“You didn’t run,” Anika says firmly. “You survived.” She pauses. “After my accident,” she continues, quieter now, “I moved here because I couldn’t face going back to my own place. Being alone in it.” She exhales slowly. “Sebastian was here most of the time anyway, so it made sense. But if I didn’t have Ray . . .” She trails off, shaking her head. “I don’t know what I’d have done.”
I smile faintly. “You two argue like siblings,” I say, trying to lighten the mood.
She grins through the remnants of tears. “Yeah, we do.”
Something she said earlier comes back to me. I hesitate, then ask, “What did you mean before, when you said he promised?” Her smile fades slightly. “What did Ray promise you?”
“He promised he’d never storm off during an argument,” Anika says quietly. “But if I asked him to leave, he would. It was his idea,” she continues. “After the accident, I struggled. I needed control and lashed out a lot.” She gives a small, sad smile. “When you yell at someone and they want to walk away but you can’t follow them, it’s frustrating.”
I nod in understanding.
“And sometimes you need space,” she adds. “But the other person won’t give it to you. I can’t exactly walk out, can I?”
“It makes sense,” I say softly.
There’s a small pause before she studies me. “Does he know about Josh?”
I shake my head. “No. I was going to tell him earlier, but . . .” I exhale slowly. “I pulled away last night. Pretty quickly. It annoyed him.”
Anika tilts her head slightly. “He’s not annoyed,” she says. “He’s hurt.”
I frown. “He didn’t look hurt this morning.”
“He wouldn’t,” she replies. “Ray doesn’t do hurt. He does anger.” Her voice softens. “He can’t handle rejection. Not after the way we grew up.” Her words settle over me. “He likes you,” she adds. “More than he wants to admit.”
I shake my head instinctively. “I don’t think so. He made it pretty clear this morning that it was a mistake.”
“Was it?” she asks gently. “For you?”
I busy myself helping her into a fresh top, threading her arm through the sleeve.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I mean, I liked being with him.” My cheeks warm slightly. “More than liked it.” She smirks faintly. “But then I thought about Josh,” I continue, “and the guilt just hit me.”
Anika’s expression softens. “Wynter,” she says gently, “Josh isn’t here anymore. You haven’t done anything wrong.”
“It feels like I have,” I whisper.
“Then tell Ray that,” she urges. “Explain it to him. He’ll understand.”
I hesitate. Because Ray Carmichael doesn’t strike me as a man who understands anything he doesn’t want to.
CHAPTER TEN
RAY
The date wasn’t bad. My only problem was that she wasn’t Wynter. Which is fucking ridiculous. One night with her, and now, she’s all I can think about.
So, I sat through dinner, listened to Heather talk about her father’s companies, nodded in all the right places, then I dropped her home and came straight back to the casino.
If I’m going to feel like this, I may as well do it somewhere familiar.
I’m halfway through a drink when I glance up, and there she is.
Wynter.
Sitting at the bar, talking to Joel.
Something in my chest tightens. A pull that I don’t fight. I move before I can think better of it, sliding onto the stool beside her. Joel nods at me and makes himself scarce.
