“So, you’ve done this before?”
“I…” She swallowed and tried to hold herself up. She couldn’t believe this was spiraling. “I didn’t do it intentionally.”
“But this was intentional with me?”
Bryna cringed. It had been intentional. She had plotted their relationship out with practiced precision from the get-go.
“Christ, it was.”
“Hugh…”
“No.” He held his hand up to silence her.
She clamped her mouth shut.
“I don’t want to hear your excuses. I thought, with your past, who your father is, your previous relationship with Gates Hartman, your trust fund—”
“You know about my trust fund?” she asked in shock. This sounded like he had done more than a background check.
“I told you, I covered my bases. I didn’t want to be made a fool of.” He stared at her, plainly stating she was making a fool of him at the present moment. “What did you expect to happen, Bryna? I screened you. Our first few dates were to ensure this wouldn’t happen. It seems that being around actors much of your life has made you a pretty adept one. Do you even care about me?”
And there it was. Under all the anger and carefully controlled businessman facade, the hurt was showing through.
“Yes,” she said, her voice wobbling.
“But you don’t love me?”
“No,” she whispered.
He looked as if she had slapped him. “How could you, when you thought I was cheating on my wife to be with you?”
His question was rhetorical, and she kept her mouth closed. She didn’t want to do any more damage.
He tore away from her, walking the length of the balcony in a fury before returning to her. His hands were fisted at his sides. “I don’t understand. We’re in Barcelona together. I’ve brought you halfway around the world. I’ve introduced you to all my business associates. I put you on fucking television at my side!” he yelled. “Didn’t you think more people would be concerned about my actions? Didn’t all the signs point to me being available? And why the hell didn’t you say something?”
His desperation ripped through her.
“I don’t know. I…thought everyone was in on it.” As soon as the words had left her mouth, she realized how bad it made her sound.
“Yes, they’re all in on it,” he said coldly. “Because my wife is dead.”
Bryna covered her mouth. Good God, what the hell is wrong with me?
“If you had done your research as I had, you would know she died nearly five years ago.”
“I’m…I’m so sorry.”
“Yes. Well,” he said, waving away her pity, “I thought I was moving on.”
“With me,” she whispered. She truly felt like a horrible person.
“Yes, with you! I’ve given you the world, and you’ve spit in my face,” he exploded. He ground his teeth together, trying to restrain himself. “Have you been with others while we’ve been together?”
Bryna looked away, not wanting him to see the guilt in her eyes. She had finished things with Andrew before sleeping with Hugh. But she’d kissed Eric three times since then. She might have only initiated it once, but she had wanted more. She would have done more if things had been different.
“Christ,” he said, stumbling back a step. “You have, haven’t you?”
“No! No. I haven’t slept with anyone.”
“Then, what did you have to think about?” He didn’t let her answer before barreling forward. “Is this why you came to see me in Atlantic City? Is that why you were upset? Were you with someone else?”
“I was upset about my friends, like I told you. One of them is a guy, but we were never together. Actually, I thought he was gay up to that point.”
Hugh grabbed his hair in frustration. “I don’t know what to say about any of this. I thought we were working toward something. Now, I’m terrified to find out what you wanted from me if you didn’t love me.”
Bryna looked away.
“Was it the money?” he spat in disgust. “I’ve had people want me for it before, but I thought you were different.”
She couldn’t respond. At first, it had been the game to have the power, to have the thrill of someone showering her with goodies like Jude had. But then, over time, it had gotten worse. She’d wanted more. She’d basked in the rush of getting everything. But it wasn’t just the money. She had cared for him. She had thought they had an agreement. She had thought he knew what he was getting into. Now, this…
“Say something!”
“No! It wasn’t just the money. It was you, too…I liked being with you, too.”
“Not just the money,” he murmured, stunned.
She covered her face with her hands and took a steadying breath. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Sir,” someone called, interrupting their argument, “it’s time for your speech.”
“I’ll just be a minute,” he said, not turning around. His eyes were hard. “When I get back…you should figure out exactly what you do mean.”
Hugh left her alone on the balcony. The door closed behind him.
“Fuck!” she yelled into the silence.
She closed her eyes and tried to piece herself back together. Things hadn’t just spiraled out of control with her accusation about him being married. It had plummeted to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
What the hell am I going to say to him? Everything he had said hit too close to home. She had been digging him. Though she had never clarified, she had thought they were on the same page. Now, it looked like they hadn’t even been reading the same book.
She was trying to figure out what to say to him when her cell phone went off in her purse. She jolted out of her thoughts and stared down at it in shock. She had forgotten that she even had it with her. No one had called her all summer. She had received messages from Trihn online but not phone calls.
She pulled the phone out of her purse and saw her dad’s number. What the fuck?
“Hello?”
“Sweetheart! I’m glad I could reach you. I don’t know what time it is in Spain.”
How does he even know I’m here? I hadn’t told him before fleeing the country. Maybe Pace.
“Hi, Daddy,” she said uncertainly. “It’s midnight.”
“Honey, Celia went into labor. I really need you to come home.”
“What?” she asked. “You want me to fly back from Barcelona for the baby?”
“Bryna,” he said, surprisingly sweet, “I know you don’t approve of this. I know you don’t approve of Celia or Pace or what happened with your mother. But I don’t want you to blame the new baby for those things. She’s going to be your half-sister. Your baby sister.”
Her heart constricted at that word.
“She’s completely innocent in this, and I want her to grow up knowing her sister. I need our family together even though we haven’t been much of a family lately.”
“Lately,” she mumbled.
“Since your mother left.”
“Yeah…left.”
“We’re not perfect. No family is. But without you, we’re not even complete. I’m not going to command you to come back. You’re almost nineteen-years-old, and you can make your own decisions, but I want you here. Celia wants you here. We love you. What do you say?”
Hugh’s face appeared at the door, and he still looked pissed. Great.
She took a deep breath. “I’ll have to think about it and get back to you.”
“Thank you for at least considering it. We hope you come back. Your birthday is next week, and I know we’d all like to celebrate together.”
She was stunned as she hung up the phone with her father. The new baby, her father acting like…a father, him wanting to celebrate her birthday—she didn’t know what to make of any of it.
“Well?” Hugh said. He crossed his arms and looked at her.
She could see all the love and devotion underneath the tension in his shoulders.
Bryna sighed. “I don’t think I can say anything to make this better. I didn’t want to hurt you. I thought we were on the same page. I thought this was what I wanted, but I guess it’s not.” She hated the look of pain that crossed his face. “My stepmother just went into labor in Los Angeles…”