Page 22 of When Forever Comes

I shake my head. “Not unless you were the one who threw the cigarette into the trash.” West shakes his head no, so I continue. “From what the report said, the candle wasn’t lit. Mr. Henderson confirmed he came back into the office after you had left and the candle was out. None of that was your fault.”

West’s expression is unreadable.

“That’s a lie!” Brad shouts. Despite his harsh tone, fear fills his expression.

“Are you calling my dad a liar?” I ask Brad, anger building in my chest. My dad would never put his job as fire chief at risk.

“You’re lying to make this loser feel better,” Brad says.

I ignore Brad and his weak attempt at getting under West’s skin.

“I’m not lying. I can call my dad right now and have him confirm the story.”

“I trust you.” West reaches for my hand and envelops my fingers in his warmth. He gives my hand a quick squeeze and steps away, pulling his phone from his pocket and calling someone.

“This is unreal.” Brad throws his hands up in the air. “I came here to marry you, and instead you’re taking this loser’s side.”

“You keep calling him a loser, but he’s never been one. Just because he wasn’t part of your group of jocks doesn’t make him a loser. Not then, and certainly not now.” I cross my arms and arch an eyebrow.

“Thanks,” West says to the person on the other end of the line before he hangs up and tucks his phone back into his pocket. “Brad, I am going to tell you one more time — get out. You are not welcome at my resort or on this island. You can leave right now, or I can escort you off my island.”

“Yourisland? You’re joking, right? You made that up to look more important than you are.” Brad’s voice wavers, as if he isn’t convinced by his own explanation.

“Brad, give up. You’ve lost. Accept that and move on. You lost me when you slept with Lexi. There’s no coming back from that.” He doesn’t respond, so I ask him, “Why are you so obsessed with tearing West down? What did he ever do to you?”

Brad shoots a look at West, who looks as though he’s trying to fit together a mental puzzle.

“He’s dangerous, Liv.”

“How?” I ask, irritated.

“Do you know why he moved to Emerald Springs in the middle of the school year?” Brad asks.

I peek over at West, who stands at attention once again.

“They arrested him for assault.” Brad crosses his arms, as if he’s challenging West to fight back.

To my horror, West doesn’t say a word.

“Okay, Brad. Enough with the lies,” I say, fighting down the anxiety that there may be at least some truth to Brad’s accusations.

“Am I lying?” Brad directs his question to West.

“No.” West’s one word response has my mind reeling and my stomach rolling over.

I blink at West, questioning once again if my instincts about my best friend have been wrong for all these years.

“There’s an explanation, right?”

“Yes.” There’s no hesitation in West’s response. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes.” That single word spouts from my lips without my consent. In my bones, I know it was the right answer.

Brad sneers and I suddenly realize how ugly my ex is on the inside. “You’re many things, Olivia Swann, but I never took you for an idiot.”

West stalks over to Brad, who stares up at him, his nose raised.

Back in high school, Brad was always the guy with the biggest muscles, domineering other guys with his brawn. But now, West’s presence is more intimidating and powerful than Brad’s ever was.

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