The Best Man's Plan

“Don’t you?”

“You know damned well I don’t. You’re using that as an excuse because you’re afraid to say what you really want.”

“What I want is for you to leave. Now,” she added, pointing toward the door.

He ignored her gesture. “I can’t believe you would imply that I would ask you to marry me just because Chloe chose Donovan. Do you really think I’m that shallow and…and idiotic?”

He was so mad he was shaking, she realized in amazement. As much as they had been through the past few months, she had never seen him reduced to stammering. “I don’t think you’re shallow and idiotic. I think you’ve just gotten carried away. Everything’s been so hectic and Donovan is so happy with Chloe—”

Bryan held up a hand. “You are right about one thing,” he cut in. “We need some time to calm down and get our tempers back under control. I’m going to leave now. I want you to do some hard thinking about the time you and I have spent together. And I want you to remember that I have never confused you with Chloe.”

“Just go,” she whispered, horrified at the possibility that she might cry in front of him. “Please.”

“I’ll go. But I will be back.”

It sounded more like a threat than a promise. Expecting him to walk out then, she was caught by surprise when he stopped in front of her, leaned down and planted a hard kiss on her slightly parted lips. “I will be back,” he said again, staring into her eyes for a moment.

And then he was gone, leaving Grace alone.

She missed her sister, she thought, sinking to the floor with her face in her hands. She missed all the dreams she had once had. Most of all, she missed Bryan.

As badly as she hurt now, she knew she had done the right thing to send him away. Not even for Bryan could she pretend to be someone she wasn’t. She wouldn’t repeat the mistake she had made with Kirk, trying to change herself to fit the image he had of the ideal woman. And unless she changed, she would never fit into Bryan’s high-profile, socially conscious world. It was a disaster waiting to happen, and she wanted no part of it.

She was sure once Bryan had time to think about how different she was from the woman he had hoped to marry, he would agree that she’d been right to send him away.

But, oh, it hurt—as nothing had ever hurt her before.

Bryan couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so damned angry. He was known for having a coldly dangerous temper, soft-spoken and effective. Only Grace could push him into yelling.

He tried to spend some time working at home that afternoon, but found himself unable to concentrate. Instead he paced, muttering to himself as he did so. He still couldn’t believe Grace had accused him of using her as a substitute for Chloe. He knew she was scared and uncertain about their relationship, but that had been a low blow.

If he thought she truly believed it, he’d really be upset.

“Um…boss?” Jason looked up from a folder containing a report of Wallace Childers’s capture at the Texas border. “Are you sure you want to discuss this today? You seem a little…agitated.”

Bryan whirled to face his security chief. “Am I arrogant? A control freak?”

Jason looked bemused by the questions. “Just how do you want me to answer?”

“Honestly.”

Clearing his throat, his subordinate drawled, “Well…if by control freak you mean someone who’s sort of obsessed with having everything just the way you want it, someone who likes all his ducks in a row and doesn’t leave anything to chance, then yeah, I guess you’re a bit of a control freak.”

“And arrogant?”

Jason shifted in his chair. “Well…maybe just a tad. Not in a bad way, of course.”

“And do you also consider me an idiot?” Bryan demanded.

Jason looked intrigued. “Grace called you an idiot? You must have really hacked her off.”

“She didn’t actually call me an idiot. She just implied that I am one. Can you believe she accused me of thinking she was interchangeable with her sister? She implied that I’m interested in her now only because Chloe married Donovan.”

“Well, aren’t you?”

“No, damn it!”

Jason tilted his head to one side, obviously intrigued by seeing his employer and friend so agitated. “No, I see that you aren’t.”