EMBER - Part Three (The EMBER Series, #3) by Deborah Bladon Page A
Authors: Deborah Bladon
Tags: alpha male, alpha male romance, new adult romance, new adult romance with sex, bad boy, Bad Boy romance, deborah blandon, deborah blanton, deborah bladon romance, deborah blandon ember, ember part three
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hands tentatively reach for the portrait. The ache to hold it against my chest so I can weep for what might have been between Dane and me is only silenced by the almost uncontrollable drive I feel to destroy it.
It's haunting in that it captures a human spirit that is too brave and determined to give up. I'd seen the strength in Maisy's eyes when she'd called me over that day in the museum. She wasn't in search of pity or compassionate words. She wanted me to see her and not what had altered her life in such a significant way. Her smile and the light that radiated from within her were contagious and inspiring.
I'd left the museum that day with her words about love and promise ringing in my ears. I'd called Zoe to tell her that I wanted to meet Larry. I yearned for the promise of a future with a man who adored me. I wanted what Maisy had and because of a twist of fate, I have it now. I have Dane and she has a baby on the way.
I soak in the fine lines that my pencil had captured as I sat and watched Maisy. I hadn't bothered to ask her name, and she hadn't offered. It wasn't important then. It didn't matter the night that Dane sat on my bed, in my old apartment, while he studied the drawing. Until now, Maisy has been a faceless woman who was left behind in the restaurant. I may have felt a flash of compassion for her back then, but I'd gleefully grabbed hold of the man who decided his path didn't align with hers.
She's not just anyone now. She's the bright and beautiful woman I've had a brief conversation with. She's going to be a mom and for the rest of her son's life, he's going to look to Dane for guidance, acceptance and love.
I hear my smartphone ringing in the distance but the emotional energy it takes to answer it, isn't there. I don't want to hear Zoe ask if I'm going to be okay. I don’t want to compare notes with Vanessa about meeting Maisy.
As soon as the incessant ringing stops, it begins again and I close my eyes, willing it to quiet. I can't answer if it's Dane either. I can't bear the thought of hearing his voice. It will be filled with the carefree promise that it always is and I'll have to ask him questions that I don't want to hear the answers to.
I ignore the shrill bite of the smartphone's ring as I turn on my heel with Maisy's portrait lazily dangling between my fingers. I cross the hall to my own bedroom, place the drawing onto the foot of the bed and lower my head to my pillow. As I close my eyes, I know that when I open them again, nothing will ever be the same.
Chapter 2
"D ane didn't pick up when I tried to call him."
Zoe's head darts up. Her eyes scan my face for a brief second before they fall back down to Vane. I'd arrived on her doorstep, or more specifically, in the lobby of her building, shortly after sunrise.
Brighton had answered when I'd pushed the buzzer for the penthouse. He'd pulled me into his arms in a warm embrace when I walked over the threshold and into their home. The light from the day's break was just beginning to pour into the lavish space and I'd stood for a moment, feeling his strong arms around me, knowing that Zoe must have filled his ears, and mind, with words about the shock that had settled over me once I realized that I'd met Dane's ex-girlfriend.
"When did you try and call him?" She handily buttons the jumper she dressed Vane in after giving him a bath. "Was it last night or this morning?"
It was both. I'd called him after I woke shortly after midnight in an angered panic. The pencil portrait of Maisy had fallen to the floor next to my bed. I'd shuffled around in the dark on my knees trying to find it, while I dialed Dane's number. As the empty sound of his smartphone ringing had greeted my ear, I'd wept. I was grateful, in a small sense, when his voicemail picked up. I knew my emotions were too tangled for me to express everything I was feeling. I'd hung up without leaving a message. It was then that I finally scrolled through the missed calls on my phone,
It's haunting in that it captures a human spirit that is too brave and determined to give up. I'd seen the strength in Maisy's eyes when she'd called me over that day in the museum. She wasn't in search of pity or compassionate words. She wanted me to see her and not what had altered her life in such a significant way. Her smile and the light that radiated from within her were contagious and inspiring.
I'd left the museum that day with her words about love and promise ringing in my ears. I'd called Zoe to tell her that I wanted to meet Larry. I yearned for the promise of a future with a man who adored me. I wanted what Maisy had and because of a twist of fate, I have it now. I have Dane and she has a baby on the way.
I soak in the fine lines that my pencil had captured as I sat and watched Maisy. I hadn't bothered to ask her name, and she hadn't offered. It wasn't important then. It didn't matter the night that Dane sat on my bed, in my old apartment, while he studied the drawing. Until now, Maisy has been a faceless woman who was left behind in the restaurant. I may have felt a flash of compassion for her back then, but I'd gleefully grabbed hold of the man who decided his path didn't align with hers.
She's not just anyone now. She's the bright and beautiful woman I've had a brief conversation with. She's going to be a mom and for the rest of her son's life, he's going to look to Dane for guidance, acceptance and love.
I hear my smartphone ringing in the distance but the emotional energy it takes to answer it, isn't there. I don't want to hear Zoe ask if I'm going to be okay. I don’t want to compare notes with Vanessa about meeting Maisy.
As soon as the incessant ringing stops, it begins again and I close my eyes, willing it to quiet. I can't answer if it's Dane either. I can't bear the thought of hearing his voice. It will be filled with the carefree promise that it always is and I'll have to ask him questions that I don't want to hear the answers to.
I ignore the shrill bite of the smartphone's ring as I turn on my heel with Maisy's portrait lazily dangling between my fingers. I cross the hall to my own bedroom, place the drawing onto the foot of the bed and lower my head to my pillow. As I close my eyes, I know that when I open them again, nothing will ever be the same.
Chapter 2
"D ane didn't pick up when I tried to call him."
Zoe's head darts up. Her eyes scan my face for a brief second before they fall back down to Vane. I'd arrived on her doorstep, or more specifically, in the lobby of her building, shortly after sunrise.
Brighton had answered when I'd pushed the buzzer for the penthouse. He'd pulled me into his arms in a warm embrace when I walked over the threshold and into their home. The light from the day's break was just beginning to pour into the lavish space and I'd stood for a moment, feeling his strong arms around me, knowing that Zoe must have filled his ears, and mind, with words about the shock that had settled over me once I realized that I'd met Dane's ex-girlfriend.
"When did you try and call him?" She handily buttons the jumper she dressed Vane in after giving him a bath. "Was it last night or this morning?"
It was both. I'd called him after I woke shortly after midnight in an angered panic. The pencil portrait of Maisy had fallen to the floor next to my bed. I'd shuffled around in the dark on my knees trying to find it, while I dialed Dane's number. As the empty sound of his smartphone ringing had greeted my ear, I'd wept. I was grateful, in a small sense, when his voicemail picked up. I knew my emotions were too tangled for me to express everything I was feeling. I'd hung up without leaving a message. It was then that I finally scrolled through the missed calls on my phone,
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