Like a damned fool.

“Yeah. Sure. I’m happy. So relieved.” He forced a laugh and stepped away from the door. He averted his face and counted down the seconds until he could let go of the tight rein on his emotions. “I’m glad we got all of this figured out.”

“Okay.” She eyed him, her hand on the knob. “Are you—?”

He curled his hands into fists. “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be? You gave me everything I wanted from you, and now we’re done, with no hard feelings, like you promised. It’s perfect, really.”

She swallowed hard and blinked rapidly. “Right. Bye, then.”

The door closed behind her as she fled, and he dropped the act.

Covering his face with his hands, he let out a shuddering breath.

For a few hours in his long, lonely life he had thought he finally found someone who could love him. Who might be able to give him the life he never thought he could have. He’d even been willing to ignore his fear of marriage, and love, and all the shit that came with it, for her. Hell, he’d thought he could be loved.

Yet all it had taken her was one brief night in his arms, and a quickie at the beach, for her to realize the ugly truth about him…

He wasn’t worthy of being loved after all.

Chapter Seventeen

Anna blew her nose and leaned back against her bedroom door, her whole body aching from the harsh sobs she’d just let out. It had taken all of her control to not cry in front of Brett, and all of her energy to stand there, lying about not loving him anymore, just so he could walk away with a clear conscience.

And even worse?

He had actually believed her.

The absolute certainty in his eyes as she shoved the biggest lies she ever told down his throat had hurt. But he’d taken them in stride. For a second, she thought he might be upset. For a second, she thought maybe he would ask her not to give up on him. But then he had told her in no uncertain terms he’d gotten exactly what he wanted from her.

Sex.

Nothing more.

He didn’t even care.

A knock sounded at her door, and she groaned inwardly, swiping her hands across her cheeks. “Yes?”

“Are you coming back down?” Cole asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be down in a second.”

His feet shifted on the floor. “Are you crying?”

“No.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m laughing.”

“Let me in, damn it,” he demanded, rattling the knob. “Why are you crying?”

She pressed her lips together tightly. The last thing she needed right now was him questioning her. Making things worse. “Don’t be an idiot. It’s a wedding. Girls always cry at weddings.”

“Oh.” He snorted. “Well, finish up. They’re going to start serving dinner soon, and Chris wants you there for it.”

The last thing she wanted to do was go back down and face Brett again. To see his relief at being done with her. But…she wouldn’t miss her brother’s wedding because she was too much of an idiot to listen when everyone warned her away. “I’ll be right there.”

His footsteps retreated down the hallway, and Anna sighed.

She walked over to her dresser, squinting at her mirror image. Maybe she shouldn’t have looked at all. She couldn’t go down the stairs looking like an extra from the movie Carrie.

All of the magic the makeup artist had worked washed away with her tears, and there wasn’t a single cream or lotion in the world that could make her look human again.

But she’d go downstairs and smile anyway.

She owed that much to Christopher and Nina.

Then, afterward, she could cry herself to sleep. Or drink a bottle of wine till she forgot how upset she was. Either one. Or, you know, both.

Whatever it took to forget all about Brett.

She cleaned off the mascara that had crept down her cheeks, patched up the rest of her makeup, and headed downstairs reluctantly. It didn’t take long for Anna to spot Brett. He sat at the bar, alone, with a glass in between his thumb and forefinger. He twirled it absentmindedly. As she watched, he took a long sip and set it down.

Reaching up, he loosened his bow tie and left it hanging off his neck. A woman Anna didn’t recognize sidled up next to him and leaned close, whispering something in his ear. He lifted his head, said something in return, and looked at Anna.

He met her eyes with a piercing stare, letting her see behind his mask.

And it hurt.

He looked like he was in pain, which didn’t make sense, since he’d gotten what he wanted. Hadn’t he? She clenched her fists and took a step in his direction, but stopped herself. She couldn’t keep doing this. Couldn’t keep running to his side to save him whenever he needed someone. When she didn’t come another step closer, he turned back to the woman, said something, and then walked away.

Tags: Diane Alberts A Hamilton Family Billionaire Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net