Love Triangle Six Books of Torn Desire - Willow Winters Page 0,469

a good man. He’s done nothing but make me a priority, and I’ve done nothing but piss on his affection in the hopes that the promises Drew made would come to fruition.” I shake my head.

“I can’t do this anymore. Wes and Drew cannot coexist in my heart. The memory of Drew’s words, of hearing him tell me he loved me as he gave me one of the most intense orgasms I’ve ever had, still tortures me. And he was too drunk to even fucking remember.”

“But—”

Instantly, the sound of glass shattering rings from behind me. I whirl around, my heart plummeting to the pit of my stomach when I see Drew standing on the back deck. The remnants of a wine glass are broken around his feet, red wine dripping down the stairs.

His mouth is agape, his eyes wide, his legs frozen in place. Everything is still, no one moving as we all stand there, shocked, my truth lingering in the air.

His voice is quiet when he finally speaks. “I thought you might want a glass of wine.” As much as I’d love to believe otherwise, his expression makes it obvious he heard enough to know what happened all those years ago.

I snap out of my shock and look at Molly. “I’ll let you get back to your dinner, but now you know why things are the way they are.” My gaze floats to Drew. “Why they need to be the way they are.” Then I hurry up the steps, narrowly skirting Drew’s hand, and rush inside the house, Gigi meeting me when she sees my bewildered expression.

“Is everything all right, dear?” She steps in front of me, placing her hands on my arms.

“I’m suddenly not feeling very well. I need to go home.”

“Of course,” she says, dropping her hold on me. I push past her, grateful she doesn’t press the issue for once. Just as I’m about to disappear out of the house, she calls, “You can’t run from love forever.”

I pause in my steps, looking over my shoulder.

“It’ll find you. It always does.”

“Please, Gigi,” I beg. “Now is not the time for yet another one of your pearls of wisdom.”

“On the contrary. Apparently, now is the perfect time. The ones we love the hardest are the ones we hurt the most. He lost you once. Don’t think for a second he’ll make the same mistake again.”

“I can’t do this right now,” I choke out and hurry away. Emptiness settles in the pit of my stomach as I rush out of the house, considering Gigi’s words. What does she know? Was she listening in on my conversation with Molly?

As I dart down the steps and stride toward my car, my focus is elsewhere. I come to an abrupt stop when I practically slam into Drew as he stands by the driver’s side door, his arms crossed, his stance wide.

Avoiding his eyes, I try to push him aside. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get home.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” The pain in his voice forces my gaze to his. But that hurt is no match for the agony covering his entire body, his muscles tight, his stare filled with betrayal. He’s barely holding it together. Just like me.

My stomach hardens as I part my lips, searching my brain for what to tell him. There were so many times I wish I’d been truthful with him about that night, so many times I almost did tell him. But I reminded myself keeping it a secret was the right thing to do. He just found out he was going to be a father again. What if I told him the truth and he abandoned Carla to pursue something with me? Worse, what if I told him and he still chose her? At the time, I had no reason to believe otherwise. I still don’t.

With a quiver in my voice, I peer into his eyes. “You couldn’t remember. I just wanted to forget. So please, Drew…” I swallow hard through the excruciating pain in my throat, in my chest, in my heart. “Let me forget you,” I finish with a sob, pushing past him and opening the door to my car.

“I can’t do that,” he responds, his own voice filled with so much emotion, it cuts me in two. “I can’t let you forget me, not when I care about you the way I do.” His hand grips my bicep and I whirl around, staring at him with fiery eyes. He