Page 101 of A Forever Love
“I’d hoped to see you later, considering you had a stellar girls’ night.” She cocks an eyebrow playfully.
“Can we call falling asleep before eleven stellar? Plus, I wasn’t aware logging in late was an option.”
“That was a sincerity test.” Kristy chuckles, winking at me. “You passed, and your prize is a three-day trip to London.”
“What? London?”
Kristy nods, her eyes shining with excitement. “A golden opportunity for our best-performing interns. We’ll be visiting one of Elixir’s partner research companies in London. Since you both have the best scores in the batch, the chance is all yours.” She grins before turning around. “I need your confirmations by this afternoon.”
“Wow. London.” I sink into my chair and power up the computer.
“You could at least try to look happy, Mere.”
“What? I…I am happy. Of course I’m happy.”
“Liar.” Brandon’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “It’s because of him, right? You don’t want to leave him. Once again, Carter King’s shadow is making decisions for you.”
“No one’s making any decisions for me. I’m still adjusting to the news.”
“I saw you with him in the parking lot. So are you two an item now?”
“I know you don’t like him.” I rise from my chair, and Brandon sets his cup onto the table. “But this isn’t like before. Carter loves me.” When his jaw clenches instead of relaxing, I add, “You don’t believe me?”
“Of course I do. You’re one of the easiest people to love, Mere, and you have no freaking clue about how people around you think about you.” I’m struck by a powerful force as his eyes lock onto mine, seemingly speaking a language of their own, expressing emotions beyond words.
“Brandon?”
He shakes his head, and the raw pain morphs into anger. “But then there’s Carter, who gets to railroad you as he sees fit, and you’re not going to say a damn thing.”
I can’t help but reach for his hand, gripping the edge of my desk.
“Brandon, you’re my friend, someone I thank my stars for every day. There will never be enough thank-yous to cover how much I owe you. You were there for me when I needed a friend the most. But you don’t know what Carter has been to me. For so long, I woke up in the morning because of him. He was my anchor when my life’s yacht didn’t even have a sail. There was only him.”
“But things have changed, Mere. You have others who love you, if not more, then no less.”
Brandon storms away, leaving me with the weight of his unspoken feelings.
26
MERIDA
“What happened at work today?” Carter asks, his voice breaking the silence in the car, and his eyes briefly meet my puzzled gaze before returning to the road. “Something’s bothering you. You didn’t even ask where we’re going.”
I scan the unfamiliar street outside my window, Carter steering away from our usual route home. “Sorry. I was thinking about something else.”
“I know, mittens. That’s why I asked what happened.” His lips twitch, a ghost of a smile on his otherwise serious face.
But my mind is burdened by the weight of unanswered questions.
Brandon’s unspoken emotions, Carter’s obliviousness to the last four years, the secrets I’m keeping from Dad, and the conflicting feelings about the upcoming trip to London—wanting to go and not wanting to at the same time. All of it swirls inside me, creating a storm of doubt and worry.
“Can I tell you later?”
“Of course.” He gently takes my hand, which is clutching the side of my skirt, and entwines his fingers with mine.
I close my eyes instinctively. Life will always be chaotic, but isn’t it enough that I have someone now with whom I can share this chaos? The thought alone lightens the burden on my chest, and I open my eyes as I sense the car ascending an uphill slope.
“Where are we going? Most restaurants are in the city center.”