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Finally turning to face me, Damon stares at me in a way that drops my heart into my stomach.
“If you hadn’t made that promise to Ezra. If I’d gotten to you first, would you have still walked away?”
Yes...
Only because I’ve never been in love with Damon, even if I loved him in another way. He’s never been the person who makes my body sing. He’s never been the one who crushes my heart between cold, cruel fingers.
“I can’t answer that. All I can say is that I won’t be the type of woman who comes between two brothers. And since that was where we ended up, that was the decision I made.”
“Damn it.”
His crooked grin is back, reminding me of the younger version of himself.
The playful one.
The kid in high school who wasn’t yet so scarred and hardened.
“I can’t hate you for that. You did it for us, but I want to hate you for it.”
Sad laughter shakes my shoulders.
“Thanks?”
Closing the distance between us on three long steps, he wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on top of my head. My body is stiff at first, but eventually melts into the hug.
“Friends,” he says, his jaw moving against my skull. “I’ll take that because I can’t watch you walk away again. Just don’t walk away. Promise me.”
I nod. “Friends. I promise.”
A few seconds pass before he asks, “With benefits?”
“Damon-“
“You can’t blame me for trying. It was fun, Red. Don’t try to claim it wasn’t.”
It was six weeks of fun that somehow ended in disaster.
Letting me go, he steps back and glances at the door.
“I should go. I’m supposed to meet up with the guys and interrogate-“
He cuts that thought off before finishing it, his jaw clenching tight.
It only makes me suspicious.
“You wouldn’t happen to know where Gabe took Ivy, would you?”
The answer is written all over his face, and it happens to be a resoundingyes.
“Gabe is with Ivy? Weird. I should go.”
“Damon.”
He’s already opening my door to run away. I race forward and grab his arm before he has the chance. Not because I’m overly concerned for Ivy, she can take care of herself, but because there is one other question I need to ask.
“Why did Ezra tell you about the promise I made him?”
His shoulders tense, several seconds passing before he turns to look at me with guilt rolling behind those amber eyes.