I swallowed hard, shifting to fully face her.
“I fell for him those weeks we were together. When you were in Charleston. He was charming and smart and funny. He was everything I wanted in a man.”
My stomach filled with ice.
“And then he wasn’t.” She shook her head. “I should’ve noticed before. There were little signs that I ignored. And we were taking things slow because I knew I was falling too fast, but it was hard not to when he showed me everything I wanted to see. A wealthy man with a charming smile and a wry sense of humor. It all ended up being fake. He…” her voice trailed off, and I reached a hand out for hers, squeezing it in support.
“The point is,” she said, finally meeting my eyes. “What I thought he was, what I thought we had, it wasn’t real. It was all a fantasy he used to get me where he wanted me, and then he showed his true colors. He had the power to do that, so he did.” She sucked in a sharp breath. “What you have with Cormac? That is real. I’ve seen it. Hell, anyone could feel it when you two were near each other. Sure, you may fight. There may be obstacles. But that’s love. Real love. And that kind of love is worth everything.”
“I’m so sorry I didn’t know,” I said, wishing like hell I could track David down and throat punch him for the number he’d pulled on her.
“How could you?” she asked. “I kept it from you. I was…ashamed. I’d fallen for the mask he wore, the lifestyle he offered. It was stupid of me—”
“No,” I cut her off. “He’s the asshole,” I said. “Put the blame where it belongs.”
She nodded, glancing at me. “Cormac is one of the good ones, Bristol,” she said. “You know it.”
I blew out a breath. “I’ve always known it,” I admitted. “He drives me absolutely insane. Sometimes I legit want to slap him, but most the time I can’t breathe from loving him so much.”
“That’s something worth fighting for, don’t you think?”
A new energy filled my chest, my heart beating with the truth I’d been denying. The truth only my best friend could claw out of me.
“What if he shoots me down, again?” I asked, my voice almost a whisper. He’d done it so many times when this all started and even though I now understood where all those rejections came from—him being terrified of what was between us, the intensity of it—it still didn’t make me feel any better about what I knew I needed to do. The chance I had the power to give us…but would he take it? Or would it be too big of a risk?
“He won’t.”
“You sound so confident,” I said, smiling at her.
She grinned, shrugging. “Yeah, well, other people’s relationships I’m a genius with. My own? Not so much.”
“You’ll get there,” I said.
“Nope. I’ve sworn off men,” she said, tossing some of her hair over her shoulder. “Especially the rich ones.”
I pursed my lips, wishing I could heal what David had broken.
“When are you going out there to collect the last of your things?” She asked.
“I fly out tomorrow.” I took a long drink of my tea, my heart swelling with everything I’d kept buried since the Catskills. I loved Cormac, like really, really loved him. Loved him enough to battle him at every turn, match him passion for passion. Loved him enough to…
“And what are you going to do while you’re there?” Grace asked.
I swallowed hard, my heart racing against my chest.
“I have some calls to make,” I finally said, reaching for my phone.
Grace clapped, a squeal escaping her lips. I laughed, hugged her tight, then got to work.
The building in downtown Charleston smelled like brick and dust, but my eyes were glowing as I walked around the empty space.
Plenty of windows to offer natural light. Tons of room for renovations.
Perfect.
Well, if I could go through with it, that is.
“Bristol,” Cormac’s voice echoed throughout the vacant building, and I spun on my heels, the breath catching in my lungs at the sight of him.
God, he looked amazing, even with the purple under his eyes. All muscles and sharp eyes and…Cormac. It was simply him that had my heart racing.
“Hi,” I said, my voice cracking.
“You look good,” he said, his eyes trailing the length of my body as I slowly approached him. “Are you…good?”
I stopped an arm’s length away, my heart in my throat. “You look good too, Cormac,” I said, giving him the same appraisal he’d given me. Even with the weight between us, I could feel that connection sizzle like a livewire, felt that need pulsing in my core to reach out and touch him, lay myself bare to him. My heart wanted his, plain and simple.