Love Triangle Six Books of Torn Desire - Willow Winters Page 0,247

is he stopping?

Of the two of us, the idea that he might put a halt to things never entered my mind.

I clear my throat. “I shouldn’t.” My voice comes out as a husky whisper, and the questions in my mind are left unsaid.

He shakes his head, still avoiding eye contact. “No, you shouldn’t.”

“Neither should you,” I say, my tone more accusatory than I mean it to be.

“You’re right.”

I like being right, but in this case, I wish I wasn’t. An awkward beat of silence tenses between us. “I should go.”

“Wait,” he says, stopping me with a hand on my arm again. “I need to say something.”

We both stare down at his hand on my arm. “That’s what got us in trouble a few seconds ago.” I move my arm down so his hand falls, and then I edge past him and pick up my purse, slinging it over my shoulder and moving toward the door. I have to force each foot, one in front of the other, and not look at him again, because if I do, I don’t know what will happen.

“It’s not fair,” he says quietly as I reach for the doorknob. The pain in his voice is heartbreaking, even in its softness. “You were mine first, and I can’t stop thinking about you. Not even for a second since that night.”

I close my eyes, squeeze them shut like I’m trying to squeeze the words out of my head as if they never happened.

It doesn’t work.

The words float in the air between us. They land in my ears, twine through my auditory system, and envenom the nerve endings surrounding my brain until they become a part of me I’m sure I’ll never let go.

* * *

I cry the entire ride down the elevator.

How fucking dumb am I?

I walked out of Mark Ashton’s place for the second time. I didn’t even give him a chance to explain what he meant.

I can’t. It doesn’t matter how many times I repeat the same stupid shit in my head—I’m with Brian. I’m falling for Brian. Brian loves me. It doesn’t make anything better, doesn’t help me feel like I did the right thing. Doesn’t cure my broken heart.

At least I have my sunglasses this time, so I slip them on and cry as I wait at the valet station. I keep crying as I pay to get my car back and drive home.

His words replay over and over, like a song he might sing to me. It’s not fair, fair fair. You were mine, mine, mine first. I can’t stop, stop, stop thinking about you.

His brother was right.

The realization hits me with the force of a hurricane.

Mark’s saying the right things, doing what he can to charm me, to try to steal me away from Brian. This is just a game to him, but he’s using my emotions as his pawn, and that’s not fair to me.

“Hey, how was your ni—” Jill starts when she sees me walk in, but she stops short when she looks up at my tear-streaked, red, puffy face. “Oh my God. What happened?”

Seeing my best friend and all her concern only brings on another bout of sobs.

She tosses an arm around my shoulders and leads me over to the couch. “What did Brian do?”

I shake my head.

“Who did this?”

I inhale a shaky breath, and let out his name on another sob as I collapse on the couch. “Mark.”

She sits next to me. “That fucking asshole. What did he do?”

I love her. I love how she stands up for me without knowing the story. I love how she’s on my side no matter what. I shake my head. “Not like that. I think I love him.”

“Of course you do, babe. So do I. He’s Mark Ashton. Everyone loves him.”

“But Brian.” I swipe at the tears.

“You love Brian, too?”

I nod. “I think so.”

“Start from the beginning.”

I draw in another shaky breath. “I went to that dinner thing last night at Mark’s place but Mark was out of town. Then Brian got a call late last night, and he had to go to Houston right away. I stayed over because I drank wine all night. When I got up this morning, I was all alone in the penthouse. Then Mark walked in.”

“Oh, shit.” She’s sitting on the edge of the couch—like she’s on the edge of her seat as she waits for me to tell my story. “What happened?”

“He kissed me.”

“Oh my God, Reese!” She grips my wrist. “What does