve never invited me over here before!” She turns to me then and scrunches up her nose. “I mean, maybe I can. Considering.”
My body is still rooted to the doorway. My brain screams at me to speak, to say anything, but all I can do is stare at her, memorize her like she might vanish again if I blink.
And then she’s walking toward me, fearless, determined, her small hand wrapping around my wrist. Her touch jolts me back into myself, grounds me. She tugs me gently toward the sitting room couch and guides me over to sit on it like she’s the one in control.
“You promised me time. And I appreciate that. But now it’s time for you to tell me the truth. All of it,” she says, moving to stand between my legs. She looks down at me, from where I’m seated on the couch, face stern.
My voice comes out raw, strangled. “You’re here.”
“I am,” she tells me. “Because I hate this. I hate being away from you. You fucked up, and I’m still furious at you, but…” She places one knee on the couch and slowly climbs into my lap, straddling me. A breathy groan slips out from between my lips. “I’m not ready to let this go. Are you?”
I can’t look away from her. Her wild brown curls, her sweet face. She’s everything.
“If this is going to work, I need you to look me in the eye and promise me I’m not the other woman,” she says.
“You’re not, darling,” I tell her. My hands raise to her hips, gripping her like I’ll fall apart without her. “You never were.”
“You’re married?” she asks, voice soft but deadly. Her hands rest against my chest.
I nod.
“But it never meant anything?”
I shake my head. “Nothing. It meant nothing.”
Loosely, she wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me a little closer. “Why did you lie? Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“I tried,” I say, honestly. I grip her even tighter.
“Bullshit,” she says defiantly, eyes narrowing. And I love seeing it, love seeing her stand up for herself, even against me. “It’s not just about her. It’s all of it. Tell me why you lied to me.”
I take a deep breath, because all this time without her, I’ve gone over that time and time again and never got a good answer.
