Page 56 of Her Every Fantasy

Arousal shot through me but I rolled my eyes nevertheless. ‘Promises, promises. Please, continue.’

‘You were the only one who was hung up about your weight. You know how many times I dreamt of you parking that delicious rump in my lap, gripping it while you rode my cock?’

Heat throbbed in my pussy and surged through my bloodstream. Dumb, I shook my head.

‘More times than we’ll both be able to count. But more than your body, rosebud, you made me laugh. You made me think. You made me strive to be more than just another Mortimer going through the motions until it was time to cash in my trust fund and fritter away my life on the French Riviera. Hell, you even made going home bearable because I knew you would be at the end of the phone if and when I needed you. That was worth more to me than pushing our friendship further in case I was left with nothing.’

It was a huge struggle to pick my jaw up from the floor. ‘God, Bryce.’ My voice shook with the power of the emotion he’d evoked inside me. Pain tore through me. I opened my mouth to say something, maybe even did, but he was talking again, words I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear spilling from him.

‘If that’s pity I hear in your voice, we’re going to have a huge problem.’ His voice was a dark rumble.

‘It’s not. It’s...’

His eyes narrowed. ‘What?’

‘I just wish I’d known.’

He shrugged. ‘Maybe it was better that way.’

‘You speaking for both of us now?’

Hazel eyes slanted to me, daring me to contradict what he’d said. ‘Am I wrong?’

‘You’ve just laid a heavy load on me, Bryce. Do I get a minute to process it all?’

He stood abruptly, gathered the food we’d barely touched. ‘Don’t overthink it, rosebud. We’re older. Wiser. Whatever. This agreement we’ve got going on works just fine for me.’

This time when he walked away, I was too busy blinking away stupid tears to admire his wide shoulders. I wanted to get angry, because how typical of Bryce to lay a feast before me with one hand and yank it away with the other.

Too agitated to remain seated, I flung away the throw and stalked to the window, not turning when I sensed his return. For a minute or two he remained next to the sofa, then, like last time, he sauntered over.

‘Are you pissed off with me?’

‘You bet your arse I am. You take great relish in pointing out how wrong I was about you and then draw a line in the sand and walk off? I don’t get a chance to have a say?’

His eyes darkened. ‘What’s the point?’

‘What’s the point?Are you deliberately trying to be an arsehole?’

A muscle rippled in his jaw. ‘I’m not the same person I was back then. We can’t rewrite the past. And considering how blind it’s turned out we were to each other’s true issues, aren’t we just wasting our time?’

His words sucker-punched me into agonising silence. The kind that made me wonder if I could take another breath. As I watched him, it was clear his mind was made up. That realisation struck an ever-expanding fear inside me.

‘What if it’s my time to waste?’

He startled, then stared at me for so long and so hard I feared he could see right to the bottom of my soul. Could see and was still searching for more because what he’d seen wasn’t enough. He confirmed my fearsby shaking his head.

‘It’s up to you what you want to do. Just remember our little deal and don’t hightail it out of town before we’re done. I’ve had enough of that to last me a lifetime, thanks.’ The words were bitter but didn’t hide the lifetime of bleak pain behind them.

I let the words settle, swallowed a mouthful of wine before tackling it. ‘You’re projecting, Bryce. I only left once. What’s this really about? Your parents?’

His face tightened. ‘You left more than once. And we’re not talking about my parents.’

‘Why not? We never do. You bottle everything up inside and wheel it out when it’s convenient to push people away.’

He sent me a fierce scowl. ‘Rosebud, leave it alone.’

‘It’s kind of hard to. You wear your family’s dysfunction like it’s some badge of honour. As if being hurt and let down and getting a little fucked up over it is an island you can retreat to when things don’t go your way.’

---