On Dublin Street The Bonus Material - Samantha Young Page 0,10

only because he’d been blinded by her, but because in the end he’d married a woman he lusted after more than he loved.

And now Elodie had been there for him again when he finally couldn’t hold it together anymore. For the first time since his father had died, Braden shed silent tears while Elodie stroked his back and offered him her counsel. Growing up, Braden had had no one. It was a lonely childhood with a negligent mother who didn’t love him and a controlling father who had no time for him until he’d reached his teens.

Then Ellie had come along when he was seven. Elodie had tried from the very beginning to be kind to him, but he was wary of women because of his mother. Ellie was a different story altogether. As soon as Douglas had impatiently put a baby Ellie into Braden’s young arms and introduced her as his little sister, Braden had claimed her as his family. His only family. From that point on he’d been there to teach her, to protect her, and to love her. She was one of his best friends. His mission in life had been to watch over her, shielding her from the world’s hurt, shielding her from their father’s indifference. And she loved him with a pure and utter adoration that an unloved young boy had needed. He truly believed Ellie and Adam had saved him. Moreover, over the years, Elodie’s unwavering affection toward him broke through Braden’s protective armor, and he had more to thank Ellie for—for giving him Elodie, and eventually Clark, too.

Els was a part of him. She was in his blood, in every breath— a basic, essential part of his very being. The thought of losing her was agonizing. But he had to be strong for her, because as terrified as he was, he knew she must be a million times more so.

With Elodie, he could finally break. They could break together.

Braden Carmichael was not a man to shed tears, nor a man who easily let his emotions show. He had too much of his father’s arrogant pride in him. But he wasn’t embarrassed to shed tears with Elodie. Not for Els.

After he’d wiped the tears from his face, he’d told Elodie in a hoarse voice everything that happened with Jocelyn. He didn’t have to say it out loud for her to know that his heart was shattered. The pain Analise had caused him with her defection was nothing compared to the furious grief Jocelyn’s retreat had caused.

Then as they talked it over, as Elodie gave him her perspective, the emotions of the day began to grow calmer, and Braden saw everything that little bit more clearly.

He’d been right the first time with Jocelyn. She loved him. He knew that deep in his bones. There was no way he could feel so much for her and not have that reciprocated. It was the kind of love that could only come with truly knowing someone, and Jocelyn wasn’t the kind of woman that let anyone truly know her unless she loved that person.

She loved Ellie.

She loved him.

So gone was the loss and back was the pure anger.

Anger he had to keep tight to his chest for a little longer so he could make sure his sister got through this bloody awful day.

Quietly, trying his hardest not to look at the grief etched into Jocelyn’s sleeping, beautiful face, Braden walked over to his sister’s side of the bed. Unfortunately, his eyes strayed to his girlfriend (he would not call her his ex-girlfriend) as she clung to his sister in her sleep.

Compassion nudged at the ache his chest.

Jocelyn was too young to have lost so much. A mother, a father, a sister and a best friend. And now she was facing the possibility of losing another. It was ridiculous. It was a colossally sick joke. He got it. She was terrified. Terrified if she admitted she loved him and something happened to him, she’d be fate’s bitch all over again.

He got it.

So why didn’t she get that he loved her and he wasn’t going anywhere if he could help it. Why didn’t she get that right now his world was coming apart at the seams, too, and he needed her.

Pushing his frustration aside, Braden gently nudged Ellie awake.

Her eyes, eyes that matched his own, opened slowly and he tried not to inhale sharply at the redness in them, at the bleakness in the depths of them. Braden wished he