Page 14 of Falling Into Forever
“Yeah, well, it seems we both have some shit to work through.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I widen my stance and rock back on my heels. Her face scrunches up even more.
Game on, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere. Not this time. I walked away from her once. Doing it again would destroy what’s left of my heart, so I will find a way to repair this for all of us.
Even as the idea plays in my mind, it’s already sinking into my soul as the truth, because I was always meant to be hers.
Her body shakes with pent-up energy. Anger is her default, always has been. It’s as much a defense mechanism as her sarcasm.
Why do you need a defense against me, Saylor? You pushed me away, remember?
But it’s not in her nature to make anything easy. I can almost see her processing information as she stands like a warrior princess who is all of five foot two. Her gaze darts back and forth like she’s reading, then every muscle in her face draws tight when she’s made a decision.
“What did you do?” she asks, and I’m happy to find that her curiosity overrides her emotions just like it used to.
The hitch in her voice is enough to tell me that somewhere, buried deep under all that rage, there’s a sliver of her that still cares for me. That knowledge electrifies the energy in my bones needed to fight, and the tension tightening my shoulders slowly unfurls. Seeing her standing here, and not in my dreams, makes breathing more difficult than it should be.
A truth I’ve refused to admit, even to myself, crashes into me as I stare at her. There’s never been a time when I’ve not been in love with this girl.
All this shit with Trent has been screwing with my head. When Kate called, I’d already been contemplating selling my business. I thought it was the only way to protect my family. I built an empire once—I could do it again. But this? With Saylor? This changes everything.
I couldn’t give up Ascendancy Inc. and still come for her. That’s my excuse for being here, anyway. Without Ascendancy, Kate would have no use for me. And while Kate thinks this is a job, it’s more for me. So much more. This is my do-over, and I won’t fuck this one up.
Lifting my arms in the air, I surrender to what will be a painful reunion. Chances are, she’s already seen me on TV yelling at Trent and Olivia, and that hurts.
Does she believe that’s who I am now?
Holding my palms toward the sky, I say, “Who the hell knows, Sayls? Can we call a truce in whatever war you have brewing in your head? Because I know there’s one in there. I have a lot of shit to get done in the next few days. I can’t do that while worrying my scary littlefriendwill slice my eyeballs out with her claws.”
Sadness bleeds into my words, and every muscle in her body pulls taut from her calves to her forehead, like she’s physically reinforcing her walls. Emotions and Saylor have never quite gotten along. But she’s always been able to drag wild ones from me, and for the first time in years, I feel like myself—the boy who would have sold his soul for this woman and the man who still will.
I became Dante Greer when I left this town. A hardened, asshole version of myself was the only way to survive. It was the one and only time Trent ever helped me.
I was practically carrying him out of the club when reporters shot out from the darkness, surrounding us like an angry mob. They wanted to use Trent’s inebriated state for clickbait but instantly became determined to find out who I was instead.
“What’s your name?”
“How do you know Trent?”
“Don’t give them your real name,” Trent slurs against my shoulder. “Nothing in Hollywood is real. Don’t give them that piece of you. You’ll never get it back.” Panic clears my mind, and it takes all my strength to hold him up.
“Who are you?”
“Um, I’m Dante. Er, Dante…Greer. Trent’s brother.”
It was the second time in less than a month that my life changed forever.
The day I left Saylor is the day I stopped believing that there was good in this world—until Poppy.
The day I saved Trent’s ass, and every day since, has shaped me into who I am today—a man fighting through life, longing for a love he thought was lost forever.
Saylor’s features soften as we stare at each other. Her sharp intake of air has me blinking out of the past, but her fists are clenched so tightly at her sides that her hands shake. She’s always had a war raging inside of her. It’s a sucker punch to my soul that she’s still fighting her demons.
“Saylor, please,” I whisper, but in my head, it sounds likeI love you.
I might be here to save her and my company, but staring at her now, I understand that my heart will never beat for anyone else.
Whatever she finds in my expression has her reacting less like a she-wolf, and she shakes her arms while flexing her fingers. It’s a small victory when she holds out her palm to shake hands.
“Truce,” she grumbles. “Just stay out of my way.” With our hands touching, she couldn’t quite keep the bite in her tone.
