Page 37 of The Temptation (Executive Suite Secrets #4)

“No!” Pierce lurched to his feet and rushed across the room to me.

He caught my shoulders with trembling hands.

“This is why I never wanted to tell you. Why I can’t tell Sebastian and the others.

I don’t want them to change their opinions of Sawyer.

He was a good man at his core. Yes, he was prone to losing his temper and shooting off at the mouth, but you don’t know how many times he went to bat for me.

He always had my back. He was the greatest friend I ever had, and I feel like I disappointed him. ”

“No, you didn’t. He let you down. Sawyer knew you, and he should have known that what you were telling him was an amusing anecdote. Sawyer’s silly little brother makes an ass of himself. I’m sure you both had plenty of those stories to tell during college.”

Pierce blinked, and fresh tears streaked along his cheeks, but there was a tiny smile trembling on his lips. “I always thought you were adorable, and so eager.”

I groaned. “Yes, yes, like a puppy. The point is that you and Sawyer were robbed of his fucking apology. I’m sure that if his own stupidity hadn’t distracted him, leading to his death, he would have come to his senses and apologized to you.

This whole thing would have blown over. And if I had found out later, I still would have punched him. ”

Pierce’s hands fell away from my shoulders. “I don’t know.”

“I do, and I’m sure that’s how it would have worked out.” After dragging in another deep breath and releasing it, I captured Pierce’s limp hand in mine. His fingers were like ice, and it scared me to death. It was like he was shutting down, and I didn’t know how to pull him from his dark edge.

“I promised him, Simon,” he whispered brokenly.

“I promised your brother that I would always look out for you. He didn’t want this .

He knew way back then that I wasn’t good enough for you.

You’re an amazingly talented musical genius.

The world will always be at your feet, and you deserve someone at your side who can make sure you can achieve everything you dream of. ”

Tears burned in my eyes, and I blinked them rapidly away. “First off, if Sawyer dared to have any opinion about my love life right now, I’d tell him to fuck off. It’s none of his damned business. And second, are you fucking kidding me?”

Pierce jerked and stared at me as if he couldn’t understand what I was saying.

“Pierce Sutton, you are not a moron! Think about it. Who else knew exactly how to step in when I was burned out and drained after that last concert? You’re the one who took care of me.

You put me in pajamas, gave me rain music for white noise, and cuddled me while feeding me cheese.

No one has ever taken care of me like that.

Not even my parents. Everyone always gave me space to figure myself out. ”

“But—”

“Who was the one to step in when I was panicked about writing the concerto and helped me set boundaries? Who made sure I was fed, clean, and warm? You even helped me get my music organized. I feel safe playing unfinished music in front of you. I don’t feel safe with anyone like that.

Fuck, Pierce! I wrote a nocturne for you . ”

“You needed a little help.”

“Yeah, and you were the only one who stepped in and took control to make sure it happened. Everyone else thinks, ‘Oh, he’s a fucking genius. He’ll figure it out.

’ No, clearly I won’t. If Sawyer was so damned determined to find the right person to keep me safe and happy, he had been staring him right in the face the entire time. There’s only ever been you.”

Pierce’s expression softened, and some of the pain that had filled his dark eyes had faded. “You’re so amazing. You deserve the world. It’s just that you get so caught up in being brilliant that you forget about taking care of yourself.”

My heart gave an unsteady beat. “I know. I’m high maintenance.

No matter how hard I try, I will always be high maintenance.

I’d understand if that wasn’t something you wanted for your life.

Ugh . Really? Who would? You deserve someone who doesn’t need a keeper.

Who can be an equal partner with you. But if you gave me a shot, I swear I would try so hard to be worthy of you. ”

To my surprise, Pierce leaned forward and pressed the gentlest kiss to the center of my forehead. “I have never seen you as less. There’s nothing you have to do to be worthy of me. You are perfect exactly as you are.”

I lifted my eyes to his, clinging to the newly budding hope in my chest. “Does this mean that you’re willing to give us a try? A real try?”

Pierce immediately backed off so that we were no longer touching.

The haunted look returned to his gaze. “I-I don’t know.

Your brother…yes, logic says he could have completely changed his opinion about us now that you’re an adult, but I can’t get it out of my head.

Our last words to each other were so angry and toxic. The last thing I promised him…”

That wasn’t a no. Besides, I’d known I wouldn’t be able to fix everything in a single talk. This old wound had been festering inside Pierce for more than ten years. I also couldn’t be the only one to help him heal. There were other people he’d been hiding this from.

“Okay.”

Pierce froze, his wide eyes locked on me, like he couldn’t believe that I’d so easily agreed with him. Except I wasn’t finished.

“We’ll put us on hold. It’s not the most important thing right now.

” I slowly closed the distance between us and caught his cold right hand.

I lifted his fingers to my lips as I cradled his hand in mine.

In the opening, I blew hot air on his fingertips, trying to warm them.

“I think the next thing you need to do is have a long talk with Rome, Declan, and Sebastian.”

“No!” Pierce tried to pull his hand free, but I was ready for him. I tightened my grip on him, refusing to let him escape.

“They’ve been worried about you for years. They also know something happened back then. Don’t you think they deserve to know the truth? They won’t hate you over this.”

“But they might hate Sawyer. I don’t want their opinion of him to change.”

A heavy sigh escaped me. “I don’t hate him.

I’m really fucking pissed and annoyed with him at the moment, but I don’t hate him.

His heart was in the right place, even if he was an idiot.

I would like to kick him in the dick right now, but I also think he would have come to his senses if he’d had time to cool off.

And I’m pretty sure your friends will feel the same way. ”

“I don’t know.”

It was probably the best I was going to get. Holding tight to his hand, I tugged him to the bathroom. “I want you to get a hot shower and clear your head. Afterward, go see Sebastian and Declan. I will go with you if you want.”

“No, you have work.” He paused at the threshold and stared at me. I could see he’d already decided by the look in his eyes. “I want to talk to them alone. You’re going to stay here?”

I nodded. “I will. If I have to go out, I promise to text you where I’m going and when I expect to return.”

He grunted and looked at our hands for a second. “I can’t make any promises. I don’t know…”

“I’m not expecting promises. We’re taking this one step at a time, and the first step is you healing. Nothing else matters to me.”

He nodded, and I released him, stepping backward out of the bathroom. I pulled the door partially closed, leaving it so the steam could escape.

God, I wish I could kick Sawyer’s ass.