“I have the money,” he said, cutting her off. With Wyatt’s boost, no doubt Wicked would be fully back on its feet in no time. And there was no way he was letting his kid go without something.
“Thank you.” She looked down at her hands. Took a breath. “I’m sorry, Jace. I know you must hate me.”
Her assumption was like a kick to the ribs. Did she really think that was possible? That he’d hate her over mistakes she made when she was a teenager? “You don’t have much faith in me, do you?”
She wiped her palms on her jeans, her whole demeanor going into retreat mode. “I need to go.”
“You don’t have to,” Andre said, leaning forward, forearms on his thighs. Jace could tell it was taking every ounce of Andre’s restraint not to scoop up Evan and comfort her.
Her gaze flicked to Jace.
But Jace couldn’t muster up the words to say what he wanted to. He loved her. Couldn’t imagine his life without her in it. But how were they supposed to start something meaningful when she believed he’d bail at the first sign of strife?
The kind of relationship they’d be entering into would require the ultimate trust—not just the D/s aspect, but a triad to contend with. A setup that would dissolve into jealousy, mixed feelings, and insecurity if all three partners weren’t completely confident in the bond they had. Right now, she wasn’t ready for that. She’d sabotage it. They’d destroy each other.
And the realization of what that meant he needed to do just about killed him.
“Tell us what you want, Evan,” Jace said, authority underlining his tone.
She glanced from him to Andre, then back to him, the turmoil behind her eyes like a raging spring storm. “I love you both. I want to be with you, but—”
Jace raised his hand, blocking the rest of her statement. “That’s enough.”
Andre sent him a what-the-fuck-are-you-doing glare, but Jace ignored it. Evan might walk out the door and never look back, but this was a risk he had to take. Otherwise, the three of them were going to build something on a foundation of silt. A little rough water and they’d go under in a blink.
Jace stood. “We all deserve better than ‘I love you, but.’ When you can take the qualifier out of that sentence, you let us know. And we’ll talk. Until then, I think it’s time for you to leave.”
Part of him wished she would dispute him. Stomp her foot and tell him there was no qualifier. They could sweep her up, kiss away her tears, and make her forget the pain of the last week. But the sag of her shoulders told him he hadn’t read her wrong. She wasn’t ready to give herself over completely to this, to them. Maybe would never be.Author: Roni Loren
And that flayed him. Made him want to chain her to his bed and spend the night convincing her otherwise. But he’d learned that love couldn’t be forced or commanded or even won. It was something that shouldn’t take convincing. It just was or wasn’t.
And for her, for now, it wasn’t. At least not fully.
So what could he do but let her leave?
Evan rose from the chair, her gaze on the floor. “I’m sorry, you’re right. You both deserve better than what I can give you right now.”
“Bella,” Andre protested when she headed toward the door.
Jace put a firm hand on Andre’s shoulder. “Let her go, Dre.”
Andre didn’t say anything else as they watched Evan walk away.
The front door shut behind her. She hadn’t looked back.
She’d let them go.
THIRTY-ONE
Today was the big day. Evan adjusted her dress for the umpteenth time and then touched the twist in her hair, making sure everything was still in place. Her heart was pounding so hard it could’ve substituted for the bass in a death metal song.
She’d never liked being in front of a crowd like this. One misstep or wrong line and it’d be splashed all over every gossip website. She’d rehearsed her part in her head, going over and over the words last night.
The man who’d been acting as her handler this morning stepped into her dressing area. “He’s ready for you, Ms. Kennedy.”
She nodded and took a deep breath, smoothing her dress once more. “Thanks, Eric.”
Eric smiled. “You look beautiful. No need to be nervous.”