Van reached for my hand. “Are you sure you want to walk out on another wedding?”
I had never been more certain of anything in my life. “I’m sure.”
As we came to the end of the hallway, the voices from down below became clearer. One voice I thought I recognized was ascending the grand staircase. Instead of calling my name, I recognized the low murmuring of curses. My eyes grew wide, knowing that the voice wasn’t coming from the man at my side.
Van’s grip of my hand tightened as his body stiffened. “Get behind me.”
I couldn’t describe what I didn’t understand.
My mind couldn’t comprehend what my heart knew without a doubt. “Please, Van.” I wasn’t even sure what I was asking. Somewhere deep in my soul, I knew I loved the man holding my hand. I knew our snow globe’s best chance of survival was to get away. It was a lot to ask of a man like Van.
He met challenges head-on.
“Fight this battle another day.” My plea was barely audible as I tugged him toward the back steps.
Donovan Sherman was a proud and stubborn man. The conflict within him was as evident as a flashing neon sign. There was a battle at hand that either I couldn’t see or didn’t want to recognize. Either way, for the first time in hours, I knew I was with the man I loved and who loved me.
“I don’t run from a challenge.” His response came through clenched teeth as tendons and cords came to life upon his stiffened neck.
With all that was happening, I had an odd realization.
It was the clothes he wore.
Van was dressed in the jeans, boots, and button-down shirt with a sports coat from earlier at the hotel. The suit, Italian loafers, and overpowering scent of cologne were gone. As if the pieces of a puzzle were finally snapping into place, I said, “There are two of you.”
Van
Two of me.
No.
There was one of me.
One Donovan Sherman.
One man with a record of unmatched success.
One man who held the lives of others in his hands.
Hands.
My gaze went to where Julia and I were connected, her petite hand encased in mine.
For the first time I could recall, my priorities shifted.
Yes, I wanted to confront Phillip, to watch my brother fall in disgrace, and to expose his sham to Julia and to the guests a floor below. Most of all, I longed for him to suffer for his sins as he had tried to make me suffer. My list didn’t end with him. The Butlers were involved—I felt it in my soul. This wasn’t only about hurting me and Julia; it involved Wade somehow.
My instinct was to get to the bottom of their plans, and above all, to prove once and for all I was superior.
No, there weren’t two of me.
I’m the only Donovan Sherman.
And yet the light Julia brought into my life was once again beside me. The glow coming from her blue orbs as she stared up at me and pleaded to get away from here was as bright as the sun reflecting off a blanket of snow. Despite its blinding glare, I couldn’t look away.
Julia encompassed the pinnacle of everything I desired.
She was the sun, and I was the snow.