Page 84 of Trust

“Did he give in just enough to make you believe it was possible?”

“Yes,” she whispered against the wind. “He’d say the loveliest things out of nowhere, and as much as I told myself it wasn’t possible…”

“A part of you believed it was because who in their right mind can ignore such tempting proclamations?”

“I started to love him, Cal.” Turning toward her sister, she felt a tear slip down her face. “As best as anyone can when the person isn’t yours.”

“And Zane…what did he feel?”

“Lust,” she replied firmly. “Because if it were anything more, he never would’ve let me go.”

“I’m gonna channel Grams for a second, so don’t get mad.”

Olivia let out a strangled laugh. “Hit me, sista, with your best shot. I am as ready as I’ll ever be.”

“There’s a difference between someone who is not actually choosing you and someone struggling to trust themselves enough to open their heart and be vulnerable. Maybe Zane is the latter and couldn’t get out of his own way.”

Feeling something that felt suspiciously like an arrow piercing her heart, she sucked in a breath. “That’s something I never considered.”

“Well, now’s as good a time as any to do just that.” Callie pushed herself to her feet. “I’ve got a couple more hours of work, so I’m gonna head in.”

“Thanks for the wise words, Callie.”

“Just remember Mom’s favorite mantra; you can’t screw up anything meant for you. If this thing with Zane is meant to be, then you’ll find a way to work it out.”

Olivia nodded and watched her sister trudge along the sand toward her house. All the over-the-top gestures she’d made Zane endure allowed her to believe that she was ready to open herself up to the idea of love. But that wasn’t the case at all.

She let fear corrupt her burgeoning feelings. The moment he announced he didn’t want any part of her chaos, she folded her emotional tent and kept her soft heart under lock and key as best she could.

But she hadn’t entirely succeeded, had she?

Her grumpy neighbor owned a tiny corner of her heart, and she had no idea how to get it back. Maybe she could simply demand he return it. Tell him in no uncertain terms she wanted no part of his…anything.

It’s not like he was some grand prize with his stupidly handsome face, indomitable grit, and heart that, if ever left to its own devices, could love down the world.

There were much better options, and she should start exploring them the minute she snatched her heart back from Zane. He probably didn’t even know he had it, so wresting it out of his grip shouldn’t take much effort. “What do you say, Bella? Should we go home and put our emotional house back in order?”

When she got nothing but a loud doggy snore, she lay back on the sand and put her hat over her face, thinking about what the next part of her life would look like.

When Zane’s handsome face kept popping up, she groaned. “Nope, not going to take it as a sign. It’s simply old programming, and all I have to do is make sure I come up with a fabulous new one.” With great concentration, she mentally replaced Zane’s face with Liam Hemsworth’s. He could be her new boyfriend. All she had to do was run over to Australia and find him.

How hard could it be?

TWENTY-THREE

It had been two weeks, and the loss of Olivia made the air around him feel stale and thick with loss. Zane pushed himself up, ran his hand over his scarred cheek, and let out a feral howl as the memory of one of Olivia’s suffocating hugs filled his mind. The window rattled in its casing, and he immediately flipped off the family ghosts. “Too damn bad. If you don’t like it, move on.”

Linc pushed the door open. “You ready to move on to phase two?”

“Didn’t know there’d been a phase one.”

“The trash cans rattling with glass bottles should’ve given you a clue.” He hitched his shoulder. “But then again, Army guys aren’t all that bright, so it’s not surprising.”

Zane bounded out of bed and was ready to pummel his cousin. The rage that filled his belly was welcome, and he guessed, if appropriately stoked, it could last the day.

He cocked his arm back and was about to throw a right hook when he noticed that Linc looked bored. “Put your damn hands up.”

“Nope. Not gonna do it.” He scratched his chin. “I can’t be fighting because I’ve got a date with my woman tonight. Got to keep this pretty face of mine bruise-free.”

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