“You were a mistake. The worst mistake I ever made!”
For a moment, just a moment, I let my guard down, the ice mask I always wore cracking. But a moment was all it took.
Her eyes widened as her expression went from annoyed to concerned. “Cole? Cole, are you all right?”
I turned away from her, giving her my back.
“Cole?” I heard her say behind me.
I didn’t answer her. Couldn’t answer her.Breathe. Don’t move. Don’t speak until you’ve got yourself under control.
I hadn’t had to give myself this particular instruction in a while. Years. But there was something about Sunny—something that made the self-control I’d started to take for granted a no-longer-certain thing.
"You're right." I turned back around, my mask fully in place, but I refused to look at Sunny. That would be too dangerous for me. "This was a mistake. Call Agnes. Tell her I said to set you up in whatever room you want at the Benton."
"Call Agnes?" she repeated. "Cole, it's one in the morning. What's going on with you?"
My chest was constricting painfully, the past blending in with the present, echoing the wordmistake, mistake, mistake.
"Cole?" Sunny's voice was threaded with worry.
She was right. Maybe they both were. I was a complete psycho.A mistake.
"I'm going to bed. Agnes will contact you about the next time we need to make a public appearance."
With that, I headed for the stairs. I needed to get away from the memories. From her.
But Sunny caught my arm when I tried to pass by.
“Let me go,” I said, barely managing to keep my voice level.
“Something just happened." She gripped my arm even tighter. "Something I said got to you—like, triggered you. Tell me what it was.”
“Let me go, Sunny,” I repeated.
“No, look at me, Cole.”
I kept my head carefully turned away. “No.”
“That’s surprising,” she answered, her voice laced with faux confusion. “I wouldn’t have pegged you as the type of guy who couldn’t look someone in the eye.”
Apparently, I wasn't the only one adept at finding just the right words to manipulate my target.
Of course, I couldn’t let her challenge go unanswered. I clenched my jaw, straightened to my full height, and made myself look down my nose at her.
But dammit, her eyes….They were no longer blazing with fury. No, they were soft with concern. Like I was some kind of stray she’d found on the street.
“I don’t need your pity,” I told her.
She just shrugged. “Well, too bad. You’ve got it. Now do you want to talk about what’s got you so shook up?”
“No,” I said, my voice a final answer.
We stood there in silence while I waited for her to give up and let go of my arm. But instead, she clamped her lips together—then said the last thing I would have expected.
“Okay, I have your terms. If you still want me to sign that other contract, I will.”
CHAPTER21
