Page 30 of Centre Stage

Andi offered him a small smile. “That’s all it is...a stupid infatuation. Once you got me out of your system, you would go back to being Declan Walsh, Irish rock god in the making where women would get wet the moment you started to sing and I can’t ...I don’t think I’d survive it. This was a terrible idea.”

Declan knew the moment Andi was going to walk away from him and panic surged through him. He needed to tell her that there would never be another woman for him, that any woman he had slept with over the years had paled in comparison to her, that when he looked at her, he saw his future and he had never stopped loving her even when he told himself that he didn’t deserve it.

Andi made to pass by him, her eyes filled with tears but Declan snapped out his hand and caught her roughly on the arm. “Don’t walk away from me, Andi. Not again. Don’t you fucking dare.”

Declan was fully aware that the entire room had fallen silent, even the music had stopped and were now watching them. Both JJ and Oliver Scott made to come forward but they stopped when they took stock of whatever dark look was stamped on his face.

“Let go of me, Declan.” Andi’s voice was calm, emotionless and he knew she was asking him to let her go, to leave her alone and he couldn’t do that.

“I can’t do that, Andi. I let you walk away once and I refuse to do it again. I can’t.”

Andi yanked her arm out of his grasp, her eyes darting around in embarrassment as she realized everyone was watching their interaction and she looked dejected, and he knew he was to blame for it and he hated himself for it.

He opened his mouth to apologize, to ask her to talk, to go to some quiet place, just the two of them, and get everything off their chests. He never got the chance to because out of nowhere, a fist connected with his jaw and knocked him to his knee, pain blooming in his face as Declan glanced and saw the enraged face of his best friend whose lips were curled in a vicious snarl.

“Don’t you fucking put hands on my sister!”

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