“You don’t like being a triplet?”
“No. I mean, yes, I do. I love my brothers. But people tend to treat us like one person, and we’re not. You only saw me. You made me poached eggs,” I finished, sounding lame, but unsure how to explain it. “You asked me what I wanted, what I liked, and for the first time in a long while, I could tell someone. I didn’t have to defer.”
“I can understand that, but…” She trailed off.
“I also liked the fact that you liked me for me. Not my money, my connections, or who my family was.”
“Why?” she asked. “Tell me.”
I slid from the stool and walked to the window. She didn’t interrupt me as I told her about Loni. How shocked I’d been to discover her betrayal. How much more upset I had been over Dave’s disloyalty. The hateful things Loni had said to me. How shaken I had been.
“It’s not that I compared you to her. Not at all,” I assured her. “You couldn’t be more different. It just—it really shook my self-confidence.”
She stood behind me when I fell quiet and wrapped her arms around me. I could feel her warmth at my back. She was so small that her arms barely reached around my torso, but she gripped me tight.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I understand hurt like that. That fear.”
I turned and slid my arms around her, gazing down at her sad face. “Who did that to you?”
“His name was Carson. He told me I was nothing but a fling. I wasn’t the right sort of girl to be part of his real world. I wasn’t good enough, basically.”
Bending, I leaned my forehead to hers. “And you thought I was doing the same thing.” I shook my head, pressing harder. “I’m sorry, little bird. I fucked that up so badly.”
For a moment, we stood, holding each other. “I think we both have suffered in the past. The question is, can we move forward?” I asked, a strange hitch to my voice. I had to swallow before I could speak again. “Can you forgive me?”
“I need you to tell me everything, Ronan. All the things you’ve kept from me.”
I slipped my fingers under her chin, lifting her face to me. “Can I show you, little bird?”
“Show me?”
“Come with me, and I’ll show you my life. You can ask me anything.” Then I frowned. “Or do you have to go home?”
“No, Paige is spending the day with the kids. She wants me to spend the time with you.” She paused. “They all miss you too. Especially Evan.”
“I miss them. Evan the most. I liked spending time with my little bud.”
“He made some Lego things with your kits. He had me take pictures.”
“I want to see them. See him.” I dragged her to my chest, holding her close. “I want to work this out with you.”
She let me hold her, and I felt a sense of peace that had been elusive since she’d walked away from me. For a moment, everything was right with my world. Then she stepped back.
“Show me.”
I smiled down at her.
“You’re standing in my house in the BAM compound.”
She lifted one eyebrow. “Is that like a cult?” she asked, her eyes dancing.
I laughed. “My family—BAM—owns this land. A lot of it. Originally, it was purchased to be made into a resort. But my father and Bentley both loved it here and decided to keep it for themselves. They gradually bought up all the land around it they could, and a lot of the family lives here. I grew up here.” I tugged her to the window. “I will never tire of this view. The water, the clouds.” I pointed to the sky. “Is a storm coming?”
She peered up, cocking her head. “No, those are just cumulus. There are no cumulonimbus clouds forming that I see.”
Unable to help myself, I bent and kissed her neck. “I love it when you talk cloud.”
She laughed, and I felt the shiver that ran through her when I touched my mouth to her skin. It was a good sign.
“So, you live here?” she asked. “Not the condo you showed me?”
“No, the condo is mine. I’ve lived there the past few years. We’re all given a piece of land here for a house if we want one. I love it here—I feel different when I’m out here than in the city. ABC is building its head office here and will open soon. I’ll go between the two for a while, but I do plan on settling here.”
“Oh.” There was a sad sound to the single word, and I felt her stiffen in my arms.
“Not for a bit, Beth. And we’ll work it out, if you want us to. I can commute.” I rested my chin on her shoulder. “I can arrange to commute you to and from school. Port Albany has great schools for Evan.”