Page 77 of Billionaire's Promise

"What are we drinking to?" I ask suspiciously.

He jerks the glass in my direction, and I accept it as the others reach for their drinks.

"Well?" I scowl, "Are you going to tell me or keep smiling like a maniac?"

Saint chuckles, "You heard that, guys?" He turns to the other men, "Seems another one of us is getting ready to bite the dust."

"The only one who’s going to have a mouthful of dust is you, if you don’t knock off your cryptic comments."

"It bothers you, huh?" Saint snatches up his own glass. "Being vulnerable and open, knowing your heart could be shattered any moment?"

"You’re wrong, my heart can’t be hurt anymore."

"Oh?" He scowls. "Why’s that?"

Because it doesn’t belong to me anymore,is what I want to say. Instead, I sip from the glass. The liquid burns its way down, and heat infuses my veins. "Because," I tip up my chin and stare at him, "I am not going back on my word to Edward."

Damian tosses back his drink, places the glass on the counter, "Ever occur to you that Edward called you and asked you for this favor as a way of bringing you two together?

"What do you mean?" I frown. "That he purposely put us together, as a test?"

"More as a way of getting the two of you to get to know each other?"

"Why would he do that?" I frown. "It makes no sense."

"Maybe he did it subconsciously?" Weston offers. "After all, the two of you were close."

"More like, after what we went through, we couldn’t stand the sight of each other," I say wryly.

"What did you go through?" Arpad leans forward on the balls of his feet. "Neither of you has ever spoken about what happened to you during the incident."

I stiffen, then draw myself up to my full height. "It’s best kept that way."

"If you don’t talk about it, it’s not going to help you heal," Weston warns.

"If I do talk about it, it’s only going to dredge up a whole lot of shit that I am better off without."

Sinner shakes his head. "That’s what I thought. Then, I met Summer and realized, turning your back on your feelings is a one-way trip to hell."

"A place I am well acquainted with," I mutter.

"It doesn’t have to be that way." Sinner leans forward. "Let us help you."

"You can," I glance around at the faces of my friends, "by helping me track down who attacked Ava."

"Hangonabloodysecond," Saint bursts out. "Someone attacked her?"

"Why do you think I am here?" I reach for the bottle of whiskey and top myself up. "It happened last night, after she left the restaurant."

"Thought you were keeping watch over her?"

"Yeah," I rub the back of my neck, "she was on a date and I—"

"You lost your cool." Saint scowls. "It happens."

"Edward met her first," I mumble. "I shouldn’t feel this way about her."

"You can’t control who you develop feelings for," Weston interjects. "Trust me, all of us here have tried to resist and failed."