The Fixed Trilogy(Fixed on You, Found in You, Forever With You)(91)

He turned back to face me. “I wonder sometimes—if I’d let go of the businesses, divorced her when the kids were still young, could I have changed how they are now? But she would have gotten joint custody at the very least. And she may have messed them up even more, retaliating against me. It’s not an ideal situation, but it is what it is.”

Not an ideal situation—it was similar to what Hudson had said. No, it wasn’t ideal, but it was life.

In my small studio apartment, I left my suitcase standing by the door and collapsed on my bed. Tears came, long and steady. I couldn’t even say what I was crying for exactly. All I knew was that I hurt. I hurt from Hudson’s departure, for his unwillingness to open up to me. I hurt because the lines of our pretend and real relationship had become so blurred that I couldn’t tell the difference anymore. I hurt from Sophia’s words and hatred. I hurt for the mother she’d been to her son and for the brother Brian had been to me. I hurt for the things I’d done to Brian, for the things Hudson had probably done to his family.

Most of all I hurt because I was alone and in love. And that was the worst combination of things to be.

An hour had passed before I’d calmed enough to send the one text I’d promised myself I could. It was as harmless as I could come up with—a message that said all I dared to say, afraid more would scare him further away. “I’ll be here when you return.”

Not even thirty seconds had gone by after I pushed “SEND” when there was a knock on my door. We had a doorman in the lobby—only building occupants were allowed in without prior approval. But Hudson could pull strings, couldn’t he? He was the only person I knew with such power.

The hope that it was him, as weak of a hope that it was, propelled me to my feet and to the peephole.

The man in the hall wore a crisp black suit with a yellow tie. But the face didn’t belong to Hudson—it belonged to Brian.

I should have known it was Brian. His name was on the lease, he’d be allowed up. I pressed my face against the door and debated whether or not to let him in.

“Open up, Laynie.” Heavy banging on the other side of the door jolted my face from its resting position. “I know you’re in there. The doorman told me you came up.”

Fuck. He must have been staying in town—at the Waldorf, most likely. What the fuck was so important that he had to see me? Maybe I should have listened to his messages.

Reluctantly, I opened the door partway.

He pushed past me forcefully. He was angry. Probably because I’d been ignoring him.

“What are you doing here, Brian? Are you stalking me?” The joke made me smile even though Brian’s eyes only glowed hotter.

“You haven’t returned any of my calls.” I watched as Brian’s fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. I knew he’d never hit me—at least, I hoped he’d never hit me—but I’d seen him rage enough to punch holes in walls. Maybe it was a good thing his name was the primary on the lease instead of mine. He’d have to pay for any damage.

I shut the door and turned to face Brian with a fake smile. “Oh, did you call?” Innocent wasn’t usually the best tactic with Brian, but I was too exhausted for anything else. “My phone’s been dead and I’ve been out of town.”

“Yeah, I got that from your boss at the club.”

God, he’d even called David. What the fuck?

Brian ran a hand through his hair then took a step toward me. “You were with him, weren’t you?”

“Him, who?” But I knew he must have been referring to Hudson. That was the who I’d been with after all, and David had known that. But why Brian cared was beyond me.

Brian slammed his fist down on the top of my dresser. “Dammit, Laynie, don’t play games. This is serious.” He took a step toward me, his eyes narrow slits. “Hudson Pierce. Were you with Hudson Pierce?”

“Yes.” I crossed my hands over my chest. “And Jonathon Pierce, for that matter. And Sophia Pierce and Mirabelle Pierce and Chandler Pierce. At their Hampton house. Brian, what is your problem?”

His brows rose almost as high as his voice. “What is my problem? You are my problem. Always. Alayna, I saw you in the society pages—you’re dating him?”

Well, no. But I kept that to myself.

“You can’t date Hudson fucking Pierce. Do you know who he is? Do you know what he is?”

For the briefest of moments, my chest felt like it might burst. I had no idea how, but Brian knew about Hudson’s games with women somehow and was worried about me. I hadn’t felt concern from him in years. I didn’t realize how much I’d craved it.