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everything but its bass reverberations. Evelyn s lips moved, but he
didn t catch a word. He didn t care. If it didn t involve escaping this
room and getting to the woman upstairs as soon as possible, he didn t
give a fuck.
It s over, Evelyn. The statement sounded final even to his own
ears, and it brooked no further discussion. There is no going back.
And I don t want to. I ll walk you out.
He strode forward, and with a light but unyielding grip, guided
her toward the study door.
It s her, isn t it? she snapped, jerking her arm from his hold. A
sharp bark of laughter pierced the room as her lip curled in a humor-
less smile. It s always been her.
He frowned. What are you talking about?
Give me some credit, she retorted, bitterness lacing the words.
Did you believe I didn t know there was always someone else?
What are you talking about? he repeated, baffled. He held his
palms out as if emphasizing his cluelessness. I never cheated on
you.
Right, she scoffed. I slept with another man, but he didn t have
my heart. Yet, then again, I never had yours. Not completely. In some
ways, your infidelity was worse. When he shook his head, she emit-
ted another of those abrupt cracks of laughter. I noticed the way you
watched her, Xavier. Ever solicitous of your brother s fiancée. Always
attentive. God, I was such an idiot.
Again shock paralyzed him. Her accusations bounced against his
skull like a demented ping-pong ball. Jesus. Had he withheld part of
himself from Evelyn the four years they d been together? He hadn t&
Yes. He had. For more than half his life, Gwendolyn had been an
integral presence. First as a little sister, then as a friend, and finally&
finally as the woman who had healed his soul with her loveliness,
laughter, and light.
Damn. He rubbed a hand over his face and curved it around the
back of his neck.
Gwendolyn had become entrenched in his heart as a nine-year-
old child, and as she d grown, she claimed a bit more. And then a bit
more. Until he couldn t seem to remember a time when she hadn t
owned a piece of him.
100
Naima Simone
He lifted his gaze to Evelyn s face, drawn in tight lines of anger.
I m sorry. I didn t realize.
Is that supposed to make it better? She made a sound of disgust
and waved his apology off. I don t need your I m sorry. I walked
into it with my eyes wide open, believing we could be happy. And we
would have.
Maybe for a little while, he conceded gently. But not indefi-
nitely. In the end, you would ve been hurt far worse. And hated me
for it.
I was willing to take that chance.
Silence loomed between them as they faced each other, former
lovers, almost life partners. The past weighed heavily, and he was
ready to shut the door on it and go to the woman who was his future.
It s ironic, Evelyn murmured. Neither of you realized how the
other felt, and yet you somehow ended up together anyway.
He stiffened. Shit. He felt like he d woken up in an alternate uni-
verse, where every time he turned around, another revelation kicked
him in the teeth.
Explain.
She hesitated, as if she considered refusing his demand. After sev-
eral tense moments, the stubborn set of her mouth softened, and she
sighed. Her lashes lowered until only a narrow blue strip remained
visible. The night Joshua died, I overheard him and Gwendolyn.
She& Evelyn paused, cleared her throat, then continued. She broke
off their engagement
She what? He hadn t heard right. He couldn t have. Gwendo-
lyn had never mentioned calling the wedding off.
Evelyn nodded and met his gaze. She broke off their engage-
ment, she repeated. Joshua erupted, called her names. Accused her
of loving you, and she didn t deny it.
Oh God, he whispered, his breath a harsh razor over the lining
of his throat even as a fist tightened, shutting off all air to his lungs.
Like a drunken sailor, he spun around and lurched toward the closed
door. He gripped the knob, twisted it, and flung the door open.
Let yourself out, he tossed over his shoulder as he crossed the
foyer and bound up the stairs at a dead run.
101
Chapter Ten
The minutes seemed to tick by like hours. Logic reasoned that
twenty-three Gwendolyn glanced over at the gold-framed clock on
the bedside table twenty-four minutes had passed since she d left
Xavier with Evelyn. But it might as well as have been an eternity.
After the first ten minutes, she d abandoned her vigil on the win-
dow seat. Evelyn s sleek Aston Martin parked in the circular drive
hadn t moved, and every second it remained impelled Gwendolyn
closer and closer to the edge of paranoia.
Her imagination had supplied several scenarios, each one worse
than the last.
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