Page 102 of Have To Be Mine

“No way.” I leaned forward to see the video Elizabeth had sent. Sure enough, there was my nephew, pointing at a photo of Sebastian and clearly saying, “Seb.” Well, it sounded more like “Seff,” but close enough.

“Sebastian’s going to lose his mind,” Briggs said, grinning. “The MVP Uncle competition just got real.”

“He’s coming in later,” Adrian said. “Just got back from the honeymoon last night. I’m sure he’ll want to see this immediately.”

“Bernadette said she had to physically drag him back to civilization,” Briggs said. “He wanted to stay another month.”

I tried to imagine being that happy. Being so caught up in someone that you’d abandon the world for months just to be with them. I had gotten a taste of that in Greece. And then I’d watched her walk away and I knew I would never experience it again.

“What about you?” I asked Briggs because clearly I was a glutton for punishment. “How’s married life?”

His expression softened. “Good. Really good. Actually, I’m thinking about surprising Mandy with another trip to Vegas. There’s a show she’s been dying to see, and I figured we could use some time away together. Just the two of us.”

“That’s great, man.”

“What about you?” Adrian asked. “What’s next for you?”

I’d been thinking about that a lot. “I’m working out the details of our next big project. Fashion week in Milan. So far, so good on that front.”

They exchanged a look. I knew that look. The “we need to talk to our brother” look.

“Oh, no, have I fucked something up that I don’t know about?” I asked.

“No, it’s just that you’re more creative than we gave you credit for,” Adrian said. “The way you pivoted with that show still has people talking.”

“Yeah, it ended up way more impressive than Sebastian’s initial plan, which was great, to be clear,” Briggs added. “Maybe you should try your hand at the creative side like him. We could hire someone else for logistics.”

I’d been thinking that very same thing. “Actually, I know the perfect person to replace me.”

I didn’t have to say her name. They both knew exactly who I was talking about.

“Have you talked to Krista?” Briggs asked quietly. “Since you got back?”

I shook my head. “I’ve texted a couple times. She hasn’t responded. She’s made her position clear, and I’m not going to cross her boundaries.”

“Sometimes, you have to push boundaries,” Adrian said. “That’s something you’re familiar with.”

I shook my head. “Not this time. She’s done. I’ll respect that and be done too. Even if it’s killing me.”

I couldn’t believe I had just said that out loud. It felt like I had stripped naked and was standing there with my dick flapping in the wind. I never talked about feelings. Fuck that. But this hurt so much that the raw truth had just come out naturally.

Briggs looked me directly in the eyes. “If you love her, you have to fight for her, man. She might say no again, but you’ll regret not trying.”

“He’s right,” Adrian said. “You can’t just let her walk away.”

I looked at both of my brothers. They meant well. They were trying to help. But they didn’t understand. I wasn’t them. They had gotten their women. It wasn’t meant to be in my situation. I had already accepted that.

“If she were anyone else, I’d agree with you,” I said slowly. “But she was brutally clear she didn’t want to pursue this. If she wants to talk, she knows where to find me.”

Briggs studied me for a long moment. “You’ve changed.”

“Have I?”

“Yeah. The old Dash would have shown up at her door and pushed until he got what he wanted.”

He was right. The old me would have done exactly that. Would have convinced myself that persistence was romantic. If I just tried hard enough, I could change her mind. I was Dash Blackwell. Women were supposed to fall at my feet. But I’d learned something in Greece. Sometimes the most selfless thing you could do was let her go.

“She’s been through enough,” I said quietly. “She’s spent her whole life having people tell her who she should be, how she should act. I’m not going to be another person trying to force her into something she doesn’t want.”