Page 411 of His Virgin Romance Series

“I didn’t start from scratch,” I pointed out. “My father built up the empire halfway; I just took over from there.”

“And took it to greater heights,” she said. “Starting a resort in Hawaii was always a dream of yours, wasn’t it?”

“I… Yeah,” I nodded. “How did you know that?”

“You mentioned it to me once,” she said. “The last time we saw each other…at the family Christmas party six years ago.”

The Christmas party…I kept my expression calm, even as the memory came rushing back to me. I could almost smell the scent of holly and mistletoe.

“We kissed that night,” she said unexpectedly. “Do you remember?”

I sat there for a moment, blinking at her like an idiot. I had not expected her to bring up the kiss like that. There was no inflection in her tone, but her expression was studying, and I felt suddenly self-conscious. I remembered the day after the Christmas party. I had been staying at her parent’s house in the guest room, next to Jason’s.

When I had gone down for breakfast, Brie had been there, looking like sunshine. She had turned to me with expectation, and I had watched the joy fade from her face at my indifferent and uninterested attitude. I made a point of announcing to the whole table that I drank too much last night and couldn’t remember a thing that had happened.

A couple of hours later, I packed my bags, said goodbye to Jason’s family and drove off, while Brie stood on the porch steps next to her brother and parents, looking hurt and disappointed.

No matter how hard I’d tried over the years, I’d never been able to get that last image of her out of my head. It haunted me to this day. Perhaps that was the reason I wanted to give her this trip; it was my way of apologizing. It was my way of making up for what could never be.

I forced myself to meet Brie’s eyes, knowing that I had to be convincing. “What kiss?” I asked with my eyebrows raised.

“You kissed me in the library of my parents’ house,” Brie said. “The Christmas party was raging in the other room, but you pulled me away so that we could be alone.”

I wrinkled my brow, as though I were struggling to remember the moment. Then I laughed. “Are you positive this happened?”

Brie didn’t laugh; she didn’t even crack a smile. “A hundred percent.”

“Well, then… I must have been really drunk that night,” I said casually. “Because I can’t remember a thing.”

Her eyes were cold, and I could sense the same hurt that had engulfed her six years ago. While a selfish part of me was happy she still cared, another part of me knew I needed to hurt her a little now in order to spare her more hurt somewhere down the road. My lifestyle wasn’t suited for long-term relationships. I wasn’t suited for long-term relationships. And, Brie was not some random girl in a club.

She was my best friend’s sister. If I got involved with her only to neglect her later in the relationship, it would effectively end my friendship with Jason, and I just couldn’t take that risk. Denying the memory seemed like the easiest way to spare Brie from unnecessary entanglements—and to spare myself from unnecessary temptation.

“You weren’t drinking that much,” she said.

I shrugged. “I’ve kissed a lot of different women in my life, Brie,” I said, hating myself for appearing so flippant and uncaring. “I don’t remember half their names. Sometimes even their faces blur together.”

I saw her cringe a little, and I didn’t blame her. “In any case, you’re Jason’s sister,” I continued. “If we did actually kiss… I think it’s better that kiss stay in the past where it belongs.”

She looked intense for a moment and then in the next breath, she seemed to relax. “You’re right,” she nodded. “It was obviously a meaningless kiss, anyway.”

I pushed back my disappointment and nodded. “Right…”

“I’m sorry for bringing it up,” she said.

“No, not at all.”

“I should get to my room; I’m exhausted.”

“Of course,” I nodded, standing up to walk her to the door. “I’ll be a little busy the next few days, but if you need anything at all, please feel free to ask my staff.”

“Thank you, Seth.”

Alani turned towards both of us when I opened the door, ready to escort Brie to her suite. Brie turned to me for a brief second. Her light blue eyes looked a little conflicted, but then she gave me a small smile and turned away from me.

I watched her leave with Alani, remembering the perfect kiss we had shared and all the little pearls of hope that had come with it. That hope was gone now; all I had left was the memory.

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