Page 176 of Toxic Temptation
The whiskey burns going down, but it doesn’t erase Waylen’s accusing stare when I turn back around.
“Want my advice?” he asks.
“No.”
“Too bad. You’re getting it anyway.” He crosses his arms. “If you do nothing, Vesper will eventually leave. She’ll go back to her ninety-hour weeks and her empty apartment. And because she’s beautiful and amazing, she’ll meet someone else. Some nice, boring guy who’ll treat her right.”
“Good,” I lie.
“Is it? Because once you let her go, there’s no taking it back. So ask yourself this: Can you handle watching her marry someone else? Having another man’s kids? Growing old with him while you’re still jerking off to memories of one night together?”
The images ricochet into my brain before I can stop them.
Vesper in white, walking toward another man.
Vesper pregnant with someone else’s child.
Vesper in another man’s arms while I rot away alone.
My hands clench into fists.
“Yeah.” Waylen nods when he notices. “That’s what I thought.”
I turn away from him and gaze out the window, where Vesper and Luka are throwing a ball back and forth on the lawn. “What exactly are you suggesting I do?”
“Make a choice. Either tell her straight that, when this custody thing ends, you’re done. Disappear from her life completely and let her find someone who deserves her.”
“And if I can’t do that?”
“Then your only other option is to tell her how you feel. Be her person. Keep her safe and make her happy. Stop being a coward and step the fuck up.”
I run a hand through my hair, suddenly exhausted. “I thought you hated me.”
“I do.”
“Then why push me toward your sister?”
Waylen’s scowl softens slightly. He looks older than his years, tired in a way that goes bone-deep. “Because I know Vesper. She won’t be satisfied with ordinary. She’s a surgeon—she craves adrenaline, challenge. You’re strong enough to handle her career and her personality. You’re also powerful enough to protect her.” He pauses. “And if there’s a chance you actually care about her the way I think she cares about you… then her happiness matters more than my personal feelings.”
“Is this you giving me your blessing?”
His smile disappears. “Don’t push it, asshole.”
I can’t help but grin. “You work for me and you want me to marry your sister. Maybe you like me more than you admit.”
“Nobody said anything about marriage,” he snaps. “I’m just calling it like I see it.” He rubs his face. Then he adds, “Just don’t hurt her, okay? That’s all I’m asking. That’s the only thing that matters to me.”
Yeah,I think to myself.Same.
But what if the damage is already done?
62
VESPER
According to the clock in the hallway, I’ve been standing outside Kovan’s office door for twelve very long minutes.
Twelve minutes of staring at mahogany wood and brass handles while my palms sweat and my heart hammers against my ribs like it’s trying to escape.
