Devney stilled. “He’s here?”
“Yes. We had quite an illuminating conversation.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me?”
“You needed time to figure out what you really came here for.”
“I—” Her throat tightened, words tangling with emotion. “Why would you let me sit here when he was so close?”
“Because, my dear,” came the reply, “sometimes the hardest truths need space to settle. And sometimes…” Her gaze drifted toward the door where he had disappeared, “they need the right moment to be heard.”
“You talked to him?”
The older woman’s eyes sharpened with understanding. “Yes. About mistakes. About trust. About what truly matters when empires crumble.” She patted Devney’s hand. “He’ll find you when he’s ready,” Eleanor said. “Andrew will keep him occupied for now.”
The realization that they had both traveled to this place, seemingly drawn by the same unseen connection, felt impossible—too coincidental to be mere chance.
“Why would he come here?”
“Perhaps because some things are too important to leave unfinished. You both came seeking answers. Maybe it was for the same question.”
Eleanor rose from her chair. “Now, I believe I’ll go check on the men. Business negotiations can make Andrew irritable if they drag on too long.”
“Wait—” Panic seized her. “What should I say to him? I came all this way to talk to Andrew. I have no idea what to tell Ronan.”
“The truth, my dear. It’s the only thing worth building on.” Then she was gone, leaving Devney alone with the crash of waves and a decision to make.
The truth was simple, but saying it felt terrifying. That she had fallen in love with him during their charade.
But the deepest truth—the one that had pushed her across the sound on a crowded ferry and through the winding streets ofthe island in an overpriced taxi—was that she couldn’t live with having walked away. Couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him to deal with the fallout alone. She created the mess. She had to be the one to try to fix it.
A sound behind her made her turn. The French doors swung open, and there he stood. He looked tired. The lines of his suit rumpled, his hair mussed as if he’d run his hands through it countless times. Dark circles shadowed his eyes—eyes that fixed on her with an intensity that made her breath catch.
She stood, ready to face him.
Neither spoke as he crossed the veranda to stand before her, close enough that she could catch the scent of his cologne, see the tension in his jaw, the pulse beating at his throat.
“You’re here,” he said, his voice low and trembling with emotion.
Two words. One heartbeat.
“Yes. I came to fix what I broke. The deal. The company.” She paused. “Your trust.”
“How did you get here?” he asked. The question seemed oddly important to him.
“Ferry. Then taxi.” She gestured vaguely toward the island. “It took a while, but I made it.”
A muscle twitched in his jaw. “You crossed the sound. On the ferry.”
“It wasn’t that bad.” A lie. The trip had been a blur—anxious hours spent staring at the horizon, her mind racing with every outcome, her heart pounding louder with each passing mile.
“Why?” he asked.
The moment stretched between them, thick with possibility and fear. Eleanor’s words echoed in her mind. The truth. It’s the only thing worth building on.
He took a step closer, his voice low and intense. “The deception was mine, Devney. From the beginning. I created thismess because I didn’t trust my own work—or you—to be enough. I put you in an impossible position.”
“And I broke your trust to protect my pride. I was so scared of what people would think, of them cheapening what felt so real.”
