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As much as she tried not to let the emotions get to her, Jazz’s apology went a long way in soothing the ache she had lived with these last couple of years.
“Thank you for saying that.”
“And let me add on to that,” Gideon said. “I’m very sorry, Liv.”
She turned to the tall man who often reminded her of the movie version of Thor. Tall, muscular, with golden-blond hair and piercing blue eyes, he could almost be a Chris Hemsworth stand-in. Olivia had always respected Gideon, and while he, like everyone else, had believed the lie that she and Hawke created, he had never been cruel with his treatment of her. Not like his partner, Eve.
“Thank you, Gideon.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Eve slip out the door. Gideon followed Olivia’s gaze, then gave her a wry look. “Hard for a proud woman to admit she’s been wrong. Give her time.”
“It doesn’t matter. She bought the lie, just as we intended.”
He only smiled, but she saw the knowledge in his eyes. While no one had been kind, Eve had been something else.
Needing to be alone in the worst way, she said, “If you’ll excuse me, I need some fresh air.”
She managed to get away from everyone else. She knew they would each come to her and apologize. She figured they needed to say the words, but she didn’t need them. Not really. It had all been part of the plan. Hard to be angry when what they had worked so hard to achieve had succeeded.
But had it been successful?
Before she walked out the door, she took one more glance toward Hawke. He was in an intense conversation with Liam and Sean but looked up as if he knew her eyes were on him. The expression on his face was both inscrutable and weary. Whatever she had gone through, whatever heartbreak she had experienced, there was no doubt that Hawke had suffered, too.
It infuriated her that his suffering bothered her much more than her own did. And what was with all the harsh looks he’d been giving her? She was the one who had been betrayed. She was the one who had grieved. She was the injured party.
She would not be leaving here until he answered her questions.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Gideon found Eve exactly where he thought he would. Whenever she was emotionally upset, she retreated to dwell on her pain. He had told her more than once that she could come to him for solace, but she rarely did as he asked. His Eve was a loner. Had been since she was a child. It was one of the many reasons he loved her. For such a tough, no-nonsense, call-it-as-she-saw-it person, she had some unique vulnerabilities that cut straight to his heart.
She stood beneath the branches of a giant oak, staring up at the snow-capped mountains. He knew she sought peace, but whether she liked it or not, finding peace for what hurt her would not be found here.
“Guess we got fooled,” Gideon said.
“Yeah, guess so.”
“You pissed?” he asked.
“Of course. Aren’t you?”
“Yes. Especially looking back on it and seeing the things that didn’t add up, things I should have questioned. I’m not usually one to accept things blindly. None of us are.”
“And yet, we did.” She paused for a long second and then added softly, “I don’t think she’ll ever forgive me.”
“People often surprise us. She knew your words came from a place of hurt.”
“Yes, they did. But the fact is, she was hurting, too, and I did nothing but pile more on her.”
“Sounds like you need to forgive yourself, too.”
She looked at him then, and his heart hurt. Those beautiful sapphire eyes that he saw in his dreams were drenched with tears. His Eve didn’t cry. Not anymore. She got mad, she got even, she got in your face, but she did not cry. He had seen it happen only twice in the last few years—when they’d learned Hawke had been killed and when Gideon had been shot a few months back. Both times, he had held her.
Putting his hand on her shoulder, he guided her into his arms. She pressed her face against his chest and shuddered out a shaky breath.
“How can I forgive myself? The things I said to her are unforgivable.”
“Are they?”