Loneliness.
“Well.” I smiled, trying to hide how much his words had affected me. “It’s nice to have you back, Mr. Larsen. At least, when you’re not acting like a grade-A you-know-what.”
He chuckled. “It’s nice to be back, princess.”
This was the reunion I’d wanted. I didn’t like Andreas, but at least he’d broken the ice between me and Rhys.
“So, where do we go from here?” No matter what we said, he wasn’t just my bodyguard, and deep down, we both knew it.
“We go wherever you go,” Rhys said. “I keep you safe. The end.”
“You make it sound so simple.” When reality is so complicated. Between Costa Rica, his departure, and his reappearance right when pressure to find a “suitable” husband bore down on me, I felt like a bug stuck in a web of secrets and responsibilities I couldn’t free myself from.
“It is simple.” Rhys spoke with such quiet confidence it resonated in my bones. “I made a mistake when I left, and I’m fixing it.”
“Just like that.”
“Just like that.” The corner of his mouth tipped up. “Though I imagine you’ll make it as difficult for me as possible.”
I let out a soft laugh. “When have things ever been easy for us?”
But even though I was still upset with Rhys for leaving in the first place, I realized something. The empty, gnawing feeling had disappeared.