Page 160 of Brutal Heir
She hesitates, glancing back at her friend who’s ankle deep in the water giving her a thumbs up.
She bites her bottom lip, then sighs. “Just a walk.”
“That’s all I’m asking.” I hold out my hand again.
This time, she takes it, her cool fingers lacing with mine as we start down the sand, the waves licking at our feet. She’s cautious, holding herself with a wariness I don’t fully understand, but she’s still walking with me, letting me lead.
And as we continue our stroll, I can feel it. This is different. This isn’t just a summer fling, or a beach flirtation I’ll forget by the time I’m back at NYU.
No, this feels like the beginning of something that might just ruin me in the best possible way.
For a stupid nineteen-year-old, I’d been smarter than I thought.
I was right. Cat had ruined me that summer. She burned herself into my skin like a tattoo I could never scrape off, a sweet addiction I never wanted to give up. But in the end, I’d been the biggest idiot of all.
Because I walked away.
No, I didn’t just walk away. I ran. From her. From the promises we whispered under the Sicilian stars. From the future she’d trusted me to hold.
And now, seeing Alessandro with Rory, hearing that familiar Irish lilt echoing through our lives again, then stepping foot in Belfast, it was like a ghost had been resurrected. It cracked something wide open inside me. A door I’d slammed shut and locked a long time ago.
I blink, hard, shoving down the burn in my throat as I drain the rest of my whiskey. The fire does nothing to erase her face from my mind. That wild strawberry hair. Those sea-glass eyes that saw all of me.
Even if I could find her now, she’d never forgive me. Because I didn’t just walk away from Cat…
I abandoned the baby we made together, too.
Eek! I hope you loved Alessandro and Rory’s story and are excited for Matteo’s… It’s going to be a good one ;) You can preorder Wicked Devil now :) Can’t wait till then to find out what happens? Join my Patreon and follow along as I write the next story, chapter by chapter!
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While you’re waiting for the final story from the Ruthless Heirs, go back to Isabella and Raf’s story in Ruthless Guardian.
She was my assignment, now she’s my obsession...
Raffaele
Isabella Valentino is off-limits.
She’s young and naïve and most importantly, my new client.
I live by my rules; in my world, everything is about control.
That’s why I’m the best at what I do.
And rule number one: Never get involved with the principal.
But the woman is a force of nature.
Ignoring my rules and procedures, she’s intent on breaking every single one.
And my tethers of restraint grow weaker by the day.
Worse, I don’t want to fight it anymore.
Isabella Valentino is mine.
Isabella
