And then she’d done something unexpected—rather than beat him, slap him, yell at him more like he deserved, like he wanted her to—she offered help.
And he’d wanted to take it.
Except she’d see it all. She’d see how much he still buried the pain.
And Nikki, being Nikki, would have stayed. She’d want to fix what was broken. She’d want to talk.
And dealing with it meant remembering it—all of it. It meant living through it again, and he wasn’t sure he could handle it. He had barely survived last time.
Hell, he’d barely survived sleeping with her.
Talking with her? It would mutilate him.
He needed to at least let her know that he was going to stay out of her way as much as possible—and that she’d get her wish.
It was just that the thought of walking out the door made the anger lessen and the sadness sink its hooks into his gut.
He inhaled. God, he could still smell her on his skin.
With a shudder, he closed his eyes and tried to calm himself.
“What’s he doing?” Nadine’s irritating voice pierced his concentration. “I had no idea our Brant was a man of faith!”
Or he could just be needing a minute so he wouldn’t strangle someone.
“Bet he is now, if what Bentley said about a certain someone working here has any truth to it,” Brock commented.
“Helpful,” Brant said through clenched teeth. “Look, why don’t you guys get settled in and we can meet for lunch?” Basically, give him five freaking minutes to regroup.
Nadine fluffed up her hair and grabbed Grandfather’s hand. “Well, it’s been at least two years since my first visit, and when I was here last it was all business because of the acquisition. Perhaps your grandfather and I will—”
Bentley made a choking sound and clapped. “All right, then!”
Nadine glared. “I was merely going to say we would—”
Brock coughed wildly into his hand. Jane patted his back. Margot smirked behind her hand.
Nadine crossed her arms and grinned smugly. “—get naked.”
Brant let out a groan. “You.” He shoved Bentley toward them. “You deal with this. I have somewhere to be.”
Bentley grabbed Brant’s arm. “Are you”—his eyes darted from left to right, likely searching Brant’s face for any hint of crazy—“are you okay?”
“No.” Brant jerked away from his twin. “Would you be?”
“I have no clue,” Bentley whispered. “Since you never told me what happened, since you left me and the rest of the family in the fucking dark.”
Fresh guilt slammed into him wave by wave: the woman he ran away from, the family he didn’t rely on, the brother he refused to lean on.
“Later.” Brant choked out the word. “Can we talk about it later?”
“Yeah.” Brant didn’t miss the disappointment in his brother’s voice. “We can.” His eyes said that he doubted they ever would, because nothing had changed.
Yet Brant knew, as he clenched his fists and made his way toward the spa lobby—again: Everything had changed.
Because that was how life worked.
“Annie!” Thank God, she was at her desk without Cole lingering. “I need a favor.”
“Nope.” She tapped the computer keys and squinted at the screen. “Fresh out.”
“Annie.” Think, Brant. Think! Charm. Use your charm. “Can I call you Ann?”
“Call me Ann and I’m going to impale you with this pencil.” She snapped it between her fingers and then dropped the pieces onto the glass countertop. “Will that be all, Mr. Wellington?”
He glared. “Threatening your superior?”
“Sleeping with the employees?” she countered sweetly.
“Bullshit,” he lied. “Wait…”
“I see those wheels turning.” She still wasn’t looking at him. “I’m the receptionist. I know everything.”
“It’s not what you think.”
Tap, tap, tap. “Uh-huh. Look, I’m kinda busy, so why don’t you go ruin someone else’s life like you did Nikki’s, mm-kay?”
“Fuck.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Everyone knows?”
“Not everyone.” Annie grinned just as one of the maids walked by with her cart. “Hey, Julie, did you know Mr. Wellington broke poor Nikki’s heart and left her in the elevator to die?”
Julie’s eyes widened and then narrowed before she marched off.
“Now everyone knows.” Annie smirked. “Doesn’t it say in the company manual—you know, right next to ‘No sleeping with the employees’—that communication within the company is encouraged?”