Page 51 of Bleeding Hearts Duet

“But you can do that,” I whispered.

It wasn’t a question.

“As much as I admired him, his choices ended up costing him everything. It motivated me to take a different path.”

“Well, it worked.” I tangled my legs up in his and nuzzled against his chest, comforted by the vibrations as he spoke. I liked that he was opening up to me if only a little.

“Are you happy?”

“What do you mean?” he looked down at me.

“I mean with your life. Are you happy with the way things turned out?”

Something strange passed over his features, and he tightened his grip on me but tore his gaze away.

“Happiness is an illusion, Brighton. It’s only something people think they can have. It’s fleeting. It can be taken away at any moment.”

My grip on him tightened too, and I wasn’t sure why.

“If that’s true,” I whispered. “Then what’s the point?”

He didn’t answer. I didn’t expect him to.

I changed the subject.

“Why did you pretend like you didn’t remember me?” I asked. “The first day I saw you again.”

This time, he didn’t hesitate to answer. “I thought it would be easier for you.”

“How?”

His eyes found mine again, and I had to remind myself to breathe. It was so easy to get lost in those blue depths. To feel like this was where I belonged, wrapped in his arms.

“I didn’t want you to expect things from me that weren’t possible. Things a girl like you probably wants from a man. Things I can’t give you.”

I fluttered my eyes closed and focused on the beating of his heart.

It did exist. I knew he had one. So why was he making it sound like he didn’t?

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