Page 111 of Fake Dating Mr. Prince

I’d envisioned my father by my side when I first stepped up. I thought I’d ease into the role as head of Prince Industries. Instead, I divided my time between work and Dad’s hospital bed the first week until they released him to go home. His heart attack had stunned us.

I blamed Elaine Tremaine and the added stress from her deception.

As I waited in line, I scrolled through my phone, answering emails.

“Next!” The barista yelled, trying to catch my attention.

I shuffled forward, not looking up from my phone in time, and bumped into the woman in front of me. I grabbed her arm to catch her as she stumbled. “Oh, damn. I’m so sorry.” I shoved my phone in my pocket.

“Dean?” A familiar voice gasped.

I dropped my hand as I gazed at the shocked woman before me. “Stella. How are you?”

I let a few people go ahead of me and moved back in line.

“Okay.” Her startled expression turned to concern. “I heard about your dad. How’s he doing?”

“Better. The doctors said it could’ve been worse. He’s home recovering, and letting my mom fuss over him.”

“Good. That’s good. We were worried about him when we read about it in the paper.”

I didn’t have to ask who we included. Mom had mentioned that Ashlyn had texted her after Dad’s heart attack, letting her know she was there for her.

It didn’t shock me when she didn’t reach out to me.

“Well, we’re thinking of him.” She slipped around me and stood closer to the counter to wait for her order.

Watching her walk away brought back memories of the last time I’d seen her and chosen not to follow her. I wasn’t about to make that same mistake again. Not to be deterred, I jumped out of line and pushed my way through the crowd that had formed. Until I was once again, by her side.

Now that I had her attention, I wasn’t sure what to say.

“What do you want, Dean?” she asked, with a heavy sigh.

“How is she?” I asked, unable to say her name out loud.

Stella crossed her arms over her chest, her angry expression matching the red glow of her hair. “Why do you care?”

“I never stopped caring.”

“Could’ve fooled me. I thought you weren’t in it ‘for the long haul.’” She phrased the last sentence with air quotes, not bothering to hide her annoyance.

My shoulders slumped. “I was an asshole.”

“You think?”

“Stella. I made a mistake.”

“You hurt my sister, Dean.”

“I know.” God, did I ever. A day hadn’t gone by that I didn’t think about how I hurt Ashlyn. Giving her up was the biggest mistake of my life. I struggled to let go of my pain and trust someone again. But I was done with hanging onto the past. None of that mattered anymore.

She sighed. “She created her company. Burda and I are her partners, so we’re starting small.”

“I’ve been following her progress.” Ashlyn had created a blog documenting what it was like to start a new business and showcased her designs.

I still carried that hurt deep inside my heart when she’d returned the check and necklace to me. Especially since I wasn’t able to go after her.

She was done with me.