The Wedding Pact Box Set - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,208

away.

“Blair, darling. Please. I’m begging you.”

A couple of hours weren’t going to make much difference at this point. And she supposed she owed him this. “Fine. Now I have to get ready.”

He moved closer and put his hands on her shoulders, searching her eyes. “I’ll make this up to you, I swear.” He leaned down to give her a kiss. She turned her head, and he planted it on her cheek. “If you call it off, I’ll be devastated. But don’t leave me for him. I don’t want that asshole to hurt you twice. So please, when you see him today, ask him if he came to see me at the hospital yesterday. When he says yes, you’ll know I’m telling the truth.”

“Neil.” She didn’t have time for this.

“It will be proof that I’m telling you the truth about him. You know he and I aren’t friends. Why else would he come to see me?”

She scrunched her eyes closed. She wasn’t sure how much more stress she could take.

He kissed her temple, his lips lingering as his hands slowly slid down her arms. “Thank you for listening.” Then he turned around and walked out the door.

She couldn’t help noticing that his plea hadn’t included any heartfelt professions of love. But that’s what she wanted, right? Emotions were messy things to add to the mix. They broke hearts, caused fights. Last night was proof enough of that.

Maybe she was better off spending her life alone.

Chapter Nineteen

Garrett walked into the office of Sisco, Sisco, and Reece looking like a defeated man. And while that was exactly how he felt, he couldn’t let his client see him that way. Especially after Brian Norfolk had accused him of letting Blair win because he wanted to get into her panties.

The receptionist called Blair’s assistant for him, and a minute later, Melissa opened the door. She studied him for a good long moment, no doubt taking in his swollen lip, then stood to the side and motioned him into the hall. “Do you want a room to prepare?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. He needed to clear his head and get his shit together, but all he really wanted to do was go home and lick his wounds.

She led him to the small room he’d used before, but rather than leave him there, she followed him in and shut the door. His head jerked up in surprise.

She stood in front of the closed door and lifted her chin. “Do you love her?”

“What?” That was probably the last thing he’d expected her to ask.

“Do you love her? It’s a simple question with a simple answer. Yes or no.”

He nodded, feeling the first spark of hope since last night. “Yes. Definitely yes.”

“Did you cheat on her when you were together?”

Her assistant was asking him personal questions that she had no right asking. They were both crossing a line if he answered, but he was desperate, and besides, he could tell that she was much more to Blair than just an assistant. “No. I swear to you, I didn’t.” He ran his hand through his hair. And just like that, he found himself telling Melissa the whole sordid story.

She just stood there and listened, nodding in all the right spots.

“The worst part was when I found out why she’d picked a fight with me that night,” he finished, his voice choking. He looked up at her with tear-filled eyes. “Her father had just died.”

She closed her eyes and released a soft groan. They stood in silence for several seconds before she opened her eyes. “She said she broke off the wedding.”

More hope flooded into his battered heart. “She did?” Though he’d watched her toss the ring into the pool, he’d worried she would second-guess her decision in the cold light of day.

“But Neil’s in her office with her right now, trying to get her to change her mind.”

He tried to bolt for the door, but she blocked his path. “Stop. You know that’s not the way to get to her.”

He backed up, scrubbing his hand over his head. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Blair doesn’t fall for bullshit, but for some reason she has blinders on for him. I think she sees him as safe.”

“He’s not. There are sides to him you don’t know about.”

“I’ve suspected as much. But there’s another threat you don’t know about—one that might encourage her to go through with the marriage anyway.” She paused until she knew she had his attention. “The partners are considering offering her partnership, but it