Page 11 of The Billionaire's Bride

He stares at me, then holds out his hand, "Come 'ere."

I glance at it, then back at him, "I don't think that’s a good idea."

"Come here, Ava." His voice lowers to a hush, and damn him, but I can’t stop myself from obeying him. I walk over to him and he, once more, pulls me down into his lap.

"I missed you, Eve."

Something warm pools in my chest. I push the thick silky hair away from his forehead. "I did too," I say honestly.

"I want you to know that I don’t blame you for what happened."

"You don’t?"

He shakes his head. "Baron can be a little overbearing. And you are the most beautiful woman in the world. Of course, he made a play for you."

"It wasn’t exactly like that," I mutter.

"He and I, we have a lot in common. If anyone knows how he operates, it’s me. I know he must have come onto you hard, and before you’d realized what was happening, he’d have moved in."

"Edward, no, it wasn’t all him," I insist.

"It’s okay, Eve." He rubs his thumb across my cheek. "Whatever happened, it’s only a temporary setback. Nothing we can’t recover from."

"Hold on a second." I push at his chest. "Whatever happened was consensual, Edward."

He frowns. "You were distraught, not in the right frame of mind. Baron took advantage of you."

"No, he didn’t," I maintain.

"Of course, he did." He peers into my face. "He must have." His jaw tics. "It’s why you slept with him."

"I fucked him, Ed." I hold his gaze. "I wanted to be with him, and it wasn’t only because I was missing you."

His amber gaze catches fire. A vein beats at his temple. "What are you trying to say?"

"That..." I swallow. No other way out, best to come out and say it. "I was...am attracted to him." I shake my head. "No, actually, it’s more than that, Ed. I have feelings for him."

5

Edward

Something hot stabs at my chest. I fist my fingers at my sides. She has feelings for him. Of course, she does. Baron had swept onto scene when I had left. I had sent him, precisely for that. Of course, to keep an eye on her, without moving in on her. I had been so sure that he’d do that. It had never crossed my mind that he’d make contact with her… Okay, it had crossed my mind, but I had been so sure that Ava was mine, that she wouldn’t be attracted to anyone else.

I should have known Baron is too similar to me. Oh, physically we are different, but our approach to life, it's similar. Perhaps that's due to our formative years being poisoned by the same toxin that tainted the lives of the rest of the Seven. They had moved on, found the loves of their lives, while Baron and I? We are still struggling.

And now we are both involved with the same girl.

Shit, shit, shit. What a mess this is turning out to be.

"Edward?" Ava asks, her voice subdued. "Are you okay?"

I’ll never be okay. I’ll never forgive myself for leaving her when I should have stayed. I hadn't been thinking straight, and you know what? I am not going to regret what I did. What is done, is done. It’s time to move on.

"I’m not," I confess, "but I will be, once I figure out what I need to do to win you back."

"Edward, please." She rises to her feet, and when she tugs on her hand, I release it. I watch her as she drags the heavy cloud of hair off her neck and over one shoulder. "This is not a competition."

"Isn’t it?"