Page 117 of Icebound Hearts

I never meant for anyone to get hurt, least of all Reese. He’s right, he did Violet and me one hell of a favor by setting us up to help each other when we needed it. I feel so stupid, so guilty, and not just because of what I did—but because I never really even stopped to think about how much it might hurt one of my best friends when he inevitably found out.

Because as careful as we thought we were being, this was always going to happen. But I was too arrogant to see that.

“Youpromisedme,” Reese mutters, and I feel my heart lurch at the ache in his voice. He gestures down the hall toward where our teammates are celebrating the win, oblivious to what’s happening outside the family and friends lounge. “Every one of you looked me in the fucking eyes and promised me you wouldn’t try anything with Violet.” His eyes narrow. “Guess that promise didn’t mean much, huh?”

“Reese,” Violet interjects, and he turns toward her.

“Don’t you start! You lied to me too, so I can’t trust a word you say either. Jesus, this is so irresponsible, Violet!”

“Hey. Beverycareful what you say to her next,” I bite out, the back of my neck bristling at the way he’s talking to Violet.

He might be her brother, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let him—or anyone else—treat her with anything but the respect she deserves.

Reese presses his lips together. He’s silent for a moment, and then he says, “You lied to me. Both of you.”

Clearly frustrated, Violet steps forward so she can face her brother fully. “I’m sorry. We should’ve told you. But neither of us wanted to say anything and make a big deal out of it because it was never anything serious. We agreed it would end when I leave, so we were just trying to keep things uncomplicated.”

She’s not wrong but hearing her say it feels like someone is driving a jagged shard of glass right into my heart. It doesn’t feel right. Doesn’t feel real. And it damn sure doesn’t match with the way things have been going between us lately.

Is she just saying this to calm Reese down, or does she mean it?

I can’t tell, but either way, it seems to be working. And that’s a relief because the last thing I want is for this to come to blows, but if Reese kept talking to her that way, it might’ve happened.

Still, Reese stares at his sister. “Yes, you should’ve. All I’m trying to do is make sure you don’t do something stupid or make a mistake that could cost you.”

Violet puts a hand on his shoulder. “We weren’t thinking, and it wasn’t intentional. I’m sorry. But this thing we have is going to be over soon anyway, so let’s not make a bigger deal out of it than we already have, okay?”

I flinch at her words and spin away so neither of them sees it.

She’s right, all of this will be over soon, and that realization sits on my chest like a fucking anvil, making every breath painful and labored. It doesn’t mean I have to like it, but it does mean that I have no right to ask for more. I know how badly Violet wants—no,needs—this job out in California to prove herself and rebuild her career, and I would never dream of holding her back from that. Especially not after what she’s been through to get to this point.

But I don’t have a clue how I’m supposed to go back to life without her when she does.

Chapter 39

Violet

After I drop Jake off at school, I decide to swing by Reese’s place to try to patch things up with him. Callie answers the door as if she’s been expecting me and offers me a sympathetic smile before she pulls me in for a hug.

“Come on in,” she says when we part, then walks me into the living room.

Reese isn’t around, but I’m not upset about it. I’ve been wrestling with what I’m going to say to him all night, and I still don’t have it figured out, so I’m not going to complain about getting a few moments to catch my breath with Callie first.

She sits down on the couch and pats the spot next to her, so I join her. “I take it you heard all the news?”

“Are you kidding? It was all I heard about last night. Like, nonstop.”

I sigh. “Ugh. I’m sorry.”

Callie shrugs. “Don’t be. He’s your big brother, he’s supposed to be protective of you like this. But for what it’s worth, I’m on your side.”

My eyebrows shoot upward. “You are?”

“Of course I am. I remember back when I was pretending to date Reese, trying to keep everything quiet to avoid all thescrutiny was the hardest part. We still managed our way through it and fell in love, but it would’ve been a hell of a lot easier outside of the public eye.”

I breathe the first genuine sigh of relief I’ve had since all of this went down. Of course Callie gets it. It wasn’t quite the same situation with her and Reese, but they had just as much of a reason not to want the rest of the team to find out what was really going on between them as Sawyer and I did.

But there’s one very big difference.