Don't Promise (Don't 3)

He sighed. “Do you know how much I need you, Molly?”

He leaned forward on his arms, hovering over me.

“We need each other,” I answered. The email was lurking in the back of my head. This wasn’t the moment to tell him about it. The guilt started to erode the haze of my afterglow.

He pressed up. The couch wasn’t the most comfortable piece of furniture. It was meant for décor impact, not to binge watch shows all weekend. I doubted anyone in the palace did that.

He looked up, noticing the surroundings. “Nice apartment.” He grinned.

“Thanks. Haven’t you been in here before?”

He shook his head. “Not since it was redecorated.”

I felt a twinge of jealousy. Who had occupied the rooms next to his before I did?

“This is redecorated?”

He laughed. “You should have seen it before. Burgundy and gold everything.”

I stuck out my tongue. “Ok, then this is better.”

He moved to the end of the couch, repositioning me so I lay against his chest. I reached for a cashmere throw at the end of the armrest. It was the softest blanket I’d ever felt. Damon layered it over the side of my body.

“I was at Dominic’s before I came here.” His statement surprised me. I waited for him to continue. Whatever had happened, it wasn’t good new.

“I signed an order.” He sighed.

“What kind of order?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and finger as if he were trying to soothe a headache. “He’s going to rehab.”

I sat forward, the cashmere falling from my hip. “Oh, Damon. I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head. “I should have done it a long time ago.” He pressed his hands to his face, running his palms to his forehead. “I let it get out of control. I let him crash.”

I pulled his heavy hands into mine. “Hey, you’re not responsible for your brother’s choices. You know that, right?”

“But I should have helped him sooner. I’m his older brother, damn it. I let it go too long. I put it on Kenley. I pawned his problems off to her. What kind of man does that to his own family?”

I tried to ease some of his burden. “What’s important is that you’re getting help for him now. Focus on that. When does he leave? Where is this place?”

“Kenley is going with him. It’s in Spain. It’s best if he’s away from Galona press. He leaves tonight.”

“Spain?”

He nodded. “He doesn’t want to go. He’s fighting the entire thing. But he’s still drunk. Of course he’s going to fucking fight.”

I twisted my lips together. “Isabel stopped by today.”

“She did? Was it about Dominic?”

“No. Actually, she really wants to take a trip to Spain. That’s why I was reminded.”

His eyebrows arched. “And she came to you.”

“Yes. She needs a break from Galona. And even though it’s not exactly what she wanted, why don’t you send her with Dominic?”

“Fuck. My family is falling apart. A princess who doesn’t want to be in her own country. A prince in rehab.”