Page 2 of Falling Into Forever
His smile shows off perfectly white teeth that never needed braces. He’s not like any other seventeen-year-old I’ve ever met. My grandmother would have called him an old soul because he sees more than most and has an innate need to fix everything and everyone. It’s that annoying people-pleasing gene. Ainsley has it too.
Maybe that’s what drew him to me, my brokenness. He thinks he’ll fix me. He believes he can fix the whole freaking world, and part of me almost hopes he can.
He’s more handsome than any movie star and has a heart too good for my bitter one. Dante Thompson is Hollywood style meets Prince William. He’s the perfect hero, with a strong jawline and eyes that can charm even the most poisonous snakes.
And then he’s there, behind me, while I’m still picturing him as the lead in a romantic comedy. His hands hook under my armpits and stop the inevitable crash as he lowers me to the net with a hug that makes everything okay.
Leaning down, his lips hit just below my ear when he says, “I’ve always got you, Saylor.”
I open my mouth to fire back a snarky remark I haven’t thought of yet, but Dante quiets the snark I can’t seem to control. He cuts me off with a gentle kiss. I’ll never get used to the butterflies he creates.
My heart trembles in my chest. Somehow, my soulmate found me before I had a chance to feel lost.
CHAPTER1
DANTE
Twelve years later
“I’m not selling, Trent. Not now, not next week, and definitely not to Playmore Inc. Do you have any idea how unethical the Playmore brothers are?”
His fist clenches on his thigh as he fidgets in his chair, but I turn my head to the wall of windows. The LA smog is as thick as ever. Leave it to my brother to bring that cloyingly suffocating air into my office with him.
“Marcus Playmore was the only one keeping that company from being truly bereft of morals, and now that he’s left, it’s gotten even shadier. I won’t do that to my company or my employees.”
Lena was right, and I’ve avoided acknowledging it for too long. Guilt, the dirty motherfucker, steals my breath as my mind springs into action. What facility can I get Trent into this time? What damage has he already done? What will Lena and Poppy need while he’s away?
My heart aches for Lena. She deserves so much more, and Trent has never treated her well. Poppy is the happy result of their union, and that kid stole my heart with her first breath.
Even as my thoughts run rampant with what I can do to stop this from happening to him again, one question plagues me. “Why are you pushing this?”
As I stare into a face that reminds me of my own, it’s clear—he’s using again, and I missed all the signs.Or you didn’t want to believe them, my traitorous conscience says bitterly.
Trent always had an excuse. He explained the bloodshot eyes and shaky hands as lack of sleep—the mood swings and erratic behavior, a change in meds.
And I was the idiot who believed him.
My gaze immediately falls to the photos on the corner of my desk.
Saylor and me.
Trent and me.
Poppy.
I allow myself one moment to linger on the photographs. Maybe I wasn’t meant to save either of them, but I can save his little girl. My gaze drifts to the photo of his daughter and back to Saylor—one is a smiling ray of sunshine who taught me to love again, and the other is the woman who taught me how much love can hurt.
Trent’s expression turns murderous when he notes me looking at the photos. Any time he comes into my office, he flips over the one of Saylor with a snarky remark about her being an idiot, but today, it’s the photo of his daughter that turns his eyes into black, unfeeling lumps of coal.
“You have to sell,” he seethes, and the vein in his neck bulges like a bodybuilder on steroids. “You’re going to sell because it’s a damn good offer. It’s plenty of money, Dante. It’s time to sell.” The sweat of desperation trickles down his forehead, and spittle collects in the corner of his lips.
“Ascendancy Inc. is not for sale. I’ve built this company from the ground up. It’s a legacy to leave our family.”
After losing Saylor, I was ecstatic to find out I have four half-siblings around the country—the family I’ve always craved but only ever had with her.
Shaking my head, I vanquish all thoughts of her. Those memories cause a longing I can’t deal with today. Right now, I need to focus on my brother.
Trent makes a disapproving sound in the back of his throat.
