He’d tried reaching out after he and Ava got back together, but I’d ignored him and we’d never had a real, honest conversation about it.
It was long past due, but that didn’t stop my stomach from knotting with dread at the prospect of digging up bones from the past.
“I understand why you’re still upset with me. It was…a betrayal of trust, what I did. But I…” Alex paused, clearly searching for the right words. A speechless Alex Volkov was a rare sight, and I would’ve reveled in it more had I not been so distracted by the burn in my chest.
“I’ve never had many friends,” he finally said. “People flocked to me because I was rich, smart, and I could help them get what they wanted.” He listed the qualities in a detached manner, so self-assured he came off more analytical than arrogant. “They were transactional relationships, and I was fine with that. But you were my first real friend. Even if my intentions weren’t true at the start of our friendship, everything that came after was.”
The burn intensified. “What you did was fucked up.”
“I know.”
I rubbed a hand over my face, trying to quiet the debate raging in my head.
We’d reached a fork in the road. I could either stay on the circular path I’d walked for the past two years, or I could take the only exit available to me.
The first option was comfortable and familiar, the latter unknown and scary as fuck. I didn’t want to end up betrayed and lied to again.
But Jules was right. Holding onto anger was exhausting, and I was already so fucking tired these days. Physically, mentally, emotionally.
Sometimes, it was a struggle just to breathe.
“It’s been almost two years.” I was halfway to the exit, but I couldn’t bring myself to take the leap just yet. “Why bring this up now?”
“Because you’re the most stubborn person I’ve ever met. If someone tries to push you in one direction, you’ll do your best to go in the other.” Dry humor laced his words. “But what I did was wrong, and I am…sorry. For the most part.”
What the fuck? “That’s the worst damn apology I’ve ever heard.”
“I don’t aspire to be the type of person who apologizes so much that they’re good at it.”
Typical Alex logic.
“But if I hadn’t done what I did, we would’ve never been friends, and my life…” Another, longer pause. “My life would be half of what it is today,” he finished softly.
The burn in my chest spread, and my throat flexed. “You’re becoming sentimental, Volkov. Don’t let your business opponents know or they’ll eat you alive.”
“Au contraire. More sentimentality in my personal life means more steam I need to let off elsewhere. It’s been very lucrative for business.” Alex oozed satisfaction.
“I’m sure it has.” I passed my hand over my face again, trying to figure out where to go from here. This was not how I’d envisioned the day going when I woke up. “You know we can’t just go back to being best friends again and pretend like the past didn’t happen, right?”
The line of his jaw turned rigid. “I know.”
“But…if you want to catch a Nats game or something when we’re back in D.C., I wouldn’t be opposed,” I added gruffly.
Alex relaxed, and a smile flickered over his mouth. “You miss the box seats, don’t you?”
“Hell yeah. I’m open to bribery if you would like to get back into my good graces.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I finished my second drink before I asked, “How did you know Ava was the one?”
I’d never been in love. I didn’t particularly want to be, but I wanted to know what cracked Alex’s stony heart. Before Ava, I could imagine a robot more capable of feeling than the man sitting next to me.
“I like being with her.”
“No shit. Be more specific.”
He sighed. “It’s easy being with her,” he said after a long moment. “She understands me in a way no one else does, even if our worldviews are fundamentally different. When I’m not with her, I wish she were there. When I am with her, I want that moment to last forever. She makes me want to be a better person, and when I think about a world where she doesn’t exist…” His jaw flexed. “I want to burn every inch of it to the ground.”
I stared at him. “Holy fuck. Who are you and what the fuck have you done to Alex Volkov?” I clapped him on the back. “Whoever you are, you should write for the murderous edition of Hallmark.”
Alex glared at me. “Tell anyone I said that, and I will skin you alive with a rusted knife to prolong the pain.”
“Exactly. Just like that. So murderously romantic.”
“Your box seats are skating on thin ice, Chen.”
“Hey, remember. I’m the one who has to forgive you. Be nice.” I motioned the bartender for another drink.
Despite my jokes, my brain couldn’t stop replaying Alex’s words.
When I’m not with her, I wish she were there. When I am with her, I want that moment to last forever.
I’d never felt that way toward a woman…except for one.
Unbidden images from the past two months ran through my head. Me and Jules beneath the tree at the picnic. Me telling her about Tanya’s death in the library. The adorable way her brow scrunched when she was concentrating and the proud smile that lit up her face when I finally proclaimed her ready for the bunny slope in Vermont.
The way she laughed, the way she tasted, and the way I felt when I was with her, like I never wanted her to leave.
I’d chalked all that up to a mixture of lust and blossoming friendship, but what if…
No. Fuck no.
Sweat misted my palms. I tossed back my drink without tasting it.
I did not like Jules. Half our fucks were hate fucks. They were hot, but just because I liked fucking her didn’t mean I wanted anything else from her.
So what if she wasn’t as terrible as I originally envisioned? She was still her.
Infuriating, snarky, a pain in my fucking ass…and loyal. Passionate. So beautiful sometimes it hurt to look at her.
What would I do in a world where Jules didn’t exist? I wouldn’t burn it down, but…
Fuck, why was it so hot in here?
My phone vibrated with an incoming call. I answered it, relieved for the distraction. I would take a hundred telemarketers over my wildly disturbing thoughts.
“Hello?” I didn’t recognize the number, but it contained Eldorra’s country code. Maybe it was the palace or something.
“Hey, it’s me,” Ava said. She sounded subdued.
“What’s up? Aren’t you supposed to be at the club right now?”
My short-lived relief at the distraction faded when she explained her situation. God motherfucking dammit. I’d wanted more excitement earlier, but I should’ve fucking clarified, because this was not what I had in mind. “Okay. I’ll be right there…no. We’ll talk about it later.”
Alex’s brows formed a deep V as he listened to my end of the call.
“What’s wrong?” he asked after I hung up.
“It’s Ava and the girls.” I stood and shrugged on my jacket, already halfway out the door. “They got arrested.”
JULES
In my defense,I had a good reason for breaking a guy’s nose and inadvertently starting a club fight. The dickhead had grabbed Ava’s ass and started grinding on her even after she said no and tried to push him off. When my and Stella’s attempts at intervention also failed, I did what I had to do. I tapped his shoulder, waited for him to turn around, and sucker punched him in the face.
His friends had jumped into the fray, and, well, you can guess where it went from there.
In the US, the incident would’ve ended with us thrown out of the club, but Eldorra’s strict public disturbance laws landed all of us, Dickhead and friends included, in the lovely county jail.
“At least Br—our other friend wasn’t with us,” I said, opting for optimism. “That would’ve been a mess.”
Ava and Stella murmured in agreement.
Bridget was a common Eldorran name, but I erred on the side of caution in case the officer leading us toward the exit pieced two and two together. Then again, we’d had to provide our real names when we were booked. If anyone on staff paid attention to the tabloids, they would recognize us as Bridget’s bridesmaids, no matter how good a job the makeup artist had done in disguising us.